Pairing Pantry Staples for Quick Easy Meals

 I’m HUNGRY.... I need a snack!  Is it lunchtime?  What’s for dinner? How often have we heard these things? Once hunger hits, we want to eat right away, and it’s not always easy to make the healthiest choices. The key to healthy meals is to keep common pantry items that pair well together. You know how some things just go together?  Think peanut butter...

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Making a bownjo - experimental DIY bowed instrument using a drum as a body

 Tools and materials I propose:Mini drumDrill pressCordless drillBandsawForstner bit setChisel setBlock planeFlat fileFlexcut starter carving setWood burnerRound fileSpoke shaveCabinet scrapers setRotary toolMask RespiratorIn this video I make a bowed instrument that uses a small drum as a body and has a basswood neck. You can find similar instruments in several cultures...

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How to Build a Casserole

Looking for a new and healthy meal for the whole family?  Of course you are!  This is always the challenge.  Let’s talk about casseroles for a minute.  Unfortunately, casseroles have gotten a bad rap over the years and have been used as a last resort when meal planning.  Let’s bring back the casserole as an easy go-to option in your home.  With...

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Making a decorative wooden button out of mulberry and epoxy resin

 Tools and materials I propose:LatheWood turning tools setChuck kitVacuum chamber kitBuffing kitAxeBandsawForstner bit setCordless drillMicro mesh sanding padsIn this video I make decorative wooden button out of epoxy resin and mulberry wood. It's diameter is about 12cm.I begun by splitting a piece of mulberry into stripes using an axe. I then chose the pieces I...

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Butterfly Gardening and How to Get Them into Your Garden

 BUTTERFLY GARDENINGPart 1: First Things First-what plants and how do they know which to land on?Are you bemoaning the lack of butterflies in your garden?Would you love to have more butterflies visit your garden, no matter how small or big it is? Did you know that butterflies look for specific food plants or that they have a preferred temperature to flit about in?The...

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La Niña and the Kitchen Garden

 THE KITCHEN GARDENLa Niña and your produce gardenTorrential rain is lashing the east coast of Australia as a write this while the west coast of enjoys a hot spell. Without sounding too dramatic, we’re starting off the kitchen garden segment with a topic about how the changing weather patterns are affecting the vegetable garden. At the moment Australia is in the...

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Tonka Bean Flavour Is Great in Cooking

 SPICE IT UPTonka BeanIf you have thought that vanilla was a flavour all on its own, you would be wrong. Here is another bean that not only qualifies as a substitute for vanilla, but also for nutmeg.Common Name: Tonka Bean, sometimes known as Brazilian teak.Scientific Name: Dipteryx odorataFamily: FabaceaeFruit:The highly fragrant bean from a flowering tree...

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Everything From Billy Buttons, Everlastings, Flannel Flowers and Kangaroo Paws

PLANT OF THE WEEKSome plants you just love their flowers, some just have fabulous leaves, but here’s a plant, even though on the small side, packs a punch with bright golden flowers and grey leaves that would fit into any style garden.Scientific name:Craspedia globosus syn. PycnosorusCommon name:Billy buttons, drumsticks.Flowers:  golden-yellow tennis ball like spheres...

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Woodturning the "fire drop" out of briar root

 Tools and materials I propose:LatheWood turning tools setChuck kitVacuum chamber kitBuffing kitForedom Woodcarving KitFlat fileFlat raspI made this out of a piece of briar root. I filled the cracks with black epoxy resin and then  I turned it on the lathe. I made the base out of beech. I really want to thank my friend and awesome craftsman and turner Fotis Kalovedouris...

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