Eating off the land, from scratch recipes, preserving food, and other fun kitchen tips.
If you’re a homesteader, preserving the foods you grow and harvest is extremely important. Preserved foods enable you to ensure you have enough supplies on hand during the winter, when your homestead will likely be less productive. While food preservation techniques like root cellars, canning and smoking are popular options to store the food you … Read more
If you’re in a hurry and don’t have a lot of time for kneading bread, you may prefer this Artisan bread recipe. I like it because it has only 4 ingredients and I don’t have to take the time to knead the dough. We use it often when we need some bread and perhaps don’ … Read more
As a little kid, I was not fond of trying new vegetables – a reluctance that I believe many of us share. However, parsnips were never even an item on our dinner table because they weren’t part of our standard rotation of vegetables. We pretty much stuck to the classics – green beans, carrots, corn, … Read more
Is there anything better than the sweet taste of fresh carrots? I don’t think so. Except, perhaps, the taste of fresh carrots that you’ve just harvested from your own garden. This year, I harvested over a hundred pounds of carrots grown in just two small raised beds in my backyard. I’ve never grown that many … Read more
There is a great sale at the market, or you had a lot of leftovers, maybe you have too many roosters or some hens that are finished, what do you do? Why you get busy canning chicken of course. Your family and your wallet will thank you later. There is nothing quite as good as … Read more
In our household Christmas was associated with Scottish relatives bringing across beautifully packaged traditional shortbread, when they came to stay with the cousins in South Africa. My mom would get busy in the kitchen preparing the shortbread, according to the way her great aunt from Edinburgh had taught her. What makes Scottish shortbread different to … Read more
Another popular recipe from Hawaii, this oxtail soup recipe includes a hearty base and plenty of braised meat. It is generally served with ramen noodles as well as fried garlic chips, but you can, of course, serve it anyway you like – as long as there is plenty of it!
Sauerkraut, either you love it or you hate it. I love it, but my household has mixed emotions about it. It takes several weeks to ferment your cabbage, and to make it you need lots of cabbage and pickling salt. What is Sauerkraut? Sauerkraut is much simpler than it sounds, it is just finely chopped … Read more
With a move to vegan eating and the upsurge in people coping with dairy allergies, it makes sense to know how to make alternate types of milk that are non-dairy based. The great part is that almond milk suits preppers as you can keep raw almonds stored for up to two years in a store … Read more
Chicken, it can be cooked in about any way imaginable and is a favorite meat for many. Everyone has their favorite way of preparing it and their favorite cut of meat they prefer to eat. The possibilities for eating chicken are pretty much endless. Usually you will see chicken prepared by cuts such as breast … Read more
True confession – this year is the first year I’ve grown enough peppers to preserve. Usually, our peppers end up being stringy, tough, and bitter – something that I have learned is the side effect of too little fertilizer, poor soil, and cold weather that doesn’t allow the plants to mature properly. However, this year … Read more
It is the time of the year that the race is on to beat the birds and the blistering sun. It is blackberry season. There are lots of things to do with all of them blackberries, from eating fresh, to cobblers, smoothies, and blackberry jam. My family likes to divide into teams and see who … Read more
There is nothing better than homemade spaghetti sauce! Whether you’re keeping an eye on your health – homemade spaghetti sauce has far less sugar and sodium than the storebought varieties – or you simply prefer the taste of fresh sauce, making and canning your own sauce is a great way to make the most of … Read more
Nothing says summer quite like sweet, homemade canned tomatoes. Canning tomatoes always makes me feel a little bit bittersweet. On one hand, I love being able to enjoy the delicious bounty of a summer’s hard work in the garden. On the other hand, the time in which it is time to can tomatoes marks the … Read more
I’m pretty sure salsa was invented by someone who had no idea what to do with all the extra tomatoes, peppers, onions, and jalapenos in his garden. Throw a few ingredients in here, a couple more there, add some spices, and voila! Tasty salsa. I’m just kidding, of course. But when it comes right down … Read more
It is so quick and easy to make powdered sugar you might just wonder why you ever bothered buying processed bags in the first place. I have to admit that until I was asked about writing this topic, I had never given a single thought as to how confectioner’s sugar was made. There are only … Read more