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...]
Braised Turnips and Apples Recipe
Two storage crops that we have an abundance of this year are turnips and apples. Turnips did remarkably well in the garden (and of course, I over-planted), so we have a large bed of turnips in the ground and ready for harvest! We also have 8 or so bushels of apples from local orchards sitting in the root cellar for winter eating. A few years ago, for Thanksgiving, I made this dish, adapted from this recipe at Finecooking.com. It was a delicious and hearty side dish that balances the zing of cider vinegar and the earthiness of turnips, with the sweetness of apples and locally pressed sorghum molasses. I plan to make it again this week, along with my winter … [Read more...]
Homemade Black Walnut Liqueur Recipe
This black walnut liqueur recipe will teach you how to make your own walnut liqueur from immature, green walnuts! Perfect for sipping, or gifting. Our homestead is blessed with a number of mature black walnut trees, from which we make cutting boards for our Etsy shop, dye fibers, make syrup, make ink, and eat the nut meats. Last year we added another black walnut product to our growing list - a homemade black walnut liqueur (also known as nocino). Made from immature, green walnuts, nocino has a dark, nutty flavor that is perfect for sipping, or gifting. This black walnut liqueur recipe will teach you how to make your own! According to the book Preserving … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Homemade Toothpaste
Although my family eats a whole foods, low-sugar diet, we've had our share of dental challenges, particularly the kids. Ella had to have restorative work on several of her molars before the age of four, and Everett's teeth have some degree of enamel decay on most surfaces. My take on dental health is like my view of health in general - it matters what you put into your body and how you care for yourself, but also, sometimes things just happen. Our kids don't drink sugary beverages, we don't give them candy or an excess of dried fruits, we floss and brush, and yet… When Ella's dental problems first presented themselves, we went searching for information as to how to best … [Read more...]