Homegrown & Homemade
First of all, you should know that this story ends happily! This information is for all you first-time duck owners, wondering just what temperature your flock can withstand, and not wanting to do any duck survivability studies in your own backyard. We were in the same position just a few short months ago… We acquired five Peking-Ancona ducks in November 2013. Neither of us had …
You’ve heard “busy as a bee;” you’ve probably even said it! But do you know how busy that really is? We will be first time bee-owners in just a few short weeks. I helped my dad raise bees when I was younger, but this is the first time I will be the head-beekeeper. The queen bee, if you will. I always knew that bees were pretty cool, …
(gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar free, paleo-friendly) How’s that for a title? Homemade is always better, right? Well, I can think of just a few things that I actually prefer store-bought, and for a long time taco seasoning was one of them. Maybe it’s because I grew up on taco meat from a packet, or maybe I just loved the saltiness and the velvety, luxurious-textured meat …
We moved into our old farmhouse just four short months ago, and from day one it has just felt right being here. It suits us so well. (It should- we searched for three years before finding this place!) Our house was built sometime in the 1880s, but the couple who lived here for the past twenty years updated everything while maintaining a lot of the …
(gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, vegetarian, easily dairy-free and vegan) Is there anything better than a warm fruit cobbler? Not really… But this recipe, by definition, is not a cobbler. It is not a crisp, a betty, or a crumble. And definitely not a pandowdy. Or a clafouti. I can’t even say clafouti… This is simply fruit, with a little added spice and honey, that is baked in …
Buried underneath layers of homemade ice fishing lures in an old box, I rescued this treasure from Karl’s grandparent’s house. Grandpa chuckled at my enthusiasm for this vintage find and told me to take the seeds with me if I wanted. Yeah, I wanted. I know its only an old seed packet- and not even that old, but I love what it represents. Fifty years …
It has been a record book winter in Wisconsin. And not in a good way! The low temperatures, along with a few other factors have caused a severe propane shortage for the Midwest. We’ve been trying to drastically reduce our propane usage by wrapping ourselves in blankets, wearing woolly socks, and eating almost exclusively out of the crockpot for the last couple weeks. Boy have …
(gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, paleo) I love maple season! The absolute first sign of spring, making syrup is the first thing we do outdoors after being cooped up all winter. For the past few years we have made our own maple syrup. We collect sap for as long as mother nature allows, then spend an entire day boiling it down over an open fire. A glorious …
“I can find room for one more tomato plant…” Just…one…more…plant. Do you say that every year too? My tomato obsession really took off about three years ago when I began starting my own tomato seeds. The varieties you can find when you buy seeds instead of already started plants are just incredible (at least in my neck of the woods). If you’ve only ever gotten …
(Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Vegan) A gift from the heart and from the kitchen is the best kind of gift, Valentine’s Day or otherwise. I know you homesteaders and whole-food lovers feel the same way. I love everything about these truffled walnuts. Let me entice you… buttery, nutty walnuts vanilla-bean spiked chocolate smooth and silky chocolate truffle coating rustic cocoa powder outside- have I mentioned …
