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GC and I began planting our apartment garden over the weekend! Before we both began working full time, we spent a few weeks at an organic farm that is run by a professor we both had at Hopkins. This guy is awesome--he runs his own private consulting practice, wrote the organic laws for Maryland, is a professor, has an amazing farm, and is getting started bottling his own organic cider. We learned so much from him in such a short amount of time. Like how to make peace with bees--I have always understood how much bees are needed to make the world go round, but was terrified of them after being stung multiple times when I was younger.
I was able to grab the lavender in handfuls from the base of the plant, and gently shake it back and forth before cutting it with scissors. The bees stayed happy and simply moved to another lavender stalk. As I walked back with two big buckets full of lavender, I brought back several of my new bee friends who were content to follow the buckets a quarter mile back to the house and hang out. I finally made peace with them! Needless to say, we absolutely loved our time working at his farm, and it inspired us to try our hand at growing plants indoors. On our final day, he gave us a few plants to take home. Anyways, we went to the store to get all our materials we needed for this year's garden. Unfortunately, we had a slight bug infestation problem last summer, so we wanted to start fresh with all new dirt. Luckily the bugs never actually left their pots, but since we live in an apartment I didn't feel comfortable with them all there. We spent an hour perusing the options. We knew we wanted organic seeds, and we knew we needed some larger pots, but beyond that anything was fair game. Once we were settled on everything we needed, we brought it home and got to work. We laid out the plastic tarp so our floor didn't get dirty, and brought all our old pots and materials out. All the old dirt? Bye bye. Into the garbage it went. Farewell buggy friends, please don't return.
All of my succulent babies started from one plant I got at a farmer's market with a friend in Baltimore last year. So many new ones have grown! We then planted the seeds into the little sprouting trays we bought, putting 3-4 seeds in each tray. I filled the trays directly in the empty pots for easier clean up, and then took them out, filled the pots with dirt, and placed the trays on top. We used the spritzer bottle to we the soil for all of them. You're probably wondering why the last photo is covered in plastic wrap...the only place we could put the trays is right where our heating vent blows. I noticed after a few hours that the soil looked completely dry, and I had already read on the eggplant seed packet that you should cover the seeds until they germinate, so we put the plastic wrap over them to keep in moisture. Not sure how long we are going to leave this on yet, but will keep you posted! Do you grow anything at home? I used to think that it was impossible to garden while living the city life, but it really isn't! Start with a little plant and go from there. I'll be keeping you posted on our apartment gardening adventures every month. You may also like:
This bowl is just perfect on nights you can't decide what you want to eat. Or when you have tons of random food in your pantry and haven't been grocery shopping in a while... Although it looks complex, you can work on one thing at a time and it will all come together at the end. This is one of those dishes I love to pack up the leftovers and take to work for lunch the next days. The flavors all mesh together overnight and the bowl is even better the second day. Plus, this bowl is packed with colors, nutrients, and love. I think you'll enjoy it! Directions
Directions
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Hello faith in plants friends! Today we have some BEAUTIFUL salted tahini caramels for a sweet but healthy dessert. Something about the cold weather always makes me want a yummy dessert after dinner. In the summertime, fruity and light foods call to me, but winter time comes and I'm all about drinking tea, making soup, and of course, the occasional sweet treat. Does this happen to any of you? Anyways, back to these little salted caramels. These babies are cute, they melt in your mouth, and best of all? They don't use any refined sugar! That is a serious win in my book. As a general rule, I don't eat refined sugar, but still have maple syrup and raw honey in my life (and pantry!). These caramels use dates to sweeten them, which is a nice change from regular liquid sweetener. We always try to eat whole foods whenever possible, and dates fit the bill. I love having these with some warm peppermint tea, but you could eat them for breakfast with your coffee if you wanted. Salted Tahini Caramels 30 minutes | serves 6 Ingredients 1 c pitted dates 1/2 c organic tahini 2 Tb coconut oil 1 ts vanilla 1/2 ts cinnamon 1/2 ts himalayan sea salt Directions
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Oh, quinoa. The elusive grain that people struggle with pronouncing it, let alone cooking it. Despite these challenges, I'm here to tell you that, in fact, it is not difficult to make at all! I've been cooking and eating quinoa for years, and always noticed I was slightly uncomfortable and would get bloated when I finished eating. This caused me to really dislike quinoa since I never felt good after eating it! I couldn't figure out what was the cause of this for the longest time, until I learned about soaking nuts and grains before using them.
However, once you soak them, the enzymes become activated, which makes them a lot more easily digested. For this quinoa, I try to soak the grains for 30 minutes or so before I cook them, but if you don't have time for that, even rinsing them in a metal sieve or nut milk bag can help! Since eating them this way, I've noticed a HUGE increase in their digestibility. If you do too, I'd love to hear :) Perfect Quinoa Recipe 20 minutes + soaking time | serves 2-3 Ingredients
Directions
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Hi my fellow Faith in Plant-ees! I shared this photo a while ago on Instagram, but it is just such a tasty dish I want to share it here! Every time I've made it, people literally cannot believe that there is no heavy cream, butter, cheese, or any of those other not so beautifying ingredients in it. Instead, it is actually a pretty healthy appetizer, and one that is sure to please your non-health nut friends. I've made this for a party, a holiday potluck, for friends while we were in Miami, and lastly for one of our chef friends while we were home in Pennsylvania. This guy has some seriously high standards, and even he was shocked that it was actually vegan. Oh, the wonders of cashew cream :) It comes together pretty quickly, so I recommend getting all your ingredients ready before you begin cooking anything. Although this calls for lots of artichokes, it really makes this app delicious and have an intense artichoke flavor. We always buy the artichokes in glass jars, as I find they taste more fresh that way. I also use my super high powered Vitamix to make the cashew cream. If you don't have one, fear not! Simply soak the cashews in water for 1 - 6 hours before you make the cream, and they it will blend a lot smoother. Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip 30 minutes | serves 6-8 as an app Ingredients
Enjoy with your favorite chips--we love the blue corn chips, but we also tried it with fresh baguette slices and that was also amazing, but a little heavier. Let us know what you think! The Super Bowl is coming up--this could be your chance to try it out :) You may also like:
Hello friends! Today I'm going to share with you this super easy, fast, and tasty salad dressing. I've been having this one ever since I was little, so feel free to share with any kiddos in your life! Easy Everyday Salad 10 minutes | serves 4 Ingredients
Directions
*Unfiltered honey may cause allergies for some people. If you are sensitive to honey, you can replace this with agave or maple syrup. This is also delicious with no sweetener at all! You may also like:
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