Sunflower seeds ready to harvest🍂

Sumflower seeds
Sunflower

I planted my mini sunflowers from seeds my neighbor gave me when I complimented their beautiful thick row of sunflowers. It takes only a few weeks for the green plant to pop out of the ground, but the flower itself takes many weeks to open up & grow its beautiful round face. I think sunflowers add a natural feel & look to a garden which I love. When they are in full bloom yellow finch, & butterflies are constant visitors🌻

Sunflower seeds
Sunflower seeds

Follow The Recipe or Else😏

Raisin orange rice with saffron chicken

I have done it a few times, googling how to replace an ingredient when I’m in the middle of cooking and noticed I don’t have everything I need. Searching: What can I use instead of buttermilk? Or what is a good substitute for dry rosemary? With new recipes, when I have to replace any ingredients I can’t tell the difference in its flavor or its presentation, but with an old recipe, I can certainly see the differences? Small changes in flavor, consistency, and most importantly how your stomach feels!

When I was little sitting at the breakfast table my grandmother will decide what to make for lunch and sometimes for dinner. She would name a few dishes and make a decision, pick up her shopping basket, and head to the maker. After a couple of hours which was normal since my grandma would stop and have conversations with friends and neighbors while shopping. Catching up on all the news from, who is getting married, taking a vacation, or having a baby. She will enter her kitchen in a hurry with a basket full of seasonal vegetables, herbs, and fruits ready to cook.

The sound of dicing chopping peeling will echo through the house and later the aroma of herbs and rice and vegetables will take us to the kitchen. If I was lucky she will let me help with making spinach or lamb patties. Lovingly graciously, she would wrap a kitchen towel around me and pull a chair next to hers. I start with my small hands shaping quarter-size patties, I would have my special corner in the pan next to her perfect oval-shaped ones. I was always asking questions “ what is the green vegetable? And what is the yellow bean”? My grandmother in detail will explain, “ the green herb is mint and the yellow bean is lentil”. Then she will explain in detail again how every ingredient helps in flavoring our food and satisfying our tastebuds. She would say “Mint helps to settle your stomach since you have lentils in your food.” Every meal served was made with seasonal ingredients and was perfect for the time. Every ingredient had more than one purpose, to add flavor, and beauty, and to keep the digestive system healthy.

Trying new recipes is exhilarating and I am always happy to know I have found a new dish that my family enjoys. To make every dish perfect and original I take the time to read the recipe and stop at the grocery store to pick up everything I am missing. To create the original flavor takes patience, but all I need to remember is that every old recipe has been refined for years by experts who made it lovingly for their family, just like my grandmother did.🥰

Am I Going Extinct 😳

This morning I mentioned to my daughter that I have just uploaded a video on houseresortYouTube channel about : what to wear and be comfortable when you are gardening. When she casually looked at me and said “Mommy who’s going to watch that? nobody works in their garden anymore, you’re the only one who still does it ”!!! First I was surprised by her reaction, but then I realized she was saying something that I already knew. When I am out in the garden trying to make a video of something I am working on I have to stop to let the blowers and the lawnmowers calm down before I can continue with my videos. I rather have birds chirping in the background of my videos than a lawnmower. Sometimes I just sit next to my work waiting for few minutes for natural sounds to take over before I continue.

Dahlias

There are many hobbies that we pick up to enjoy our interests. Writing, reading, walking, fishing, and gardening, are some that my friends and family do to relax and keep the world around them in slow motion. Gardening is my favorite hobby, and photography is an important part of my everyday gardening. I start my season in early spring and I work at keeping my plants and flowers healthy until the first cold day, usually late fall. To be safe & comfortable is very important to me, and makes being outdoors a lot more enjoyable, and the long days less eventful.

Coming across snakes, angry birds, and bees is too common, and even though it does provide a great chance for an interesting nature video, it also keeps me on my toes 😳. Gardners like me depend on comfortable, protective clothes when we are out and about, and to have a hat, gloves, and a cell phone close by makes life less painful and gardening more enjoyable. If you would like to watch the video on what I recommend to wear working in the garden please go to the link below, and leave your comments, and suggestions. I will be happy to receive them. Maybe then I can tell my daughter I am not going extinct👩🏻‍🌾

youtube.com/watch