Author Archive
Vegan Organic Gardening – Yes it really exists…
May 15, 2011 | 
Author
Yes, yes, Virginia - there are chemical compounds made from coal-tar derivatives to enhance color - and they call them artificial coloring - even your food for Fifi can have them. Did you also know that these artificial colors can be linked to allergic reactions, fatigue, asthma, skin rashes, hyperactivity and headaches. Learn more of the other bad and naughty things found in our processed foods over at sheerbalance.com http://www.sheerbalance.com/nutrition/worst-ingredients-of-processed-foods/.
So getting back to vegan gardening techniques - basically no poop - ok manure if you wish to call it what it really is, is used. I compost my plant debris and leaves which does a lovely organic cocktail perfect for my gardening needs. Now I don't live on acres of land at all, in fact my gardens are located on a half acre, but that is surely more than enough to keep me busy.
What's wrong with manure? Nothing normally - but the idea is this. If you don't know where your manure comes from, and I am not talking about the horse, the cow or the chickens... but more specifically what they ate to create the said manure - therein lies the issue of good manure vs. bad manure. Now don't you all farmers get into a stitch about what I just said. But my thinking is similar to Ron Kholsa's who points out in his interview, "...high-nitrate chicken manure, which turns into nitrous oxide...is 300 times more potent of a global warming gas then carbon dioxide." Read the rest of this entry »
Easter Dinners and Leftover Holiday Meal Ideas
I was able to grab fresh mozzarella that had been shaped into the body of a rabbit - a lovely funny take of the chocolate bunny. It has two pepper corns for its eyes and stands roughly five inches tall. I will be serving it along with a dipping dish full of homemade pesto to represent the grass that a rabbit might lay in. I wonder who will slice off its ears and dip it into the pesto first? Read the rest of this entry »
Raised Vegetable Gardening Container Constructed – Knowing When to Call in The Pros
Not only did the people I hired support 'local' businesses like I do myself - the mom and pop shops for mindful spending, but their work ethics, affordability and professionalism outweighed what I initially experienced when I first moved into this home and hired the wrong contractors to do some fixing up around the home. So yes, I could have bought the materials all myself, but the longer than anticipated time and over-extended effort it would have taken me would have far outweighed the success I would experience so quickly had I not delegated this task of constructing my raised vegetable garden container to a pro contractor. Read the rest of this entry »
Spring has Sprung in Chef Maven’s Garden
I am already relishing in the feeling that Spring will soon be here. I so miss the leaves on the trees at this stage of March. It's the third week of March, with it's fickle weather patterns where it might snow one day (as it did already on Monday) and will again this Wednesday but be bright, warm and fuzzy like it was last Friday when I heard that NYC temperatures nearly hit 80 degrees. Really?! Yes Really.
So while reading a few interesting things I learned that when lilacs start budding, it's a good time to start sewing your cold weather vegetables like spinach, peas and bush beans. Who knew? Well, instead of doing that in the snow the other day (do ya blame me?), I did cut some forsythia from the yard and put them in a vase where they quickly bloomed. I also did this four weeks prior with the same results, though the forsythia took a few weeks to generate their blooms. Read the rest of this entry »
The Chef Mavens Homemade Pesto Focaccia Bread Recipe
I have continued with baking up a storm in hopes to match the storm outside my windows in New York. I decided to take my pizza dough recipe and turn it into a wonderful pesto foccacia bread with a few shallots baked on top along with a few sprinkles of crushed red pepper to spice it up just a bit.
There are many variations of course that you can create the right focaccia just for you and some of those suggestions are listed below.
To make this delectable side bread, it's easier that saying pizza pie! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in appetizers, basil, bread, bread recipes, from scratch, homemade, olive oil, Pesto, pizza, Slow Food, slow food recipes, vegetarian | 
Tags: bread recipes, classic, focaccia, from scratch, goat cheese, homemade, homemade pesto, how to make great italian bread, pizza dough, rosemary and garlic, shallots, Slow Food, slow food recipe, slow food recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | 
1 Comment »