Winter Canning: Top 7 Canning Projects to Do in the Off Season

Winter Canning: Top 7 Canning Projects to Do in the Off Season

Winter canning is probably my favorite canning because it is in the off season. It means I have more time. It means I have a cold house that needs heating up (totally the opposite case during peak canning season, amiright?). It means I am choosing a canning project not based on the prevention of overripe […]

Sausage Making at Home: 10 Tips for Success

Sausage Making at Home: 10 Tips for Success

Many animals have come and gone on this farm, but none leave behind their abundance quite like the pig. Hands down, pigs give us more diversity than any other animal. Sure, some of it takes work on our part. The belly, for example, needs some help to become bacon. But that is precisely the beauty […]

Peony Jelly

Peony Jelly

You can’t eat the grass. Have you seen this popular slogan? For those promoting the growing of gardens rather than lawns. I totes agree with this movement. Unless you’ve got animals, you ain’t got no need for grass. Save for a small patch of yard in which the kids can play. I’m okay with that. […]

Maximize Your Garden Space with Permaculture

Maximize Your Garden Space with Permaculture

You do not need a massive garden to grow a lot of food. Probably the #1 thing I hear from people when they visit my gardens is they cannot believe how much I’m able to grow in the space that I use. Not to say I have a tiny garden. Mine sees expansion with every […]

Of Worn Snow Pants and a Fading Generation

Of Worn Snow Pants and a Fading Generation

If you are or have been a parent of school-age children, you know well the last minute scramble to find the missing gloves moments before the bus arrives. And, quite likely, this is an event that takes place not just once or twice a year….but once or twice a week, am I right? No matter […]

(Cook) Books I’m Loving Right Now.

(Cook) Books I’m Loving Right Now.

I find that the coldest, darkest time of the year (ahem, as in right now) is when I find myself the most inspired in the kitchen. Every day is a new adventure. A new recipe. A new plan. What can I cook today that will heat up the house this frosty morning? What can I […]

How to Prepare Garlic for Long Term Storage

How to Prepare Garlic for Long Term Storage

“Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.” -Oscar Wilde In a world that is so fast-paced, so aggressive, so offended all the time, so self-absorbed, it can be hard to know…just where does one fit in? Where should your opinions lie? In which direction […]

Homemade Mint Extract

Homemade Mint Extract

I always feel a little extra trashy when I drag a big old bottle of the world’s cheapest vodka up to the register at the liquor store. There’s this urge to explain myself. “It’s not what you think! I’m not trash, I promise! It’s for extracts. Yes, extracts. No, I don’t actually drink this stuff…honest.” […]

Processing Broiler Chickens: Butcher Day Checklist

Processing Broiler Chickens: Butcher Day Checklist

Were it not for lists, I would surely die a slow death of walking in circles. It’s amazing how you can get up in the morning, determined to tackle all of those tasks you remembered as you tried to fall asleep the night before. It was alllllll there in your mental checklist: Get that turkey […]

Nasturtium Pesto Recipe

Nasturtium Pesto Recipe

Are you ever amazed to find yourself in the exact same spot you were a year ago, mind blown by how quickly you got from then to now? As we get older, I think we are all more aware of this. In between, time can seem to crawl. We drudge on through the harsh winter […]