Thursday 26 April 2018

Bring The Spring




Bring the spring

Every spring I start my to do list for outside chores. Before I put in any garden I ask my self a few questions to make sure I buy the right plants and supplies that will work best in my yard.

I learned the hard way that just going out and buying whatever plants and flowers I like best usually results in dead gardens that never really grow as I imagined. What I figured was that I needed to get to know my yard a little better. Here is my list of questions for a successful garden.

First- Where do I want my garden? I like to sketch a drawing of my yard, so I can visualize where it will look best.

Second- I plan to spend all day outside so I can write down how much sun each spot gets. This way when I pick the plants I can make sure each plant will be getting the right amount of sun.

Third- How much water does each spot get? Some plants are drought tolerant and others need frequent watering. If I know how much each spot gets I can pick the right plants or gets supplies to provide adequate water for that area.

Fourth- Do I need to get plants that are kid or pet friendly? Things I might avoid if I have curious kids or pets is thorny bushes, or toxic plants.

Fifth- What is my soil like? Some soils are nutrient rich on their own, but others may be missing a key nutrient for plant success. Your local ag. Department usually has a soil test kit for free or you can purchase one for cheap.

Now that you are more acquainted with your yard you will be able to plant gardens you know will do well.  Give us a call if you need to rent an affordable residential friendly bin to haul off your waste.


Monday 9 April 2018

Clean and easy pasta dish.


Clean and easy pasta dish.

Who doesn’t love a tasty and simple recipe. As the days start warming up I tend to want meals that don’t require me to stand in front of a hot stove for very long. One of my all-time favorite foods is pasta, it’s super easy to play with and create tasty dishes with very little work. This dish is one of my family’s favorites, it was created out of hunger and the lack of desire to got to the store. While rummaging through the kitchen to figure out what ingredients I could put together that would make anything remotely tasty we stumbled on a dish we would continue making for years to come.

Whenever I make pasta my first instinct is grab veggies. At the time all I had was a yellow and orange bell pepper, a handful of fresh mushrooms, a tub of cherry tomatoes, and a small onion. Bell peppers are a great healthy veggie that kids love for their sweet flavor and bright colors. I boiled some penne, sliced my peppers julienne style, thickly sliced the mushrooms and cut the tomatoes in half. Personally, I don’t like heavy sauce with fresh veggies, so I just sautéed the veggies in an excellent quality olive oil with salt and pepper, only for a few minutes so they were still crispy. The mushrooms cooked separate, so I could sauté them in butter which is my all-time favorite way to cook mushrooms. Once the pasta was al dente I put them in the pan with all the veggies and tossed in more olive oil to coat the pasta and salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle some Parmesan on top and you have a super fresh and tasty pasta dish the whole family will love!

Check out the other blogs on our website for more simple recipes. Enjoy