San Diego Master Food Preservers Teaching How to Make the Most of Seasonal Produce

You’ve probably heard of master gardeners, the volunteers with horticultural training offered by universities who then go out into their communities, offering lectures, helping to create gardens, and answering home gardening questions.

Well, now in San Diego we also have master food preservers. They, too, undergo extensive training and then serve the public. Their instruction can bring a whole new level of opportunities for making the most of a good harvest or enjoying seasonal produce year round. And it can give home cooks who have been canning curious the confidence to tackle it safely. Learn more about these well-trained instructors and get some recipes in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section.

Get in Gear with Garage Organization

Maybe you can relate: Do you have a two-car garage with room for only one car due to clutter? Use the garage as random overflow space for everything from luggage and sports equipment to furnishings from your first apartment that you just can’t quit? Baby clothes your first grader long ago outgrew but that you can’t bear to part with?

Is it all “stored” haphazardly, against the walls, shoved into bags, or just loosely boxed and stacked wherever you can find an inch of space? Come to think of it, do you even have room for one car?

If this describes the state of your garage, maybe you need to take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, and reclaim your garage. I spoke with two local professional organizers and got great tips for my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section for how to approach organizing a garage and actual steps for doing it. You need this!

Decorating with Fauxliage

No light? No time? No green thumb? No problem. As captivating as nature is, not everyone is a gardener or has the best environment for raising plants. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have greenery around. “Replica plants” have been around for centuries—think silk flowers—but most are now made of plastic and can surprise you with how lifelike they look. I connected with Jim Mumford of Good Earth (the guy who creates living plant walls) to learn about this intriguing additional product line he’s got, along with moss walls. There are so many reasons these may appeal to homeowners. Read about them in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section.

Cooking in a New World

I have fallen hard for the MAKE Projects Cafe in North Park. It has a quiet energy that comes from refugee and immigrant women focused on learning how to cook unfamiliar dishes, to work in restaurants or catering, and even how to apply for and interview for a job. Not to mention learn English. The cafe’s chef instructors have made a point of incorporating dishes that are part of their students’ culture into the menu—and mixing it all up a bit. So you have tacos that combine Mexican tortillas with an Afghan marinade for chicken, a Haitian pickle, and African hot sauce. And then there are the fabulous Somali Red Lentils served with focaccia. The recipes for all of these accompany my new story in The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section.

Planning a Remodel Project? Maybe You Should Attend a Workshop.

Given how complex and expensive a home remodeling project is, maybe it’s a good idea to attend a free design workshop or seminar hosted by designers and design build organizations. These workshops and seminars can create the opportunity to learn some of the nitty-gritty as well as meet potential vendors before you start spending money. I talked with design experts about the workshops they offer and got plenty of tips for people considering a remodeling project. Take a read in my latest story in The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section.

Find Your Airbnb Design Chops with These Tips

As a prime tourist destination, San Diego is, of course, home to thousands of Airbnbs. But what does it take to effectively design a short-term rental that will make it appealing, even Instagramable, to guests and cost effective for hosts? I spoke to a long-time Airbnb owner and an interior designer who specializes in designing these short-term rentals and they’ve offered tons of brilliant insights for my newly published story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section.