Friday Freebie - Stylish DIY Garden Pots

I've always loved gardening, so as the owner of a small cement yard with no dirt or grass in sight, I have to make do with putting my all my plants in pots. LOADS of em. I think it looks a bit charming... but yes, it is a bit tatty and unmatching, and the fella completely hates it.

For years I've been looking for a stylish solution to consolidate all the little pots into big planters or raised beds to go all along the edges of my yard. However, big pots are expensive and heavy and generally just... the wrong size. So I was delighted when I happened upon a Martha Stewart video talking about homemade Hypertufa pots...

Hypertufa is basically a really easy and cheap-to-make concoction that can be easily formed in a mold. It's a bit like a grown up mud-pie. Once formed and hardened, it turns into a rock-like, yet strikingly lightweight substance. It can even be made into large planters that can withstand rough weather and frosts. Woo hoo! I'm really looking forward to constructing my own hypertufa back yard solution; you can use a variety of materials as molds and you can also add additional details into the mold for some visual intrigue.


I've included a link to a hypertufa recipe, although there's loads of other recipes all over the webs. I've also included the link to the Martha video & recipe that started my fascination.

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/make-hypertufa-trough.aspx

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/hypertufa-pots

Sweets for your sweet

Happy Valentines Day my friends!

As y'all know, I am a broke as a joke recession victim... But ho ho! Am I a negative nelly? Do I sit on a pity pot? Not me! No, I'm more of a fan of the aul "build a bridge" school of thinking, and know that lack of money doesn't mean I can't lavish my love with romantic gestures (which by the way, should not only be reserved for Hallmark holidays).

So here's my ideas for a cheapie but thoughtful Valentines pressie.

I am a very lucky lady with a fella who has a penchant for baking... He's been perfecting his lemon cake recipe lately and here's my Valentine's present from him.


Then of course... you did it in school, why not do it now? Homemade cards of course! So much cheaper, so much more awesome thoughtfulness. Here's mine for my fella who (aside from the cake) refused to acknowledge this "fake" holiday.


Moving on...

Make BRUNCH!
Valentines Day being a Sunday makes the perfect setting for a romantic breakfast in bed. Here's some yum brunch ideas:

French Toast

Whip up some eggs & milk, add a good dash of cinnamon and (here's the secret to extra fluffy french toast) a couple of tablespoons of flour. Soak some thick bread (brioche if you've got it) in your concoction and fry up in a blob of hot melted butter or oil. Shake up a dash of powdered sugar and maple syrup on top... and YUM yerself OUT.

Breakfast Burritos!

A weekend staple in our house, there is very little that is as easy, filling and delicious as a good old breakfast burrito. You can make it veggie or meaty. I scramble up eggs, add some rice, salsa, sausages, a big handful of fresh spinach and season to taste. Warm up some tortillas, stuff em with your eggy fillings top with grated cheese... wrap it up, take a bite and wait for the taste boat.

Enjoy & Happy Valentines Day.

I Heart Rachel Ray

As a new "Stay at Home Person" I have become guilty of watching a lot of daytime TV. You know daytime TV... aimed at housewives, unemployed people, or folks who are in need of workman's comp. Luckily in Ireland we don't have all those obnoxious no win no fee attorney ads, we're just stuck with "MONEY 4 GOLD".

Anyways.... one show I have become addicted to and excited about is Rachael Ray. Yeah it's got the usual chat show dross, but it also has great cooking ideas, including ways to make a little bit of food go a long way... very important for a non-earner like myself.

So here's one I tried out earlier, her Butternut Bowtie Pasta Bake Fakeout. On the show she described it as a fakeout because she makes a golden "cheesy" sauce out of the much healthier butternet squash. Aside from just the health side of things, squash is also a lot cheaper than mounds of cheese. You can find the recipe here: http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2200

I changed it up a bit, cuz that's the beauty of food, there are no hard & fast rules. Rather than bowties I went with shells cuz I thought they'd be nicer in a fake macaroni & cheese dish... I also had no sage leaves, so I added a store-bought pesto to the sauce as well as dotted more pesto on the top of the bake. On the website Rach suggests sprinkling almonds on top, instead I added some nice sharp cheddar... to add to the "fakeout".

The results? Roasting the squash took a while, and there's a lot of dishes to cleanup - esp as I used a food processor (apparently you could use a potato masher). I did enjoy making a gorgeous golden sauce that didn't actually include cheese, but the end result was quite heavy & filling, and according to the boyfriend... bland.

I think it's worth trying again, personally I enjoyed it, but here's what I would change: I would use less squash in the sauce and more milk to make it thinner. It was HEAVY. I would also use a lot more pesto... or just a lot more seasoning. When eating, every time you hit a pesto pocket it was divine, the rest was just okay. If I'm feeling brave the next time, I might even add some Tabasco... which goes with everything... in theory.

YUM.

Oh and PS, if you have a veggie-loving cat like me, beware of leaving out your unused cooked butternut squash & husks. I got to wake up the next morning cleaning up golden orange cat barf. Nice.