Tutorial: Garlic & Thyme Infused Olive Oil

Although this blog focuses mostly on the craftiness aspect of my mom, it hasn't mentioned her cooking skills! She's a whiz in the kitchen, and always makes the best tasting food. Hopefully those skills will rub off on me one of these days!

One of her secrets to making great meat dishes is using her garlic infused olive oil. She makes this herself, and it adds just little extra flavor for chicken and steak dishes. The process of making your own infused oils is pretty simple!

Step 1: Grow garlic in your garden, dry, and braid to hang in your kitchen. Don't happen to have kind of time? Buy garlic bulbs from the supermarket instead....

Step 2: Assemble your ingredients. You will need:

• 4-5 Garlic Bulbs
• Black Pepper
• Sea Salt
• Olive Oil
• Thyme
• Glass baking dishes, a cutting board, and a sharp knife

Step 3: Cut off the top of the garlic bulbs so that the tops of the cloves are exposed, but the bulb is still intact.

 Step 4: Pour a thin layer of olive oil into the baking pan. Place the cut bulbs into the oil, and pour more oil into the bulb.

 Step 5: Season with black pepper, sea salt, and then pour more olive oil on.

Step 6: Put the baking dishes into the oven, set at 350°F, for 30 minutes. About 15 minutes in, spoon some of the oil in the dish on top of the garlic to keep the garlic moist.

Step 7: After 30 minutes of baking, take the garlic out of the oven, lay the thyme branches on top of the garlic, and add more salt, pepper and oil. Cover the dishes with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in.

Step 8: Bake for another 20 minutes.

Step 9: After the last 20 minutes of baking, take the dishes out to cool. The garlic should be soft - see how the fork easily cuts into the garlic?

Step 10: Wait for the garlic to complete cool down. Peel the garlic cloves out, and put them into your bottle of olive oil. Depending on what we are using the oil for, we either keep the oil in its original store container, or transfer the non-infused oil into a glass serving container. Put as much thyme and garlic into your container of olive oil as you desire - we usually put about 3-5 branches of thyme, and 5-8 cloves of garlic. There is usually left over garlic, which is stored and used for other recipes that call for garlic - it also makes a great spread for toast!

 Step 11: Enjoy!

Have you ever infused your own olive oil? Any tips or secret recipes you would like to share? Please let us know in the comments section!

Tutorial: A Succulent Wreath That Doesn't Suck

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make your own succulent wreath. The great thing about these wreaths is that once they are established, they will last you for years with a very minimal amount of work!

Step 1: Buy a wire wreath. They can be found at most garden centers or craft stores. You want a three dimensional wreath since you will be planting the succulents inside of the bowl of the wreath. Sizing is up to you, but remember that these will become quite heavy once they are finished.

Step 2: Using peat moss, line the inside of the wreath, shaping it as a bowl, leaving the top open. Then fill this moss bowl with planting soil. Once the wreath bowl is full, add a top layer of moss so you have a middle soil area, surrounded by moss, surrounded by wire. A soil sausage, if you will.

Step 3: The most important step! Since your wreath has loose moss and soil in it, you will now need to cover your soil sausage with more wire. You can use just straight wire, or to save some time, you can use sheets of wire - think wire similar to chicken fence. This will keep everything secure.

Step 4: Now you are ready to plant your succulents! What kind of succulents you want to use is up to you, as well as the pattern. Common succulents used are Sedums and Hen-and-Chicken succulents. This is your wreath so use whatever you want! Some people prefer to have a the same kind of plants next to each other, while most people prefer to have a random planting order:

Source

Step 5: Using a pencil or a pair of scissors, dig a hole throw the wire and into the soil. Take your succulent and bury the root into the soil.

Step 6: The second most important step! Using floral pins or craft pins, secure your succulent. This is especially important if you plan on hanging your wreath. This fastens the plant into the soil until the roots take a strong enough hold.

Step 7: Be patient! Give your new living wreath some time to adjust. The roots of the succulents will start to grow, intertwine and fasten to their new surrondings. Slowly let your wreath adjust to the sunlight. Once a week, soak your wreath in a tub of water for about an hour. Use fertilizer sparingly. After soaking, let the wreath drip dry on a plate or sheet. Then hang back up and enjoy! 

These wreaths will last you years to come. My mom is on her 3rd year with hers, while her friend is on to her 5th year. Come back in the spring for a picture step tutorial!

Here's the wreath the day it was made. Three years later and it is going strong!