To be completely honest, the hardest part for me so far has not been the “growing” part…it has been selecting the right pots to grow my garden in. Because these pots are on my balcony right outside my living room and dining room through a giant glass sliding door, I couldn’t choose just any old pot that would get the job done. Aesthetically, the pots had to flow with the rest of my apartment. I wanted some that were eclectic, modern, and slightly rustic (if that makes any sense). I went to several nurseries and found a few options that I really liked, but my pocketbook didn’t like them so much. Who knew cool, modern garden pots were such an investment?! I surely didn’t!
To make a long and probably uninteresting story to most short, I decided on two large galvanized steel tubs that I found at Osh for twenty bucks. Score! Since you must have drainage in pots for gardening, I took my tubs from Osh to a local nursery and politely asked if they would drill holes in the bottom for drainage. They obliged. I then found a great wooden bench at the Rosebowl Flea Market and decided to use it to raise the pots high enough so they would get enough sun during the day. My mission was finally complete!
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| The finished product. I actually had the blue pot already on hand and it happened to fit the tomatoes perfectly. |
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| Basil |
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| Mint |
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| Cilantro |
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| Rosemary |
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| Tomatoes |
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| These little yellow flowers will soon turn into tomatoes! |
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| Lavender-smells so good |
All in all, I’ve had a lot of fun with my little garden. I actually get excited to go out and water my plants. It’s incredible how fast my tomatoes have grown. I went away for a weekend, came back, and they were huge! Hey, if I can start a little garden, anyone can!
On another note, here’s a great salad recipe I love to make. It’s great because it’s a salad that actually keeps in your fridge. It doesn’t get soggy and go bad after one day! Hallelujah!
My Favorite Cous Cous Salad
Serves 4-5
1/2 cup boiling water
1 ¼ cup dry cous cous (I like to use whole wheat cous cous)
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped finely
2 ½ tablespoons fresh mint, chopped finely
1/2 of a red onion finely diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 an orange bell pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt
juice from half a lemon
Add cous cous, olive oil and lemon juice to boiling water. Remove from heat, stir well, and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes then lightly fluff cous cous and transfer to a large salad bowl.
Add salt, parsley, mint, red onion, green and orange bell peppers to cous cous and toss well. Place in refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Right before serving when salad is chilled, add tomatoes, feta cheese and squeeze juice from half of a lemon on top. Toss well and serve!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
R
