Cinnamon Sticks

Cinnamon sticks are made from the rolled bark of one of a variety of cinnamomun trees that belong to the Laurel family. If you are a lover of cinnamon, try grinding your own. Ground cinnamon will lose its flavor pretty quickly, within a few months; but cinnamon sticks can retain good flavor for a year or more. In order to get the best cinnamon flavor, buy sticks and grind them in a quality coffee

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Dry Your Leftover Parsley

If you have leftover parsley every year from your holiday garnishes, try drying it. This is my chance to recommend that you buy a dehydrator if you don't already have one.Dehydrate Your LeftoversI have two, and use them throughout the year. They are inexpensive, safe, easy to use, and they can help you save money and eat healthier. If you like herbs, having one is a necessity.After a few hours

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So, Is There Anything To Put out for the Reindeer?

I've read that reindeer eat alfalfa and love raisins. This is my way of introducing dried fruit into our talk. Dried fruit has lost some of its appeal in recent generations, which I think is a tragedy. I'm the only person I know that still likes fruitcake.Tasty Dried Fruits you Wouldn't Have ExpectedDried fruit has struggled into the 21st century, however, and I thought that I'd mention some

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Paprika - It's Good for a lot More Than Decorating Deviled Eggs and Garlic Bread

When I was growing up, there was only one kind of paprika available. I was taught that it was only good as a garnish, mostly on deviled eggs and potato salad, because it had little or no flavor. Apparently, much of Europe was giving paprika more attention than we were, because it has evolved into an essential element in many flavorful dishes.Behold the Bell PepperPaprika is more versatile and

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All About the Hot in Hot Peppers

Easy to grow, dry, grill, and freeze, peppers are inspired food enhancers. They are aids to digestion, can have pain relieving properties, and . . .well, they're pretty, too. Become a pepper lover with this easy pepper primer.Spring is just around the corner, so check out the pepper page of your seed catalogs and have a fiesta.Peppers are Easy to GrowI've grown peppers in pots and in the ground

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Are You Looking Forward to Your Seed Catalogs Yet?

One of my favorite New Year's activities is waiting for the mail to arrive. Why? Gardening Catalogs, of course! Free Seed CatalogsIf you aren't signed up for all of the seed catalogs you want this year, About.com has a listing of great free catalogs you can request: Free Seed Catalogs For free herb catalogs go to my updated catalog post: Herb CatalogsI have some Amazon links to seed starter kits

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Preserving Ginger

There are rewards to using ginger in your cooking and gardening. Ginger is an underrated spice. I think that might be because the prepared ginger powder available in most grocery stores is pretty flavorless. The drying process robs ginger of most of its flavor, but there is a clever way around it. If you've ever come across or purchased ginger root, it can be preserved indefinitely. This is true

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