Homegrown & Homemade
If you’ve only ever grown varieties like Big Boy tomatoes and Butternut squash… you’re in for a surprise, and a treat! As folks who take pleasure from sticking their hands in the dirt, who can’t wait to eat the first fresh green bean from the garden every summer, and who appreciate things like old mason jars, fresh eggs, and good neighbors- I think you’ll LOVE …
There was a time when cabbage was the king of vegetables… I’ve always thought I was born in the wrong time-period. No complaints here about the indoor plumbing, but I find myself drawn to objects of another time- whether it be an old-fashioned rug beater, blue mason jars, the 50s radio we keep in the bathroom, or… vegetables. Who is with me?! I dream about a …
These seed companies, they’ve got us gardeners figured out. They prey on all the poor, snow-bound people during the dark, depths of winter. I swear they each have a team of meteorologists in the catalog department, just waiting for the coldest days and worst winter weather to hit. That’s when they pull the trigger. Catalogs start flying out to all the desperate, vitamin D-deprived homesteaders …
In celebration of the year that you were born, you should have the finest. You deserve the Cadillac of birthday candles on your three-tiered, from scratch, chocolate cake with real buttercream. You’re nodding your head. Have you ever seen more adorable candles? The soft yellow wax, the rustic handmade look- have I mentioned that I like rustic things? …Rustic Buttered Onion Deviled Eggs …Rustic Garden Gate. If …
I never would have guessed that I’d turn into a “chicken lady,” you know… one of those. I own chicken pot holders, and I talk to the hens like they’re real people. I’m full-blown Chicken Lady. Crazy Chicken Lady. Or as I prefer to call myself: “Chicken Enthusiast.” Before getting chickens, I had no idea that they were so full of personality, including many facial expressions and legitimate …
I made something incredible the other night. Out of vegetables! Even Karl liked this Cobb Salad (read: big huge bowl full of vegetables)… and he’s still working through his vegetable-haters rehabilitation program. He’s conquered salad greens, asparagus, kale, and even Brussels sprouts! This year we’re working on squash. He gets so sad whenever I try to feed him squash, like I’ve done the most horrible and unthinkable thing. …
After convincing Karl to try a piece of our Christmas tree, I asked him if he had any witty openings for this “How to Eat Your Christmas Tree” post. He says: “If you like trying new wild edibles, then this post is sure to have you on pines and needles.” And then, with a big cheesy grin, he laughed at himself like Steve Urkel. So, there’s …
Egg yolk color: the great homesteader status symbol! It doesn’t matter if you have a herd of perfectly-groomed sheep, prize-winning tomatoes, a beautiful milk cow, or a pantry full of home-rendered lard, nope. The real measure of a homesteader is the color of their chickens’ egg yolks. At least that’s what I thought when I first started dreaming about raising chickens. When we got our chickens …
You’d think “cookies” would be a pretty agreeable subject matter… not like religion, politics, or which direction the toilet paper roll should go. But growing up, Christmas cookies were a hotly debated holiday topic in my household, mostly because of my incredible loathing of one particular variety of Christmas cookie. A classic cookie that apparently EVERYONE else in the ENTIRE world loves. A cookie that, …
Our chickens are the heart of the homestead. Their entertainment value is priceless, and they provide the pinnacle of farm eats: fresh eggs. There’s nothing like ’em. So it’s no wonder we want to provide them with only the finest treats, decorate their coops with rusty stuff, and proclaim our love for them on our coffee mugs and t-shirts! And we should! A handmade gift …
