Self-sufficiency in Vegetables, my Challenge for 2019

Complete self-sufficiency includes many aspects of one’s life from growing your own food to being self-sufficient with electricity, water, and other necessities. And although I would love to one day be completely self-sufficient, I’m taking it one step at a time. So today I’m going to focus on my current goal – being self-sufficient with vegetables.

I’ve been thinking about self-sufficiency for a long time. The first time the idea of not having to go to the store for anything else than oil and salt crossed my mind about 10 years ago. It was the time in 2008 when the global economic crisis occurred. The crisis showed how dependent we are on the goods that await us on the shelves of the stores and how quickly this same good can become inaccessible if we lose our source of income.

With the passing years, my idea of self-sufficiency evolved – I liked the fact that I didn’t have to go shopping for weeks at the time and I was still able to prepare food that was healthy and nutritious. Not to mention how the lack of grocery shopping impacted the size of my wallet.Continue Reading

Glass Grave Candle

November 1st – All Saints’ or All Hallows’ day. No matter how we call it, in most of Catholic Europe it’s the day when we remember the deceased. The most common way of paying tribute to those who are no longer with us is by lighting the candle at their grave. Our family is no different. Ever since I can remember the 1st of November consists of lunch with an extended family and obligatory pilgrimage to cemeteries and lighting of the candles. For a while now I’ve been thinking about the enormous quantity of grave candles in a plastic housing that the Slovenes leave at the graveyards every year around the 1st of November. This year I’ve had an early start and made my version of a grave candle that is better for the environment – glass grave candle.Continue Reading

Heart-shaped Pavlova Cake with Currant

In my last post, I wrote about currant, so today I thought it would be a good idea to share a recipe that utilizes currants in a different way than just in a jam or marmalade. 🙂 This cute heart-shaped pavlova cake with currant is light and refreshing and perfect for hot summer days. I’ve decided to go with heart-shaped pavlova cakes but you can just as easily make a classical bigger round one or any other shape because whipped egg whites are super easy to play around with. 🙂
If you decide to omit the corn starch in the recipe below, the dessert will also be gluten-free and therefore suitable for anyone with celiac disease or hypersensitivity to gluten.Continue Reading

Red, white and black currant

After my blueberry post I’ve decided to write about another homegrown berry species. Today I’ll be writing about red, white and black currant. One of the most widespread but at the same time often overlooked species of berries in the home garden. Currant plants can be found in many Slovenian gardens. It seems that many people don’t know how to use the currant berries, because of their tart taste. Currant is therefore less popular than its other distant relatives from the berry family. I also quietly blame the modern media for the unpopularity of currants – we are constantly told how healthy the berries are for us, but most commonly mentioned are strawberries and raspberries, despite the fact that the currant is in fact a real bomb of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In addition it’s also ridiculously easy to grow and care for.Continue Reading

Three Things That Every Pregnant Woman or New Mom Should Grow in the Garden

It’s been little over a month since we greeted a new family member in the House by the woods. I  plan to share my birth story in one of my next posts. This time I will focus on the three garden produce that has helped me through my pregnancy, preparation for the birth and continue to ease my post-natal period. It is recommended to eat as many fresh vegetables as possible during pregnancy. If it’s home-grown it’s even better. 🙂Continue Reading

Visit at Golob-Klancic perennial nursery

Good weather, enough time and my long-lasting wish for new perennials have lured to Primorska – the southwest region of Slovenia. Over the weekend I visited Golob-Klancic, the biggest perennial nursery in Slovenia. They are known for their wide variety of perennial flowers and edibles. For two years now I have been cultivating and perfecting my vision of gradually changing my garden to a farm-style garden.

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Dandelion Iced Tea

It seems that this week will end as it began – in the name of homemade drinks. My last post of the week is dedicated to my newest invention – it’s dandelion iced tea. This likable combination is the result of my current obsession with the healing roots of wild plants. In the last week I foraged roots of dandelion, chicory and comfrey. I must admit that I have come across the healing properties of these plants just this past summer and ever since I have read about them I have patiently waited for the autumn as it’s the best time to harvest them. Because when the plants are preparing for wintering they’re storing the medicinal substances in the roots. The common saying goes that all the wild roots should be picked in months that have the letter “R” in their name. So SeptembeR couldn’t come fast enough this year.Continue Reading

Homemade Walnut Milk

Who doesn’t know almond milk? Popular milk alternative, which is very popular among vegans and all of us who would like to lead a healthier life by eat cleaner food. I’m making my own amlond milk (the same as coconut milk) from scratch at home. Then one evening when I was soaking my almonds in order to make a fresh batch of almond milk in the morning I asked myself why am I buying almonds when I have access to homegrown walnuts. You see I as mentioned before my parents own a small mountain farm that has quite a fey walnut trees and they bear walnuts anually so we have some in stock all year round. And not to mnetion that homegrown walnuts are completely free from pesticide and other chemicals and are as local as they can get! So I decided to give it a go and make walnut milk instead of almond milk.Continue Reading

Homemade cucumber water

I remember when I first discovered coconut water on the shelves of our supermarket. I loved its taste and low calorie value and it quickly became my favorite drink of that summer. Even when exploring its properties on the internet, all I could come accross were all these amazing health benefits that it had. And I drank it. Because it was delicious and refreshing. I knew that coconut water was not the most local, but these were were times when I was yet to be informed about the carbon footprint. About a year later I decided to change my way of life and devote less money to foods that are not basic. Together with my decision that I will enjoy more local and seasonal foods, coconut water did not make the list and was scratched off my menu. This (not particularly difficult) decision was also empowered by the fact that my love for coconut water costed me a couple of euros per week.Continue Reading