Home and Garden

Making and bottling your own wine is a dream to many people – myself included.  It’s fun, surprisingly inexpensive, and doesn’t require very much time or general effort.  In fact, getting started in making wine doesn’t even require purchasing books or learning a vast amount of information.  A quick look at a few blogs, printing off some general information, and ordering your own wine making kit is pretty much all your going to need to make your own wine.

But what about storing wine after you’ve bottled it?

This is a question that I get asked with a surprisingly high degree of frequency, which is why I’ve begun going into more in depth detail on the mechanics of it.  It’s as simple as everything else, you just need to know what it is that you are doing.

• Basements work great.  I keep my wine bottles stored in my basement, against a wall that doesn’t have any light.  This is essential to keeping the wine in its best possible shape, since any light that gets on to the bottles for a long period of time will inevitably have negative repercussions.  Light exposure is one of the worst things you can do to a bottle of wine.
• Temperature control is critical to the quality and longevity of your wine bottles.  You don’t want it in a basement that gets really cold in the winter, and gets really hot in the summer.  In fact, you want to keep the general temperature as consistent as humanly possible.  I worry less about this than light – so remember that.  Keeping your wine in a dark place is more important than making sure the temperature never changes.  But any temperature fluctuations will have a detrimental affect on the finished product.
• Are your bottles airtight?  Are you a hundred percent positive?  Bottling and corking your wine is a fun and pretty easy part of the process, but making sure that you aren’t overfilling the wine bottles is important if you want them to age well.  And if you are corking at home, making sure that you are using a good corker is important.  These can be rented from a lot of wineries and wine equipment shops, so if you don’t want to shell out several hundred dollars on a good one its pretty easy to get one for your uses anyway.  I highly recommend this over buying a cheap one that may do a ‘decent’ job.  That ‘decent’ job very well may impact the longevity of bottles of wine that you have put time and effort into.  There’s nothing worse than fermenting a hundred bottles of red wine and finding out that eighty of them went bad before you could enjoy them or give them to friends just because you skimped on the wine bottle corker.  Go rent one.  You’ll thank me later.

On my blog www.winestainedfeet.com I talk about the importance of wine storage a lot, I even detail wine storing compartments and other higher tech gadgets that you can invest in when you have the money.  They aren’t necessary right out the gate, but are worthwhile investments when your home wine making hobby has moved up to the next level.

Sooner or later we all find ourselves giving gifts to the individuals that we really care about. The holiday season and birthdays are typical occasions for giving but then again it may be to say thank you or that we care. So then, who hasn’t struggled to think of a fantastic present? For many groups of people it is really difficult to think up a fitting gift, one that will delight. Thankfully shopping for presents for home gardeners can be straightforward and there are lots of very good gift items to choose from. The challenge with some gardening gifts is to avoid buying the old favorite presents again and again. Now it is the time to get more original with your ideas and think a little.

Most of us would like the presents we buy to be liked, treasured and most of all remembered. With a bit of extra thought you could come up with a suitable gift idea for your special gardening friend or relative. Every so often we hit on a great gardening gift idea. To broaden your search why not think of garden related products. Things that can be used to relax in the garden may be great gift for a gardener or garden lover. After all gardeners spend lots of time outdoors, so think of ideas to make their time more comfortable or perhaps productive.

Here are a few products that folks first consider when purchasing a gift for the gardener:

Gardening Books – can be a great idea although a little pedestrian. The answer to make this idea interesting would be to choose a subject they are already keen on or something completely new to them which they have never tried.
Plants – try for something a little different, it could be a particular orchid or perhaps some sort of plant they are really less likely to have grown before.
Gardening Tools and Equipment – a bit of an old favorite here. Add some interest with some thing a bit quirky or the latest product. Try a digital weather station for something different!

Products for Garden Users

Almost all home gardeners are usually garden fans at the same time, devoting considerable time in their gardens possibly doing work but also unwinding. This will give you the opportunity to select a useful gift that is garden linked one way or another – you need to use your imagination here. Maybe a hammock bed for relaxing after a long day or perhaps some great new barbeque equipment. Artistic garden lights or perhaps a piece of outside sculpture might be fantastic gift ideas and will surely remind them of yourself when they have them within their garden.

Whenever you start to consider garden related items the number of gift ideas can increase considerably, not simply the dull old gardening gift ideas which have been rolled out previously with very little creative thinking. A truly successful gift idea for a garden enthusiast needs to impress and inspire, but if you can make it memorable then you’ve succeeded with a fantastic gift.

Recipes from relatives and all the magazines that you scour – are yours all over the place? If you’re anything like me, your plan is try all of them one day, but doesn’t your pile just keep growing? It can be hard to let them go though, I know, I’ve been there. Sometimes however, it can pay to have a quick flick through them. Some I wonder why I ever kept in the first place.

So grab your pile now and start weeding out those that will never really be tried. While you’re at it, get them a bit more organized. Perhaps order them by course or by main ingredient; anyway that makes sense to you.

Organizing recipes – or anything else – starts, with eliminating the clutter. If you have too many recipes to get through now in one go, set aside 10 minutes per day or a couple of evenings to get your recipes in some sort of shape where you might actually use them.

If you need some help with which ones to toss in the trash:

• Check the prep time – are you really going to spend 2 hours making an evening meal?
• Look at the ingredients. If more than one family member can’t stand them, get rid of the recipe. No one wants to slave away in the kitchen preparing something that won’t get eaten.
• Is the estimated cost of ingredients ridiculously high, like more than going out to eat? If so, why bother.

When you’re left with those that are sure you will get round to trying, store them somewhere nice, perhaps a book, box or drawer. When they have been tried and passed muster, copy them onto recipe or index cards and store them in a recipe box – the cuter the better. Ones that aren’t so great after all can be thrown away with the leftovers.

Ok, now for those recipes from Grandma and other important women…those you most likely won’t be throwing away. Well, if they include rhubarb or gooseberries, feel free to toss! But for those that don’t you need to give them the place of honor and respect in your kitchen they deserve. There are a few good ways to do this…

• Put the originals in photo-safe page protectors in a binder for quick and easy use.
• Tuck the originals away for safe-keeping to be handed down to the next generation after copying them onto recipe cards.
• Scan them onto a disc to be used on the computer or printed off in book form to create your own family cookbook. By the way, this makes a great gift for family members or to be sold at family reunions to help pay for reunion expenses.

Some other methods for keeping your recipes organized include transferring them to electronic format on your computer or online (check out http://getsetorganize.com/ for more information on this) or recording them in a blank cookbook (kind of like a journal). You’ll have an inkling of what will work best for you, so be inspired and make it happen.

The subtle yet recognizable taste of freshly roasted garlic is one that goes amazingly with a huge number of entrees, side dishes and snacks. The actual process of roasting the garlic might seem tricky at first, but any food lover will soon realize that there are plenty of ways to roast a fresh garlic bulb with ease. Since roasted garlic cloves become very soft compared to a raw bulb of garlic, you can easily turn the cloves themselves into a paste or sauce that can be spread or poured on top of steak, salad, fish and tons of other meals – continue reading if you are interested in making your own roasted garlic and using it with the best meals to create all sorts of intriguing flavors.

Roasting Garlic at Home

Roasting your own garlic at home is simple enough, but you will need to know a few things if you want to ensure that it comes out a success. You will need oil in order for the cloves to cook evenly, and you don’t even have to worry about taking the cloves out of the bulb until after cooking if you use the oven.

Roasted Garlic in the Oven

If you take an entire clove of garlic and cut the tops off of each clove (without actually removing the cloves from their peel) you can drip olive oil into the openings you have made and cook the whole bulb with great results. You will want a very sharp and, preferably, small knife to cut the tops off of the cloves without having to remove them, and you will want to lightly wrap or cover the bulb with tin foil before placing into a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

On the Grill

It’s a bit tough to cook an entire bulb on a grill because of the hotter temperatures and less control, but you can certainly take the cloves out and wrap them all up in foil for a great side dish of roasted garlic cloves. Sprinkle olive oil over all of the cloves, and wrap two layers of tin foil around the cloves – you will want to place them over a medium heat area of the grill, but be sure to keep the tin foil out of direct contact with fire as it may begin to melt. After about 20 minutes of solid cooking, you can unwrap the tin foil to reveal some deliciously roasted garlic cloves ready to be popped out of their peels and eaten.

Smashing roasted cloves down to a paste is a great way to preserve the flavor and use it to marinade or season a number of different dishes. Some roasted garlic paste goes great on a roasting steak, and you might also want to consider mixing the roasted garlic with butter for an amazing dip that can be used with crab, shrimp or just about any seafood dish. This butter garlic mixture can be put in the freezer for months at a time without losing it’s flavor, and it is also great to spread on bread for some delicious garlic bread in just a few minutes.

After living in a converted basement studio apartment for the last year, I’ve learned a thing or two about making the most of a small kitchen. In fact, I don’t even have a proper kitchen in this space, just a microwave, hot place, and mini fridge. But it’s taught me how to look at normal kitchens and apply the lessons I’ve learned to maximize space efficiently. Below I want to share with you my thoughts on how to make the most of your small kitchen space.

Combine, merge, and purge appliances.
Many kitchens have become a graveyard for unused kitchen appliances. We buy them with high hopes of how much we’ll use them, only to use it a couple times before moving on the next. If you want to make the most of your small kitchen space, it is absolutely critical to combine, merge, and purge your kitchen appliances. I suggest getting rid of anything you’ve not used in the last 2 months first. This alone will get rid of probably half your appliances! Then look at clever “combo” appliances that have a two in one function. For instance, we have a toaster oven that can heat up to 400 degrees. This means we can get away without having the traditional large oven that takes up a huge portion of most peoples kitchen. Another trick is to get a juicer that also doubles as a food processor. You’ll want to get the best food processor juicer combo available if you do this. In fact, when buying smaller, more efficient, and dual use appliances in general you will do better in the long run to spend more money on something that will last for years to come than something small and cheap that will break down quickly.

Liberate the back yard grill.
Do you have a grill? Ok. Next question. Do you use your grill? If you have a small kitchen, you might find it not only efficient but fun to get in the habit of grilling outdoors when the weather permits. You get the benefit of having grilled food without making a mess of your kitchen or even needing to be in your kitchen.

On the other hand, if you have a grill and don’t use it, I’m going to suggest you do what only makes sense: get rid of it!

Use the Back of the Pantry Door.
Small items such as vitamins and spices should be kept out of sight and one of the easiest ways to find them in a home is to buy a hanging storage panel for the back of the pantry door, cabinet door, etc. The more items you can store this way, the better.

Use Attachable Storage Under the Cabinets.
Using attachable storage that fastens itself to your kitchen cabinets does two things for space. One, it gives you a small area for storage but two, it helps keeps those same items from otherwise permanently residing on the counter. When it comes to a kitchen with minimal counter space, everything you do should assist in keeping that counter space free and open. Clean counterspace gives you a place to prepare foods and it also simply makes the room feel more open and larger than it actually is.

These tips are based on my own experience in managing smaller living space. Some of them might seem a bit extreme – especially if you have a huge kitchen and aren’t really worried about saving space. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with making the most of your kitchen with limited space.

This post lists some of the most popular furniture pieces that have been rigorously tested through extensive pre-market tests. The Posture Premier Twin-size Mattress, Vermont Five Shelf Shoe Cabinet, and Metro Full Brown Faux Leather Bed are designed with neutral hues which allows them to blend perfectly with most bedroom settings. Each piece is built by innovative companies dedicated to releasing new-generation wood, aluminum, and contemporary master bedroom furniture. They are built to last and so that you can enjoy them for years of use.

Posture Premier Twin-Size Mattress

The Posture Premier Twin-Size Mattress is built with a unique innerspring support that ensures it doesn’t sag or bend through the years. It includes an ultra soft quilted top layer with complimentary cotton material to ensure you get a soothing sleep each night. The attractive damask print is designed in a floral style to enhance the blandest bedroom settings. Posture Premier is a leading brand that has built several award winning mattresses for ensuring you get the best sleep each and every night.

Vermont Five Shelf Shoe Cabinet

This exceptional storage cabinet is a perfect piece for storing all your shoes in one neat location. It is crafted with only the finest medium-density wood that is breathable to ensure no moisture gets trapped within. Choose between dark coffee brown or beech depending on your unique individualized tastes. The Vermont Five Shelf Shoe Cabinet includes five deep-space shelves that will hold up to 20 pairs of shoes and a generously large upper storage area for extra storage. This superior modular bedroom furniture piece would be an excellent addition for any closet or living room.

Metro Full Brown Faux Leather Bed

The Metro Full Brown Faux Leather Bed does not require a box spring as it can be used as a durable stand alone unit. The dark brown upholstery color contrasts with the richness of the espresso perfectly. Unique center legs add extra support to ensure this bed won’t bend or sag over time. The Metro Faux Leather Bed includes an attractive faux leather upholstery to add a heightened sophistication to your bedroom. The rich espresso hue instantly improves the look of your home giving you the style you desire and deserve.

We hope this article helps you narrow down the wide array of options so that you can save time searching for the right bedroom furniture. Each of the pieces are all proven additions to your home and will uplift and enhance your existing style. Don’t be discouraged by the slightly higher prices for these pieces as their high quality makes them worth it. Many manufacturers price their products higher to try to trick customers into thinking that they are built with quality materials; however, upon closer inspection, you will notice that they are built poorly and won’t last long. The pieces in this post are all designed to last so that you won’t have to run out and buy a new piece after a couple years because the old one has broken down. Try them in your own bedroom and you will be impressed with your home’s new beauty and comfort.