I learned a little about wild bee hotels the past few days and decided it would be a nice winter project to make one for later installation in spring. My personal little “green hell” is presumably already pretty suitable for bees, but I like the idea of supporting the little fellows a bit – also against the (only just a little selfish 🙂 ) background of facilitating the pollination of my veggie plants.
Pan-Sauteed Spinach
It’s the notorious predicament of cooking spinach: You end up with a result that is a mere fraction of what you put in 🙂
Nonetheless, it’s a delicious and healthy side while very simple to make. Here’s how:
Farcydes Top 5 Recipes 2023
These are the dishes I liked best in 2023 and/or that I repeated most often. I’d appreciate if you give them a try, enjoy and let me know how they worked out for you!
Hilde Went Over the Rainbow Bridge Yesterday
My pretty, little, good girl Hilde died from a colic yesterday 🙁 She was one of the “senior staff” in the flock and the real leaderess of the pack. She gifted us many delicious eggs, always lively and cheerful.
Unfortunately, most sick animals won’t let you recognize any symptoms or weaknesses until it’s far too late, so we might not have reacted in good time. Sickness, winter and humid cold seem to have tipped her over the edge. Although we kept her warm and cozy close to the radiator in our living room, and – following the vet’s recommendation – giving her vitamins and concentrated food, she finally didn’t make it.
Poor little Hilde, I hope she lived her best chicken life in my backyard chicken’s playground.
Farcydes Favourite No-Sweat Dinners
When you just can’t be arsed into making another fancy and elaborate dinner on a busy weekday evening. I enjoy preparing the eight proven and trustworthy dishes below every now and then as staples that I don’t even have to look up anymore. They’re simple, use mostly pantry items and are thrown together in almost no-time. Plus, they’re delicious and filling, so give them a try and enjoy!
Skyrim Imperial Mulled Wine
Another shamelessly copied recipe from the official Elder Scrolls Cookbook (more precisely: Bethesda’s™ iconic Skyrim computer game from 2011). Since winter kicks our asses hard these days, this recipe seemed like a perfect match. Quote from the book:
“Many Imperials have found Skyrim’s climate difficult to bear, so when one enterprising garrison cook whipped up this hot drink to help ward off the northern chill, it quickly gained popularity across the region and beyond. It makes use of a few Imperial ingredients that must be imported, but its warming qualities are well worth the extra expense.”
Super Easy Asian-Inspired Chicken Thighs from the Oven
I had leftover uncooked chicken thighs – this doesn’t happen very often in my household 🙂 We were both hungry and we were both looking for an easy lunch. So here’s what I came up with: A simple, no fuzz chicken dish with an asian touch.
One thing that I have learned, though (by an earlier mistake, LOL): If you have a convection oven, don’t use it. Set your oven to 200 °C (390 °F) above-and-below heat only. Your chicken will come out much more tender and much less dry! I served this with rice, drizzled with the liquid from the roasting pan and sprinkled with some spring onion and sesame seeds.
Homemade Garden Weed Killer Spray Recipe
I made this weed killer spray in summer this year, applied it amply and didn’t have any issues with weeds anymore until now. It’s a simple mixture from household ingredients but indeed very effective and convenient. Mix in an ordinary spray bottle (though I, personally, prefer the pump type, like this):
