Homesteading | Self Sufficient Living | Living off the Land
The cravings started earlier than normal this year... I'm blaming it on our cooler-than-normal summer, and our early snow (YES, it snowed two weeks ago... *facepalm*), but I'm already hankering for sweaters, and fires in the stove, and chai tea. Especially the chai. I'm kind of a picky chai drinker... The chai tea bags you can grab in the tea aisle don't quite cut it for me. And the pre-made concentrates are often filled with ...Continue Reading
I'm a lazy canner you guys... I adore canning and especially love surveying the pretty rows of brightly colored jars when I'm finished, but you can bet that if I can safely take a "shortcut," I will. Take my home-canned applesauce for example. The vast majority of applesauce recipes insist you peel the apples first. But if you're me, you simply quarter them, core them, and toss them in the pot, peels and all. (And if you have a food ...Continue Reading
Confession time: If I have to choose between a sinfully rich chocolate dessert and a fruit dessert, I usually pick the chocolate. Scandalous, I know... It's not that I don't enjoy fruit desserts, because I do, (especially my homemade peach pie!), but chocolate will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially when it's combined with some sort of cream. I mean, can you really compete with that? However. The tables may have ...Continue Reading
I'm a slow learner sometimes... I've been canning for quite a while now, yet I always seem to inadvertently mop my floors right before starting a new canning project. (And mind you--mopping does NOT happen frequently at my house!) It's like I subconsciously can't help it. This week, it was peach butter. Of all the things you can preserve, peaches are one of the stickiest, and I proceeded to splash that sticky peach puree ...Continue Reading
I have beets coming out of my ears right now, so this is timely information! If you plan to use a water bath canner to preserve your beets, pickling is an important part of the process. (Otherwise, you'll need to use a pressure canner, since beets are a low-acid food.) I love this tutorial from Annie at Montana Homesteader--especially since it doesn't require a bunch of sugar--beets are plenty sweet on their own! My name is Annie ...Continue Reading
