My family has come to learn the hard way that I essentially view my home and garden as one big science lab. They are likely to stumble across experiments either already in progress, or getting ready for one, in a variety of locations inside and outside the house. What did you expect from a science teacher?
Continue reading Umm… You Don’t Want to Look in There
Despite the menacing appearance of this shady group of uninvited visitors, they are actually pretty harmless. If anything, they were more comical than anything else.
Continue reading When Company Arrives Unexpectedly
If you’re from the West Coast, you likely know about mizithra cheese from The Old Spaghetti Factory’s browned butter and mizithra cheese pasta (which is really good). What you may not know is that this cheese has a history that goes back thousands of years. That should tell you how easy it is to make if ancient Greeks could do so without modern kitchens!
Continue reading Homemade Traditional Mizithra Cheese
Garden Sage is an all-in-one plant offering both looks as well as functionality. Spires of tubular, lavender colored flowers sit above a sea of grey-green and fragrant leaves in masse each spring. And of course, those leaves become a tasty addition for your kitchen spice rack.
Continue reading Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis)
There are a handful of movies that my family has watched repeatedly to the point of being able to recite the entire script. One of them is “Moonstruck” starring Olympia Dukakis and Cher. A Greek and an Armenian playing Italians? It’s okay, Armenians and Italians played Greeks in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” so it balances out.
Just think, you could make almond butter, kourambiethes, seasoned snacks, and more from your own home grown almonds. You’ll even get beautiful blossoms and feed the bees, to boot!
Continue reading Almond (Prunus dulcis)
Anyone who has lived in California’s Central Valley is familiar with this phenomenon: it rains, the sun comes out, you can’t see where you’re going the next morning.
Continue reading That’s Not Smoke (This Time)
I wonder if the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” works if we are talking about apple-pie, or Milopita (Greek apple cake)? Maybe??
Continue reading Apple (Malus domestica)
Raise your hand if you are a fan of the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow”! You know, the one that makes you start thinking about dumpster-diving and yard-sale stalking for the chance to find treasure. Okay, put your hand down now, you look silly with it up while looking at your screen.
Continue reading The “Grandmother Clock”
This is easily the most photographed plant in my garden. With a generous supply of the most luscious, peachy-pink blooms in a classic, cabbage rose form, it is easy to understand why.
Continue reading “Ambridge Rose” (Rosa ‘Ambridge Rose’)
Mostly Greek 