Author Archives: Victoria Dunmire

Summer Garden Series: Jalapeños

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Spicy, delicious jalapeños are the focus of my latest post in the Summer Garden Series, and they go perfectly with the Guacamole recipe I shared in my post about growing cilantro in a container.

Last year, the jalapeños from my container garden were the hottest I’d ever had. So, naturally, I decided to plant even more this year! In addition to being a wonderful way to add both heat and flavor to lots of dishes, I’ve found jalapeños very easy to grow in my balcony garden with great results. Continue reading →

Basil Lemonade Cocktail Recipe

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What to do with lots of fresh basil from the garden this summer? Use it to make a delicious cocktail, of course! Basil-lemonade is a flavor combination I’ve seen popping up all over the place recently, but I’ve been making this concoction for over a year already and it’s delicious.

While this drink includes standard items like fresh lemons, club soda, and fresh basil, it also includes an ingredient that makes it unique and gives it even more flavor: basil-infused simple syrup. Continue reading →

Summer Garden Series: Basil (And How to Make Caprese Salad)

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This is the latest post in my summer garden series that will focus on growing, harvesting, and drying basil, and on various uses for the herb.

Basil is one of my favorite herbs and has been easy for me to grow on my balcony garden for the past two seasons. Fresh basil is an incredibly useful ingredient in many foods, as well as in household items like homemade soaps.  Continue reading →

I Cook; Therefore I Don’t Watch (Much) TV

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I haven’t had cable TV for more than three years, and I recently cancelled my basic TV subscription. There are several reasons for this – one of them being that it’s all just too expensive as a result of not enough competition among cable companies. 

While this has always infuriated me, I also admit that I don’t watch that much TV…anymore. But I used to watch a lot of TV, and I still love it as a diversion and a source of entertainment. A recent article I read on how many hours people spend watching TV each day (FIVE hours on average) got me thinking about all the things people could be doing with that time instead, especially when they’re complaining that they don’t have time to cook, exercise, grocery shop, etc…. Continue reading →

Summer Garden Series: Cilantro (And a Guacamole Recipe!)

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Cilantro, the latest post in my summer garden series, is the classic topping for just about all Mexican food  – tacos, enchiladas, refried beans, salads, quesadillas. They all seem to taste just a bit more vibrant with this herb sprinkled on. 

Cilantro isn’t just found on Mexican food, though. It’s grown in Europe, North Africa, and Southwestern Asia, making a frequent appearance in a variety of cuisines. Though we call the leaves cilantro, the seed is actually coriander and this is the most common term for the plant. Continue reading →

The Life of a Millennial: How the Economy, Politics, and Money Have Changed Me

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I’ve recently read some interesting articles about Millennials – it seems, while there are still the nasty articles that talk with certainty we will never amount to anything, more and more people are talking about the real issues we face and how it’s changing us. For me and many of my friends, we are becoming more alike to our grandparents than our own parents – despite still being extremely close with our parents.

Additionally, we are increasingly cynical about politics and economics – this NYT article points to a variety of issues and concerns that are leading many of us away from either political party. It was an article in Alternet, though, that inspired me to write a bit more about my generation and how we’re doing, because I didn’t think it went quite far enough. Continue reading →

Summer Garden Series: Lemon Thyme

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Not just thyme, lemon thyme! One of my best friends gave me some from her garden last year, and this was one of my first plants in my first garden last season. I’m very attached to this plant for that reason – it’s been with me for awhile now! While I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to make use of it, I’ve now discovered several uses and benefits of this tasty herb. Continue reading →