DIY

We all love our gardens and hate the pests. So here are five homemade pesticides that target only the bad bugs in our garden and are benign to all other life.

Roses may bloom in summer, but their rosehips will serve you well past the warm months. These little red gems contain 50% more vitamin C than an orange! Unfortunately, many people don’t seem to know their benefits (or even what a rosehip looks like). While I was out collecting rosehips from local rosebushes (they grow in a park in my neighborhood), people were looking at me like I had five heads. That didn’t stop me though, and it shouldn’t stop you! If you have your own rosebush, or know of local rose bushes, here are 3 ways to use their versatile fruit.

It’s back-to-school time of year, folks! You can see parents fairly skipping round the stores. The pressure is ON! With reports of parents spending upwards of $700 for supplies alone, it’s easy to feel you SHOULD be spending that much. And then there are all the new outfits…

With such excitement in the air we assume our children feel equally enthusiastic about the upcoming months. The truth is, if you have an anxious child, all this is adding to her/his concerns. The pressure IS on. On them.

Veggie Sushi Roll (Vegan)

*Serves 2-4 people

Summer is the perfect time for sushi; with no oven needed, you can stay cool in the kitchen and still create a tasty meal. This recipe will give you the basics to make cut rolls, known as Maki, which is the type of roll that we traditionally think of as “sushi”. You can put anything you like as the filling, but for this recipe I used avocado, cucumber, and carrot. Feel free to experiment with sauces, too! Mixing Sriracha with some vegan mayo creates an excellent spicy topping or dipping sauce.

Reducing waste and damage to the surrounding are is something that we've been talking about a lot recently here at Basmati.com, and something that is becoming increasingly important. In order to minimize my environmental impact, I've started to use some alternatives to the everyday household cleaners we use that are safe for the environment.