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Shawna Coronado

Food

How To Make Gluten Free Cold Shrimp Cocktail Veracruz Recipe

Chef Carlos Capistran and Shawna Coronado cook Shrimp Veracruz Cocktail With Vegetables Several seasons ago I filmed regional cooking in Akumal, Mexico at the Lol-Ha Restaurant. I learned how to cook amazing meals and appetizers for under $10 or $15 per meal using fresh vegetables, such as this amazing Shrimp Veracruz Cocktail. Cooking on a beach with a chef who loves…
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Garden

Plant Amaryllis in Summer For a Flower Surprise

Every winter holiday we garden enthusiasts go absolutely bonkers for Amaryllis as houseplants. I love them passionately and have been growing them for years. Having some blooming sunshine in mid-winter is a joy in itself and this Amaryllis ‘Apple Blossom’ was the light of my life for several weeks while it was flowering. The flowering heads are so large I…
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Wellness

Lucca Italy is a Fantastic Walking Tour Destination

Visiting Lucca is very much like stepping back into time. Unlike Rome, which is a large bustling metropolis with honking horns and constant sirens, Lucca offers peace and quiet with an old world feel. Lucca Italy is a fantastic walking tour destination. In the early morning, as the light is just starting to touch Lucca’s walls, I found solace on…
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Shawna Coronado and Carlos Capistran with Shrimp Veracruz

How To Make Gluten Free Cold Shrimp Cocktail Veracruz Recipe

Food

Chef Carlos Capistran and Shawna Coronado cook Shrimp Veracruz Cocktail With Vegetables Several seasons ago I filmed regional cooking in Akumal, Mexico at the Lol-Ha Restaurant. I learned how to cook amazing meals and appetizers for under $10 or $15 per meal using fresh vegetables, such as this amazing Shrimp Veracruz Cocktail. Cooking on a beach with a chef who loves…
Read More

Amaryllis in Shawna Coronado garden Christmas in July

Plant Amaryllis in Summer For a Flower Surprise

Garden

Every winter holiday we garden enthusiasts go absolutely bonkers for Amaryllis as houseplants. I love them passionately and have been growing them for years. Having some blooming sunshine in mid-winter is a joy in itself and this Amaryllis ‘Apple Blossom’ was the light of my life for several weeks while it was flowering. The flowering heads are so large I…
Read More

Shade Vegetable Garden Elevated Bed Spring

Grow a Shade Vegetable Garden

Garden

Traditionalists believe that full sun is the most important ingredient to success for herbs and vegetables, yet not everyone gets 6 to 8 (or more) hours of sun per day on their homes and balconies. Some get only partial sun and shade (4 to 6 hours of sunlight per day), and others have full shade (less than 4 hours of direct sunlight per day). When…
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MGK Ladybug

What are Beneficial Insects

Garden

Beneficial Insects Beneficial insects help you by pollinating or controlling pests in your garden. They can hunt and kill bad bugs for you, for example. They are saving you the hassle of having to pollinate by hand or take care of pests yourself, thereby enabling your garden to grow stronger as Mother Nature intended. We all need beneficial insects in…
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Till Free Garden Shawna Coronado

How I Built a Till-Free Vegetable Garden

Garden

When I tell people that I built a till-free vegetable garden in my front lawn and that it is till-free they seem surprised and ask how I have growing success. For generations, traditional garden beds have been turned over in order to loosen the soil. Yet from an ecological perspective turning the soil over is bad because all the millions…
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MGK Japanese Beetle

How to Get Rid of Bugs in the Organic Garden

Garden

Watching bugs in your organic garden is like watching a soap opera. There are good bugs and bad bugs, drama queens and sneaky culprits. Your garden is dripping with romance, excitement, and of course murder on a daily basis – what a show! In the past I have essentially ignored pests and bugs or occasionally spot sprayed them with soapy…
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How to Plant a Tomato with a Trench Technique

Garden

For years I struggled with tomato drama. My tomatoes performed poorly, caught diseases, had issue after issue and I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. Then one day a very successful tomato growing friend of mine asked me HOW I was planting the tomatoes. My response, “Uhh.. dig a hole, add some fertilizer, throw in the plant.” …
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Colocasia Thailand Giant in Garden

Growing Colocasia ‘Thailand Giant’ in a Northern Garden

Garden

Growing Elephant Ears or Colocasia ‘Thailand Giant’ in a northern garden means you must have a bit of patience. This variety of colocasia can reach nine feet high with leaves that are four feet wide and five feet tall. However, I’ve found it takes almost all my northern garden growing season to develop the larger leaves. Thailand Giant made a…
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How to Plant a Light Weight Container Garden

How to Plant a Light Weight Container Garden

Garden

Every year I’m plagued with the same seasonal drama — from early spring to late summer I see a significant sun positioning change within my garden. I often have to move my container gardens around to find the best light or they suffer from too little or too much sun. While the in-ground gardens and elevated beds must suffer the…
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Vegan Cauliflower Steak with Spices

Vegan Cauliflower Steak Flavor Swap Recipe

Food· Garden

One of my favorite dishes ever – as a side dish or as a main vegan dish – is Cauliflower Steak. This yummy bit of heaven is not steak at all, but cauliflower heads which are sliced thick and sprinkled with your favorite spices. In this post I teach you how to make your own custom flavor of cauliflower steak…
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Container Garden technique

Easy as 1 2 3 Container Garden Planting Technique

Garden

One of the questions I get the most from readers is, “How do I plant up a container?” There are endless variations on planting designs and techniques we can go over, but I like to keep it simple. Originally coined “Thriller, Filler, Spiller”, this Easy as 1 2 3 Container Garden Planting Technique is a super basic look at filling a…
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Colocasia Distant Memory in Container Gardens

Design Container Gardens with Colocasia ‘Distant Memory’

Garden

Colocasia ‘Distant Memory’ is a beautiful tropical plant and works very well in container gardens. Leaves on the plant are a dark mahogany (almost black when exposed to stronger sun), the plant clumps which is particularly great in containers, and this tropical leafed plant truly adds an incredible boost to container gardens and garden beds alike. This plant is more…
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Herb Garden Elevated Bed

How to Build an Herb Garden Elevated Bed

Garden

Planting an herb garden elevated bed and having great growing success is easy if you plan the proper soil mix. I love growing herbs all season long in my garden so that I can add them at a moment’s notice to one of my yummy smoothies or wellness dishes. Be sure to grow anything edible in the garden organically so…
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How to Rebuild a Perennial Garden Bed Finished

How to Rebuild a Perennial Garden Bed

Garden

My front side yard had really gotten to a point of disrepair last season and want to show you how to rebuild a perennial garden bed. I decided to rebuild the garden so it presents better, will be drought tolerant, and is easier to maintain. I’ve been using till-free planting techniques for years and below I have a little guide…
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Fish in the garden sculptures with colocasia

Fish in the Garden Sculpture Makes a Big Splash

Garden

Someone needs to sit me down and have a trout intervention because I have a total addiction for the Fish in the Garden sculpture art. Who knew that fish could be so darned fun in the garden? You first saw my passion for fish jump to the forefront when I let my no-mow grass go without a haircut to look…
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