Author: lauren.jo.speed
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My First Gardyn Harvest: Tokyo Bekana Lettuce
Forty-six days ago, I set up my Gardyn — a hydroponic garden system that grows up to 30 plants at a time and is automated by an AI assistant named Kelby — and yesterday I had my first harvest. I started with the Salad Lovers bundle of seeds that came with the garden, so I’m…
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White Bean Salad with Arugula Pesto
Is it just me, or are beans having a big moment right now? I know the world has been on a dense bean salad kick for a while, but all of a sudden there’s an entire corner of TikTok dedicated to beans — lovingly referred to as “beantok.” I guess that means beans have officially…
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Arugula Pesto Recipe (Can It Pesto? Series)
Pesto doesn’t always have to be about basil — in fact, with the right combination of ingredients, you can turn almost anything green (and maybe even a few things that aren’t) into a version of pesto. In this series, I’ll be testing all kinds of ingredients in pesto form to see: can it pesto? Or…
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5 Peppers I Grow Every Year for Homemade Hot Sauce (and more!)
I am by no means a pro gardener. For the last three years, I’ve mostly been winging it and doing cartwheels over every successful harvest. I got into gardening because I love to cook, and peppers and tomatoes are some of my favorite ingredients to work with in the kitchen. Hot peppers have been my…
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Homemade Tabasco Sauce
Making homemade Tabasco sauce is easier than you might think. This simple homemade hot sauce recipe uses just a few ingredients and minimal effort, yet adds bold flavor to eggs, seafood, and Bloody Marys right at home. The hardest part is gathering enough tiny Tabasco peppers to make the sauce—one cup equals about 80–100 peppers,…
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Gardyn 30 Day Update
After a full year of contemplating whether a Gardyn growing system was worth the investment, I finally took the plunge. I snagged mine during the Thanksgiving sale and had it set up the very next day, starting my seeds right away. Now that I’ve officially hit the 30-day mark, I’m sharing an honest update on…
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Italian Sandwich with Burrata
This Italian Sandwich with Burrata is seriously flavorful and so delicious. The creamy burrata, salty Italian meats, and spicy Calabrian chiles come together with the other toppings to create a sandwich that’s a total explosion of flavor. To really understand how to best enjoy a sandwich like this, I need to introduce you to the…
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Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
If you’re not making your own salad dressings, you’re missing out. Homemade salad dressings are easy to make, often better for you than store-bought, and can be adjusted to suit your taste. Once you master the basics of a vinaigrette, it’s easy to riff and create endless variations and flavors. I love this blue cheese…
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6 Cookbooks to gift everyone in your life
Somewhere along the way, my three siblings and I grew into adults who are all equally obsessed with food—and increasingly invested in learning how to cook it well. A few Christmases ago, that shared passion revealed itself in the best possible way: we exchanged gifts and ended up with what we now lovingly call a…
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Family Eggnog Recipe
Eggnog seems to be a somewhat polarizing holiday tradition. People either love it—waiting in line to get it in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and drinking as much as possible throughout the season—or they absolutely can’t stand the stuff. I have to admit, until I met my husband, I didn’t think much about eggnog…