Flavored Salts Can Enhance Your Kitchen Creations

Flavored salts can add a new dimension to your food, adding punch and spice, zest and depth to boost the flavor of a dish. From the ingredients you use to the foods you choose to season, flavored salts are wide open to your imagination. They are easy to make for yourself or as edible gifts for friends. Start with a flaky or coarse salt. Add herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables or condiments to give you a quick and unique way to season most anything. Take inspiration from the bounty of your garden and use flavored salts on meats, seafood, eggs, vegetables, cheese, even desserts!  Use as a finishing touch on soups or salads or as a topping for popcorn or roasted vegetables. Make your own celery or garlic salt, or try something more exotic like sriracha lime salt on French fries, mushroom salt on buttered pasta and herb citrus salt on chicken or fish.

Coarser, flakier salts are preferable for their texture and appearance when used as a finishing salt. The larger grains aren’t overpowered by the flavor you are incorporating. Try kosher salt, Maldon salt, coarse sea salt or fleur de sel. If all you have is regular table salt, you can use that with a higher proportion of flavorings (increase by a teaspoon or two).

You can flavor salts with wet or dry ingredients. When using dry flavorings you simply mix and store. When using wet flavorings you need to dry the mixture before storing. Read more Flavored Salts Can Enhance Your Kitchen Creations

5 Garden Watering Tips

It is nearly impossible to have a successful garden without watering. There may be times when the perfect amount of rain falls, but nearly every growing season brings a stretch of hot and dry days when garden irrigation is essential.

Under drought stress, plants may produce small fruit, such as undersized tomatoes or melons, or they may produce no fruit at all. They may become tough, fibrous, or bitter, as with cabbage and turnips. They may bolt, sending up a flower stalk and stopping growth, as with lettuce and spinach. Or they may wilt and die. For the best and tastiest yield, it is important to pay attention to the watering needs of your plants.

But watering is a no-brainer, right? You simply follow common watering rules like “gardens need 1 inch of water per week” or “water once or twice a week“… that works, doesn’t it?  Well, the truth is, when it comes to watering there are no hard and fast rules that apply in all situations.

Here are some factors to consider when deciding when to water:

Read more 5 Garden Watering Tips