I’ve always enjoyed cooking, it’s something I’ve considered a serious hobby. I delight in making delicious and attractive food. I’ve also prided myself on my ability to learn to use new types of food from whatever area we happen to be living. When we lived in the south I learned to cook okra, hush puppies, and pulled pork. When we lived in Okinawa I utilized kabocha, bitter melon, and a variety of interesting mushrooms and sea vegetables in surprising ways to create western-style dishes.

So when we moved to Northern Idaho last year, I knew my cooking would take on a new life. I would have to learn how to make more things from scratch, teach myself to use diverse meats (goat and rabbit were a unique addition), eat more seasonally (I’m nowhere near perfect with this), prepare what is on hand or in the garden, and creatively employ the herbs we have growing in our guilds. We get fresh goat’s milk daily and eggs when our hens decide to lay (that’s another post) and it’s such a blessing to have an entire freezer filled with only meat from our homestead and our larder filled with many home-canned items. Armed with basic cooking know-how and determination, I set forth.

Read more about the Bosch Universal Plus and get our recipe for sandwich bread at Mother Earth News