Nothing beats a tangy, spicy, delicious bowl of salsa with crispy, salty chips. If you’ve only ever tried the store-bought stuff, you don’t know what you’re missing. Homemade salsa is incredibly good, and easy to make. But what’s not so easy is canning it yourself. It turns out that getting the proportions of ingredients just … Read more
Grape juice is absolutely delicious, but if you’ve only ever had the store-bought stuff you don’t know what you’re missing. Making your own pure grape juice with that distinctive sweet and tart tang at home is a lot easier than you think, and best of all you can keep it at room temperature for at … Read more
Pigs are, pound for pound, one of the most difficult livestock species to keep contained. They aren’t quite as nimble as goats, but what they lack in agility they make up for with brute force and relentless determination. Pigs are notorious for putting weak fences to the test, and the ones that they can’t push … Read more
This mouthwatering recipe for canning pear preserves promises to make you melt in your chair!
There is an awful lot to appreciate about ducks: their gracefulness on the water, their agility in flight, and of course, the magnificent beauty of their feathers. Ducks, whether wild or domestic, come in every color of the rainbow and patterns ranging from the subtle to the mesmerizing. Some of them are a riot of … Read more
Do you have ducks? I’m sure you do, that’s why you clicked on this article. Have you ever struggled to name them? I’ll bet you have, again, the reason you are here… But don’t worry, you’ll struggle no more. Naming your ducks is one of the most important parts of keeping them. A duck without … Read more
Cornmeal is one of the most versatile kitchen staples that you probably have right now. Whether you’re making cornbread, some kind of casserole, cookies, polenta, porridge, or anything else, it is a nutritious and filling ingredient. I go through tons of the stuff, and accordingly, I keep a lot of it on hand in storage. … Read more
Eggs might well be the perfect food. Packed with protein and tons of vitamins and minerals, they are affordable, delicious, and form the bedrock of a good diet and any meal—breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But if you are stuck in a rut when it comes to preparing eggs, it’s easy to hit that wall of … Read more
One of the traits most associated with rabbits is that fluffy, plush fur coat. Like every other animal, this fur helps keep them warm even when it is very cold outside, but the trade-off is that it can keep them too warm when the mercury climbs. Rabbits are surprisingly vulnerable to hot weather, and can … Read more
No matter what sort of animals you keep on your homestead, illness is always going to be a fact of life. Animals get sick just like people do, and also just like people, some of them are more prone to bad health than others. Luckily for us, if we own ducks, they have proven to … Read more
Dealing with bugs around your homestead is just a fact of life. Outside is one thing, inside is another, and inside the kitchen and on your food is something else entirely! Insects are creepy enough all on their own without infesting the things we eat. Sadly, one of the grossest food pests is also one … Read more
The Great Depression was a time of intense suffering and hardship. But like all such times, it gave rise to self-sufficiency, creativity, and innovation. In no other way is this more evident than the way Americans cooked. Great Depression-era recipes were creations of utter necessity, but some of them have gone on to become treasured … Read more
Ducks have been domesticated for ages, but only recently in the past year or two are they starting to come back into style compared to chickens. And to be honest, it’s mostly because of their productivity when laying eggs. Ducks typically start laying between 4 and 8 months old, and can crank out an egg … Read more
Out of all the unwanted and unexpected messes you might have to deal with in and around your home, one of the very worst and most dreaded is mold. Specifically, black mold! This nasty fungus has achieved boogeyman status over the past couple of decades because of its propensity to make people sick, sometimes terribly … Read more
One of the best skill sets you can possibly invest in for long-term preparation is canning. Canning has been around for ages, and when done properly produces food that is delicious, shelf stable, and most importantly safe. It’s possible to can nearly anything, from fruits and vegetables to soups and even meat. Beef, chicken, pork, … Read more
If you’re thinking about bringing a herd or flock of animals onto your homestead, you’ll have a lot of work to do before that day arrives. The biggest job is figuring out how much space they’ll need and if you’ve got enough for them to live comfortably. When it comes to raising pigs, they are … Read more