Ham doesn’t need much in my opinion… I mean, it is smoked pork, after all- it’s already delicious by definition. This maple glazed ham with a touch of apple cider is the perfect recipe for your holiday dinner, a special brunch, or even just a weeknight! This maple glazed ham is easy to make, and […]
Smokey BBQ Brussels Sprouts Recipe + How to Cook the Perfect Sprout
These are really really good brussels sprouts… about as good as you can hope for a brussels sprout to be. They’re crispy, salty, full of flavor, golden brown, and delicious. We love all things Brassica (that’s the cabbage-broccoli-kale-brussels family) in this household, so it’s no surprise we’re a couple of brussels sprouts fans. And if […]
Maple Bourbon Wassail Recipe + How to Wassail an Orchard
Wassailing- you did what?! This is something I think is so cool. And something that also makes me feel like a huge dork, if I’m being perfectly honest. At least the Maple Bourbon Wassail recipe turned out AWESOME! There are two parts to this: the act of Wassailing, and the drink Wassail. Wassailing is a […]
Old-Fashioned Honey Taffy Recipe
I love learning new skills in the kitchen, especially ones that are “old-fashioned” … as in, something people really don’t do anymore that used to be part of everyday life, like rendering lard, cooking dried beans, or making homemade candy. (If you love to learn new skills too, make things from scratch, and give homemade […]
{Crustless} Maple Pumpkin Pie
I love pumpkin pie- especially for its simplicity and rustic-ness. While I don’t know the real history of the pumpkin pie, I can only imagine that everyone from the earliest American Indians to the original homesteaders have been baking forms of pumpkin custard for a long time. Pumpkin pie’s roots go deep, and I love […]
Homemade French Onion & Herb Dip Recipe
I’m a dip person. I want to dip stuff into other stuff, all the time. And this Homemade French Onion & Herb Dip is one of my favorite dips- so that’s saying a lot! I think I love it so much because it combines two classics- it’s a little bit of a cross between a […]
Plum & Crabapple Fruit Leather Recipe
This has been the year of the fruit leather, and my favorite so far is this plum and crabapple fruit leather… it’s sweet and tart, with a gorgeous color, plus it is very pliable and tender (a great quality for fruit leather, as some can end up as tough as… well, leather). I’m on my third […]
{Easy} Bread and Butter Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
For years I’ve tried making pickles- everything from bread and butter refrigerator pickles to classic dills… and for years I’ve never found a recipe I have fallen in love with, until now. I didn’t realize how much my general lack of pickling skills was weighing on me- I mean, a homesteader should be able to […]
Maple-Sweetened Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
Peanut butter covered in chocolate is one of life’s fine pleasures. And when that peanut butter is mixed with the earthy, smokey, sweet flavor of maple sugar, it’s pretty darn incredible. These maple peanut butter chocolate candies are actually modeled after one of my old favorite holiday treats, the glorious Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg (why are […]
Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Butter
I’ve always thought sweet potatoes were only okay- I’ve never been crazy about them… even the beautiful glowing purple ones we grow in our own garden. And Karl is simply just offended by sweet potatoes, maintaining that they are indeed “not a potato.” I had to start calling them Yams, just so that he would […]