Alternative Plant Containers for Balcony Gardening

To celebrate Earth Day today, I started the balcony garden. The work in progress may be finished by winter, but then again, I'll probably winter over a few things as well. This project perfectly illustrates the Dull Knife Way: maximum self-sufficiency with minimum expenditure.

Pickled Daikon Radish (Takuan)

Shh. Don't tell anyone. When a foreign food becomes popular here in the U.S. the price goes up, and daikon radish is not expensive at all because it's not very well known. If you haven't had it, it's milder than red radishes, and great shredded with salads or sliced into stir-fries. But, my favorite way to eat it is as pickles.

Woven Magazine Page Baskets

When my son was five years old, deep in his dinosaur phase, we visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. As we rounded a corner, a very large dinosaur skeleton suddenly loomed over us. My son froze, threw his arms out and toppled over flat on his face, overwhelmed by joy. Apparently, that kind of ecstasy saves supple young bodies from bloody noses and broken bones.

Lazy Gourmet: Faux Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Faux? You mean, fake marmalade? Why bother, you ask. Because even though regular marmalade only has three ingredients, it takes hours to prepare and I wanted marmalade NOW. The title of this post does include the word "lazy" after all.

Plus, I wanted to control the amount of sugar.

Cheap Gourmet: Paprika Roasted Garbanzo Beans

When organic garbanzo beans go on sale for a dollar a can, the Dull Knife way is to stock up. But, then what? They're great in soups, stews and salads. I love them mashed up in veggie burgers, and cooked with cauliflower, tomatoes and curry spices. But, what else?

Tapas.