A ginger bug is a really cool ferment with a fun name. It is essentially a starter culture, much like a sourdough starter is to bread, or a SCOBY is to kombucha. With a ginger bug, you can naturally ferment homemade soda, healthy ginger ale, root beer, and other healthy soda alternatives. Using three simple ingredients—organic ginger root, sugar, and water—a ginger bug will “capture” wild yeasts and bacteria that will eat the sugar and emit carbon dioxide as a “waste” product; hence the ability to give sodas a natural fizz of bubbles. A ginger bug has natural kid-appeal because of its name, and because the process requires “feeding” your ginger bug each day, much like a pet! And because … [Read more...]
Spring Pesto with Chickweed and Green Garlic
When you're craving the fresh, tangy flavors of spring, but are still waiting for almost everything in the garden to start growing, the solution is a spring pesto made with chickweed and green garlic. This spring pesto recipe is easy to make, packed with flavor, and the perfect topping for pizza, pasta, and more! Chickweed (Stellaria media) is an edible and medicinal plant, often thought of as a weed because it is so common! Here in Northeast Missouri, we often find it near creek bottoms in the deciduous forest. After a few years, it made its way into our garden, likely via purchased hay. It is recognizable by its white, star-shaped flowers (hence the Latin name Stellaria) and thin line … [Read more...]
Common Seed Starting Problems and How to Troubleshoot Them
Starting your own seedlings is a great way to save money in the garden and to select varieties that will work for your climate and food growing needs. However, starting seedlings is not always trouble-free! Here are a few common seed starting problems and suggestions on how to troubleshoot them so your seedlings look just as healthy and vigorous as ones from a plant nursery! Common Seed Starting Problems Dampening Off Disease Dampening off is a disease caused by a combination of fungi and mold that can cause a variety of undesirable symptoms in seedlings, such as root rot, weakened stems, failed germination, and wilted leaves. Entire trays of plants can be affected, particularly in cool, … [Read more...]
Planting a Native Edibles Food Forest
Before we even moved onto our land, when our tiny house, garden, and orchard were just plans on scraps of paper, we planted over 100 fruiting bushes, trees, and shrubs to create a native edibles food forest. Inspired by the quote, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now," we decided it was best to get our food forest started before our shelter was complete. Living in Missouri, we have access to an amazing resource, the George O. White State Nursery, which sells bare root trees and shrubs to Missouri residents to plant as wind breaks, erosion control, soil improvement, and wildlife habitat and food sources. Many of the plants offered by the nursery are … [Read more...]
How to Make Hard Cider in 5 Easy Steps
One of our most beloved Autumn traditions is pressing apple cider. Some we refrigerate to drink in its sweet, raw, unpasteurized form. The rest we ferment into hard apple cider. Today my husband Brian joins me to share how to make hard cider in just a few easy steps. Hard apple cider is just sweet apple cider that has had its sugars naturally fermented into alcohol. It is one most local drinks you can make since you don’t need to buy any imported ingredients like sugar. And, you are hearkening back to our American pioneer roots, when John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) walked the land, starting nurseries on the frontier, selling apple trees to the new settlers so that they could … [Read more...]
The BEST Fire-Roasted Jalapeño Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe
Tantalize your taste buds with this smoky fermented hot sauce recipe. This easy homemade hot sauce will be a table staple and makes for a creative food gift! One of our favorite ways to preserve hot peppers is to turn them into a lacto-fermented hot sauce. This condiment graces our table every night, and while I’m not the type to add hot sauce to my pasta and meatballs like my husband Brian, I appreciate a bit of spicy tang on my pork tacos and egg burritos! This year we decided to shake up our usual homemade hot sauce recipe and fire-roast the jalapeños before fermenting for a bit of smoky flavor. The results: Ah-mazing! Here is our fermented hot sauce recipe to make and to … [Read more...]
7 Ways to Preserve Fresh Herbs to Eat and Enjoy all Winter Long
When I wander around my garden, even in these last days of summer, I still see fresh culinary herbs ready to be harvested and eaten. Some herbs, like dill and cilantro, have reseeded, making a second crop. Others, like my perennial sage, are leafy and full and ready to be harvested. The problem is, I can't possibly eat all of these herbs before a killing frost hits! I need some unique and creative ways to preserve fresh herbs to eat and enjoy all winter long. Fortunately, there are many ways to preserve herbs, from drying to fermenting to freezing. In this post we'll explore 7 ways to preserve herbs, capturing their intense, unique flavor to enjoy through the winter. 7 Delicious Ways to … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Plant and Forget Garden Experiment
This summer we spent almost three months living in Vermont. The timing was less than ideal for a gardener, but we had a fabulous work trade opportunity to take advantage of, and family events to coordinate around. So this hard-core gardener did what any plant-obsessed person would do - I planted a garden in Missouri in May before we left, grew another garden in Vermont, and came back to Missouri three months later to learn the results of my ultimate plant and forget garden experiment. I had already gardened in Missouri for four summers, so I knew a few things: Weeds were going to be my downfall It could rain regularly, or it could be droughty Certain crops thrive with little to … [Read more...]
Setting Up a Homestead Kitchen on a Budget
Setting up a homestead kitchen on a budget may feel like a daunting task, especially if you're starting from scratch. Admittedly, there are a lot of specialized tools that homesteaders use on a regular basis that you might not find in your standard department store, some of which cost hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, there are creative ways to make setting up your homestead kitchen more affordable. This post was written in collaboration with the company Gumtree to share some ideas on how to set up a homestead kitchen on a budget. What will you need for your homestead kitchen? Setting up a homestead kitchen begins with the usual kitchen items - a set of good knives, cutting boards, … [Read more...]
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