If you have laying hens you understand the continual frustration of getting a hard-boiled egg that will actually peel! I found the only solution was to use a pressure canner if I wanted an egg that would peel without tearing the egg apart. Now I have another method – the Sun Oven. I haven’t tried cooking […]
2016
Sun Dried Tomatoes in the Sun Oven (day 5)
We are finally in the tomato harvest season and holy cow, we have a lot of tomatoes. We are going to be working full time to get these preserved in the coming weeks. One benefit of having a Sun Oven is the ability to utilize it as a dehydrator when our Excalibur is occupied. The […]
The What and How of Hydrosols
Products I use and recommend: Copper Distiller and Hydrosol Book Hydrosols used to be quite a popular item, even more than essential oils, if you can believe it! You’ve probably heard of rose water, lilac water, lavender water; these are all hydrosols (if done through […]
Canning Season and the Rocket Stove
So, we’ve lived on our homestead for two years now. This year we are actually producing a lot more food than last year and that means one thing – canning, and lots of it. Normally I would attempt to freeze some things instead because, let’s face it, it’s just easier! However, we recently butchered our […]
Medicinal Herb – Echinacea
Herbs are useful for more than just flavoring food, they can add nutrients to your diet including vitamins and minerals, help alleviate symptoms of a cold/flu, improve your immune system, and even reduce inflammation, stop bleeding, and heal minor burns/bee stings. Wildcrafting is a good way of gathering herbs that you may need. But a […]
Sprouting Wheat Berries
Reposted from a December 2014 blog post: Making bread is a valuable skill. If nothing else it makes me feel accomplished. Seriously, I take wheat, water, yeast, honey, salt and turn it into something edible and delicious – I think I should wear a Wonder Woman outfit in the kitchen on those days (that, however, could […]
Mullein – Common Medicinal
Cowboy’s Toilet Paper, Our Lady’s Candle, Bunny’s Ear, Beggar’s Blanket, & Quaker’s Rouge are just a few nicknames for Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). You will find this biennial plant growing in areas that have been disturbed. It grows well in any type of soil since it is a pioneer plant enhancing the soil as it […]
Cobbler two ways in the Sun Oven
Whenever we have guests we try to make a dessert. We were having an extra 10 guests for dinner so we opted on cobbler. We had peaches which we canned the week before, frozen raspberries from our garden, and some frozen blackberries we bought. We decided to make two different cobblers which both turned out […]
Homestead Skillet
So, this morning, I woke up realizing it was potluck Sunday at our church and I was supposed to bring a main dish and dessert! Last night I had assigned the dessert to Linde and she had wonderful chocolate chip cookies ready to go. I, on the other hand, had not even thought about the […]
Bosch Mixer – Top Appliances #1
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, […]
