There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a baking project and suddenly realizing you’re missing an ingredient or two. That is when one must get creative and either find a substitute or make your own. I find myself in this predicament more often than not since I try to rely mostly on food […]
Canning. It is what makes us giddy upon finding a hoard of jars in a thrift shop and has us blissfully sweating in our kitchens on hot summer days, standing over steaming pots and dreaming of the winter to come when our goods will be most appreciated. It is what has us in tears over […]
For my fellow homesteading enthusiasts, I’m starting a new weekly feature on the blog called Traditional Homestead Quick Tips. These will be short and sweet posts where I will share with you a homestead tip that I’ve learned along the way, whether it be from my own experience or from the experience of the wise […]
It’s one of the last crops that we pull in for the year: potatoes. They can stay in the ground long after the cold winds blow, and the overlooked ones have been known to emerge like forgotten dinosaur fossils the following spring. The great thing about them is they’re easy to grow and produce a […]
It’s hunting season once again, which means a fresh supply of wild game for us. We truly depend on this generous time of year to sustain our family’s meat supply, and when it comes time to preserving and putting away meat, we use everything. And canning meat has become my most favorite way to accomplish […]
Last year, I wrote a how-to post on using a weighted gauge pressure canner. Today I’d like to share with you how to use a dial gauge pressure canner. The main difference between a weighted gauge and a dial gauge is that the weighted gauge canner has a weight on top that will jiggle or […]
Every year, it’s interesting to see what will come first: the blueberries or the raspberries- of if they will come at the same time! This year, blueberries were ready first. With all of the early summer rain and then the nice heat that we got, we had to scramble to get them picked before they […]
Blueberry season is winding down, and even if you aren’t blessed to live in an area full of wild blueberries as we are here, chances are you can find them at a relatively decent cost at your local farmer’s market or grocery store as they are in season. There are so many fun things that […]
***Please see my more recent article on hugelkultur, with a start-to-finish slideshow of the 2015 hugelkultur garden*** Welcome to a new How-To Monday: Hugelkultur! Every once in a while, my husband gets a little chainsaw-happy. You see, in my neck of the woods, we have an endless supply {or, rather, infestation} of what we […]
Butter. I know. It kind-of has the same effect on a person as the word “bacon” does. It just makes my mouth water. First of all, if you are reading this post and are a margarine lover, you absolutely must read this article and stop right now. Please! Then come on back and read through […]
