Around this time last year we were hard at work picking and pressing apples to make apple cider. With the recent passing of my Hubby's grandmother our apple picking plans got changed. We did gather several large buckets of apples from our own apple tress, but it...
In my perfect preserving world, everything I'd preserve would be organic, locally grown and cheap (or free). Living in the North makes it difficult to get certain fruit locally, never mind organic or even cheap for that matter. I was fortunate enough to can...
This past weekend we went to the local u-pick and scrounged up 4 lbs of raspberries. The bushes were pretty picked over by the time we arrived. Some deep bush diving was necessary and scratches and thorns were endured, but we filled one ice cream bucket....
I waffled on this one. I wanted to preserve cherries, Sweetpea got sick so I didn't want to anymore, then I came across some beautiful Okanagan cherries at the farmers' market and there was no turning back. Twenty pounds of cherries is a decent amount. Once you start...
It's hard to remain calm, collected and cool when you see something you really want at the farmers' market. Yesterday I spotted a large bin of garlic scapes. I practically jumped into it! But self-control prevailed. I noticed there was no advertised price...
We did it! It's been a long day, but all thirty-five chickens have been killed, plucked and butchered. After the trauma of killing and butchering the first chicken (I won't go into details) we didn't think we'd get them all done today. But, we figured it out and fell...
When our Korean student left a couple months ago, I stopped making kimchi. Being the only person that would eat it, I figured it wasn't worth it. But, a few days ago I had a hankering for some kimchi and rice. I bought some napa cabbage yet forgot the daikon radish. A...
Disclaimer: If you think butchering and eating rabbit is an awful thing, I recommend reading another post. We've chosen to raise meat rabbits so that we can provide our family with healthy, environmentally sustainable and locally grown meat, and butchering the rabbits...
The chicken have a week and a half before B-Day (butchering day). They are stinky and stupid. They don't forage and don't leave the coop even when the run is open. Silly things.Next year, we're going to purchase a heritage breed instead. Something that forages, that...
The idea of making a rhubarb cordial comes from The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves and Tigress in a Jam. Cordials are sweet and delicious. They are meant to be diluted in pop, alcohol or whatever you like. I wanted to make...
Baking your own bread is a very sensual experience. By sensual I mean involving the senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. I started making my own bread using a bread machine. Then I attempted the occasional rustic loaf from The America's Test Kitchen...
Last year, I didn't can strawberries. I never came across enough affordable organic strawberries to make much of anything. Strawberries are one of the worst fruits for pesticide contamination. According to this list it comes in third place, after celery (no....
Last fall I attempted to make home made apple and peach wine. Both were a huge failure and one (the peach wine) exploded all over the storage room leaving peach juice stains on the ceiling - what a mess! I figured making wine couldn't be that difficult, and...
There are so many wonderful ideas that I come across in books, blogs and in everyday life. So, it is no surprise that I have an long list of projects that I want to try. The problem is finding time to try them, especially now that summer has...
My parents brought us camping often and my siblings and I have many fond memories of our camping adventures together. So, it has become one of my missions to pass these cherished times on to my children. My husband also did some camping but his family had an...
Yesterday was a day of firsts. It was the first canning of 2011, the first time I pickled fiddleheads and the first time I used my Tattler canning lids.Fiddleheads are baby ferns still in fetal position, or all curled up. They have a very short season. One week...