Linda Ly's Blog, page 26
August 10, 2015
Favorite Things: A New Resource For Readers
Among the most frequent questions that land in my inbox are the type of gear I recommend for gardening… or cooking… or camping. And when I look around my house, those questions are sometimes tough to answer because I’ve used those things for so long, I’ve often forgotten what they’re called and I rarely remember where I bought them.
That’s where my Favorite Things come into play. No more digging up an old receipt or searching for a style number on a tag!
I finally took inventory of my most-r...
August 7, 2015
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. Bringing a spent sunflower head down to the chicken run. The ladies love their little treat! If you have the space, it’s worth growing a crop of sunflowers near your run every summer. As the flowers fade, they naturally drop their seeds. It gives them something to scratch for in the soil and offers a nutritional boost that will keep their feathers soft and shiny.
2. We let a week (okay, maybe two) go by without harvesting our pomegranates, and t...
August 5, 2015
The CSA Cookbook Road Trip: Coast-to-Coast Trip Log
When I first set out on The CSA Cookbook Road Trip, everyone told me it was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” And while I knew what they meant, in a way it was almost a little sad to think I might never do something bigger or better than this book tour. I certainly hope it won’t be once in my lifetime! I would love to do a cross-country adventure again at some point down the line… perhaps in another country? Perhaps even longer next time?
Neither of us really knew what we were getting into...
July 24, 2015
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week this week…
1. The figs are coming in fast and furious. I see fig and burrata salad, prosciutto-wrapped figs, roasted fig pizza, balsamic fig jam, spiced fig jam, and just plain juicy fresh figs in my immediate future.
2. Most people will see this and feel discouraged. I, on the other hand, see it as a small sacrifice of a fig to have an afternoon’s worth of activity time and high-protein snacks for my chickens!
3. This beautiful ball of sunshine we...
July 23, 2015
Fennel For the Butterflies
In the back of my garden, I have a small patch of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) that grows year-round and stands five feet tall. Sometimes I’ll harvest the fronds for a salad or a bulb for my favorite seafood stew, or even the pollen or seeds for my cooking, but for the most part, I let the fennel grow “wild” here.
Aside from being edible and beautiful with wisps of anise fragrance wafting through the air, it also happens to be a beneficial plant that functions as a trap crop.
What does it tr...
July 21, 2015
Life in the Slow Lane: 37 States in 48 Days
I’m not good with numbers. But this is what I do know…
I’ve been home for a little over 2 weeks.
I just downloaded 2 memory cards containing 2,655 pictures.
I just transferred 114 pictures from my phone to my computer.
I managed to tick off 37 states in 48 days on The CSA Cookbook Road Trip. That’s 76 percent of the continental US, seen from at least 80 percent back roads, farm roads, ferry routes, state scenic byways, National Scenic Byways, All-American Roads, and National Parkways.
That’s...
July 16, 2015
How to Trim Your Chicken’s Nails
If you never knew a chicken’s nails could grow so long, and if you’ve never seen a grown man cradle a chicken like a baby, well… I’m here to change all that.
While it might sound like I’m being an overly doting chicken-keeper, making sure your chickens’ nails are trim is actually a part of managing a healthy flock. Not only is it good practice to check out your chickens’ feet from time to time (for signs of scaly mites and other ailments), but a quick glance-over can help prevent other injur...
July 14, 2015
Support Local: Where to Buy The CSA Cookbook
(Urban Garden Center in New York City is an inspiring force in their East Harlem community. I’m honored to be standing with the second and third generations of the Gatanas family, who literally built this business from the ground up. The first generation, Mama Gatanas, took this picture for us!)
One of the most rewarding experiences of being an author is meeting the actual people who are selling your book. I think it’s an underrated opportunity, as authors tend to focus on relationships with...
July 10, 2015
Five Things Friday
There’s a strange feeling after you step foot in a garden again after seven weeks away. All the seeds have seemingly sprouted overnight. Plants that were only seedlings are suddenly bearing fruit. The volunteer squash (which came up over winter) is already ripe and curing in the sun.
It’s like seeing a long-lost friend after several years (which is what it feels like in garden time) and though you haven’t interacted since then, you easily fall in stride again.
Coming home to an edible garden...
June 26, 2015
Five Things Friday
I almost can’t believe that we’re over 5 weeks and nearly 10,000 miles in to The CSA Cookbook Road Trip (by the time you read this, we will have hit that 10,000-mile mark on the Lost Coast of California).
When Will and I first set out on this adventure in May, we weren’t sure how we’d feel after all this time on the road… Would we miss our bed? Tire of driving? Yearn for a little routine in our schedule? But now that we’re in the final stretch with less than a week of travel left, we can hone...
