Oh Tomatoes... You tricky, tricky things. You wouldn't think home canned tomatoes would be earth-shattering topic, would you? Well, you'd be surprised. I've seen some pretty heated discussions in regards to how to can tomatoes safely at home. Whenever the conversation comes up in my Homestead & Heritage Cooking Facebook group, there are always members who pull out their tried-and-true recipes from their grandma's day-- ...Continue Reading
Natural Weed Control for Your Garden
It’s no secret. I’m not a gardening diva. And heaven knows I’ve had my share of ridiculous gardening mistakes, like that time I killed my whole garden with poisoned hay mulch. Even so, I stick with it every year. Every January, I order my heirloom seeds and dream of that idyllic garden that weeds itself and never looks messy. (Are you laughing yet? ?) And then, by June, the weeds are working hard to destroy the dream. In fact, the ...Continue Reading
Canning Cherries with Honey
When someone offers to send you a whole box of freshly picked Bing cherries? You say yes. Even if canning cherries will add an extra measure of craziness in between back-to-back trips and 4-H events. And that's exactly what happened when Northwest Cherry Growers emailed me and offer to ship me a box of cherries if I'd create a canning recipe featuring them. I've been on a canning kick lately anyway--how could say ...Continue Reading
Chive Blossom Vinegar Recipe
Early spring harvest... It's almost a non-existent concept for Wyoming peeps like me. Our growing season is short. It starts late and ends early.... which means while everyone else is bragging about their first harvests of greens and radishes, I'm still looking at snow on the ground. And even when the first pictures of ruby red strawberries and cucumbers start flooding social media, my harvest baskets are still empty. But I do have ...Continue Reading
How to Garden in a Cold Climate
It's mid-May. The grass is green. We had snow last week. The neighbors north of us got four inches of HAIL a couple days ago. And this is totally normal. There's really no sense complaining about it, since that's just how we roll in Wyoming. But hey, I figured this is perfect timing, so let's talk about how you can garden in a cold climate. Because I'm proof that it's possible! (Most years, at least...) Our prairie ...Continue Reading