It's funny to think that merely 2 years ago, I didn't even know what cheesecloth was, let alone have a need for it. However, now that my kitchen has been transformed into a real food workshop, I find myself needing all sorts of "weird" items. Cheesecloth has many uses. Most commonly it's used in various forms of cheesemaking (duh), but it also works great as a strainer for broth, jellies, or soft cheeses like yogurt or kefir ...Continue Reading
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Simple Crowd-Pleasing Chili
Chili is such a polarizing dish. Popular? Yes. But everyone has strong opinions as to what makes the best chili.... Beans or no beans? Tomato or no tomato? Spicy or mild? And that's just the beginning... But at the end of the day, debates aside, chili is one of my favorite ways to serve a crowd, especially when time is short. It's easy to get paralyzed by the myriad of possible chili ingredients. But over the years ...Continue Reading
Confessions of a Fun Hater
“What do you do for fun?” The question came in the middle of an interview and caught me off guard. I blinked at the interviewer as I stammered… “Eh, well… ha. I’m not sure? I mean… I have fun but not in the regular ways… Um, I guess I work for fun? *nervous laughter*" It wasn’t my most shining moment. You see, I’m not good at recreation. At least not in the conventional sense. Passive amusements like movies, ...Continue Reading
My Annual Homestead Planning Strategy
My favorite week of the entire year is upon us. I don't know why, but there's something magical about the in-between time from after-Christmas to mid-January, when the world is in a cheese-and-sugar-induced-stupor. It always makes me giddy to plan for the upcoming year. The air is thick with possibilities. I've been camped out by the woodstove for the past few days ruminating, dreaming, and planning. I have no interest in ...Continue Reading
That Unsettled Feeling
A few weeks ago, I found myself feeling strange. I felt unsettled... unsure.. and maybe even a little... bored? It’s a foreign feeling for me. So when it hit, I was caught off guard. It’s not that I don’t have anything to do… I’m gearing up for THE book launch, the charter school recently opened, and of course, there’s plenty of work in the garden. Yet, I was feeling a suspicious absence ...Continue Reading