DIY: Wine box herb garden

Loved this idea from a blog called Apartment Therapy, and thought I would give it a try with my Little from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. Whether you're living in an apartment or just have a really small patio/outdoor area, these wine box herb gardens can add to your outdoor decor and - even more importantly - spice up your cooking!

  



You'll need:


- Wine crates
- Power drill
- Thompson's Water Seal (In a spray can)
- Potting soil
- Herbs - seeds or starter plants

Instructions:

1. To begin with, you'll need to hunt for some wooden boxes that will work for you and the space you're trying to fill. Wine crates are all unique and give your garden a vintage, country feel. I found these 12 bottle crates at Total Wine. They only charged me $4.99 for each!

2. Clean off your crates at home. Remove any price tags, unwanted labels and unruly nails or staples. Take out the separators if your crate came with them.

3. Next, using your power drill and a small drill bit, drill holes for drainage in the bottom of your crates. Space your holes about an inch apart.

 






 4. Wipe down your crates with a damp cloth to remove any saw dust. Make sure the crates are dry, and then apply a heavy coat of Thompson's Water Seal. Allow the crates to dry outside for a full 24 hours.

5. Make sure your crates are set up on a pallet, rack or another crates to allow for proper drainage once your garden is planted.

6. Now it's time to pick and plant your herbs! Head to your local garden center and get some advice from the people there about the herbs you're interesting in and how you should group them. Some herbs need a lot of TLC and others pretty much want to be left alone for the most part. Here's a good guide to getting started with your groupings. 

In our boxes, we chose Rosemary, German Thyme and Oregano for one crate, and Cilantro, Thai Basil and Chive Onions in the other. We also grabbed a Sweet Mint to plant in it's own little pot. The first grouping needs very little water and attention. The second needs a little more care. The important part is to research the herbs and plan accordingly. Most herbs need full sun for at least 6 hours per day.

When planting, also make sure to research how much room they need to grow and thrive within the restrictions of your box garden. It's also a good idea to ask the experts at the garden center for advice on proper drainage and mulching tips.

Choose herbs that you use often in the kitchen. You'll be amazed at how fresh and flavorful herbs from your own garden are and how much they add to your dishes!

Storing garbage bags

I got this wonderful idea from a blog called The Family Handyman. I am always looking for a place to put extra grocery bags to use for later. It's annoying and unsightly to have them hanging on a door or hook that's in the way. When I saw this, I was ecstatic.

You need:

1 empty Kleenex box
4 Damage-free hanging strips (I used Command)
Your grocery bag full of grocery bags






Pretty self-explanatory, but here's what you do:

1. Find a cabinet door to hang your box on. You need one where the box will have enough room and not hit any shelves or anything. A great hidden place is the cabinet under the sink.

2. Stuff all of the grocery bags you've accumulated in the box. If you think it's full, keep going. You can fit a ton in there.

3. Place the hanging strips in the four corners of the back of the box.

4. Press to the inside of the door.

Recipes: Banana Peach Cobbler

Time for an easy apartment/boyfriend-approved dessert to go with our appetizer and dinner recipes! If you're like us, you probably try to eat healthy, and buy fruits and veggies. Unfortunately, the fruit doesn't stick around for long unless you freeze it. Our latest overripe bowl of fruit included a couple of peaches, nectarines and some very questionably mushy bananas.

The peaches gave me an idea: Time for some peach cobbler.

(Fortunately, we also happened to have a half-eaten carton of vanilla ice cream in the freezer, but don't worry... we won't tell anyone if you decide to make a trip to the store to splurge on a new one.)

I decided to be bold and throw the bananas into the mix. The recipe was based on this one from allrecipes.com. We ate cobbler for a week (and no, not just for dessert). Try it and let us know if you enjoyed it as much as we did!


Ingredients:

• 4 peaches/nectarines
• 3 overripe bananas
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced and softened
• 1/4 cup boiling water

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Step 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Step 2. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil on the stove. Blanch your peaches and nectarines by placing them in the boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove them from the heat. Peel, pit and cut them into thin slices. Chop your mushy bananas.

Step 3. Combine the fruit in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lime juice, and cornstarch. Carefully - so as not to make the bananas any mushier, mix with your hands to coat evenly.







Step 4. Spread evenly across the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

Step 5. While that's baking, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in the large mixing bowl to make the topping. Add softened butter and combine with your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

Step 6. Remove baking dish from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over the fruit. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place pieces of sliced, chilled butter in pockets across the topping. Bake until topping is golden, about 25 minutes.









Ta da!