Amazon has a new frontier it’s looking to tackle: your garden. The tech company recently received a patent for a new service that would let users upload photos of their vegetable gardens then receive a variety of recommendations from Amazon including recipes for the specific veggies they’ve planted, gardening tools they might need, and even…
You’re working away when that midday slump hits and you’re grateful for the stash of snacks you keep stowed away in your desk drawer. You nosh away, but then, bam! You’re hungry again an hour or two later and you’re contemplating another snack, plus what you’ll have for dinner. What gives? Well, certain foods can make us…
Avocados aren’t just for guacamole and avocado toast. You can go beyond savory recipes and feature the nutrient-packed fruit in sweet treats, too. From cookies to truffles to ice cream sandwiches, avocados are the perfect healthy fat for all your favorite desserts. Over 75% of the fat in avocados is unsaturated fat in the form…
From the beginning of November to the end of January, our schedules take on the hefty holiday burden. Dinners, celebrations, shopping, new resolutions, travel, family, and friends fill up the remaining vacancies on our schedules, and next thing we know…it’s February! With the cold weather, gardeners who aren’t raising a winter garden often put their…
Kitchen gardens have been around since people first decided to grow plants for their use rather than simply gathering them from the wild. It’s the ultimate in practical gardening—growing fruits, veggies, herbs, and edible flowers right outside the kitchen door. Step outside, harvest the freshest and most flavorful produce, then cook and serve. What could be easier…
Go hiking, then come home and write the Great American Novel? Spending two days hiking in the Tetons might not turn you into William Faulkner, but research published in PLoS One suggests that a few days in a national park may make you more creative in other ways. The study followed 56 hikers on a…
I come from a long line of thrifty Yankees. One of our holiday traditions was the “brown ribbon.” Some decades earlier, an uncle had received a package trimmed with the most hideous ribbon anyone in the family had ever seen, made of dark brown gauze with gold threads running through it. The following year the…
Photo calendars and picture mugs were exciting ways to personalize gifts…about twenty years ago. But as the world becomes more digital, most of us put off printing even a handful of the thousands of photos stockpiled on our phones and digital cameras. That’s where your thoughtful present comes in, you skilled gift-giver. Meaningful photo art…
Just being outside, whether you’re gardening, exercising, or simply taking a stroll, is a great mood booster. But getting your hands dirty in a garden is so effective at combating depression that it’s often used in “horticultural therapy” at psychiatric hospitals. If you feel like your energy levels are dropping or you’re just too stressed…
Although the world in winter is mostly devoid of flowers there is still all sorts of color to be found: berries are bright in shades of orange and red, cones and seed heads turn rich browns as they ripen, and evergreens display the kaleidoscopic possibilities of green. Find, forage, and bring these plants inside for…