This Week in My Garden, Kitchen & Home — January 18th to 24th, 2026
This Week in My Garden, Kitchen & Home — January 18th to 24th, 2026
A cozy weekly recap from my garden beds, kitchen projects, and homemaking.
🌱In the Garden
- Planted: On Tuesday, I started seeds for the tomatoes and peppers that I want to grow this summer. All of the tomatoes that I am growing are dwarf tomatoes. I also started seeds for pigeon peas, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and roselle hibiscus.
- Germination/Growth: in the hydroponic garden, the quick snack cucumber and calendula alpha have germinated.
- Harvest: It’s been so cold, I haven’t attempted to harvest any vegetables. I have been sticking with harvesting lemon balm and catnip for tea.
- Challenges: I have accepted that growing peas to harvest has not come to pass. I don’t know yet if I will continue to try this crop. 🫛
- Favorite moment: A visit to the mailbox this week was rewarded with onion starts from Dixondale Farms. I ordered these in October 2025. This will be my third attempt to grow onions. The first year I used sets from a big box store and didn’t know what I was doing. The second attempt was from seeds I started, yet I didn’t get pass the first month after transplanting. I think this year will be better.
Short Day Onion Sampler
🍲In the Kitchen
Meals & Preserving- Cooked/Baked: With the severe winter storm approaching, I baked up some Dutch oven bread. My favorite way to eat my bread is by making pesto grilled cheese, or what we affectionately call in our home, PGC.
- Preserved: I had a few navel oranges that I wanted to freeze-dry slices for adding to teas. I peeled the orange zest using a vegetable peeler, being careful to just remove the zest. Then, I thinly sliced the oranges and quartered the slices. I placed all of this on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and placed it in the freezer. Once it was frozen, I put the slices and the peel in separate freezer bags to await a time when I could place them in the freeze dryer.
- Pantry wins: Freeze-dried raspberries have been such a great addition to my lunchbox yogurt parfait jars.
- Tool or tip of the week: I bought an inexpensive French press to use primarily for loose tea and the occasional cup of coffee. It has been easy to use and I have been able to motivate myself to drink more rooibos tea instead of my trusty caffeinated orange blossom tea. So good, especially in the evenings.
Recipe: Dutch-Oven–Style Bread (No Dutch Oven Needed)
This is my everyday crusty bread method. While it’s inspired by Dutch oven baking, I don’t actually use a Dutch oven or preheat the pan. Instead, I rely on a covered graniteware pan to create steam in the oven, which gives a beautifully structured loaf with a tender crumb and a satisfying crust.
I use my thrifted bread machine for mixing and kneading, then finish the bread in the oven.
Ingredients
1.5 cups warm water
2.25 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sunflower lecithin
4 cups flour
Note: Sunflower lecithin acts as a natural dough conditioner, helping with moisture retention, softness, and overall crumb structure without affecting flavor.
Method
I start by adding the warm water, sugar, and active dry yeast to my bread machine and allow it to sit briefly so the yeast can activate. Once the mixture looks foamy, I add the oil, salt, sunflower lecithin, and flour.
I run the machine on the dough cycle, letting it mix, knead, and complete the first rise. When the cycle finishes, I remove the dough, give it a brief hand-knead, shape it, and place it into my graniteware oval lidded baking pan.
I let the dough rise in a warm area until nicely puffed. This time, I used the residual warmth from my air fryer after cooking, which worked beautifully.
When ready to bake, I preheat the oven to 450°F. The bread bakes covered for about 20 minutes, creating steam inside the pan. I then remove the lid, lower the oven temperature to 400°F, and bake for another 20 minutes, adjusting as needed based on doneness and how my oven behaves.
The bread is done when the crust is set and the internal temperature reaches approximately 200–205°F.
Once baked, I remove the loaf from the pan, cool it on a wire rack, then slice and enjoy.
🏡At Home
- Rituals: I started getting acrylic manicures mid-December. I quite enjoy looking at my hands as a reminder of the care I do deserve. This has led me to use cuticle oil frequently to keep my hands moisturized and healthy.
- Self-care: I have been enjoying browsing the seed catalogs I have recently received: Seeds and Such, Johnny's Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I don't anticipate purchasing many seeds this year, but it is still fun to browse through them.
- Small project: I have resumed working on the Google Data Analytics certification. I am blending time at the library and shorter time frames at home. Additionally, I am dedicating effort to taking notes digitally rather than using pen and paper. This is a hard thing for someone like me who has piles of empty or partially filled journals.
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Winter Garden in January | Quiet Nature Sounds
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📋Looking Ahead
- Garden: If the seeds I started for peppers and tomatoes do not germinate after 14 days, I will sow the seeds again. The next priority is to plant the onion starts once the soil is thawed and I have a day off. Then, I will start seeds for other crops that I would like to have for the warm weather seasons.
- Kitchen: Canning potatoes is still on the to-do list; however, I am not going to stress about it. It will get done when it gets done. I would like to go through my freezers and find fruit and vegetables to freeze-dry for long-term storage.
- Home: I am committed to keeping working on the 2024 temperature blanket. It is a useful and meditative activity for me. I am currently in August 2024.
I feel attacked by the YouTube algorithm. 🧶
📸Closing Photo
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