Cooler temperatures and shorter days usher in fall. Sure, I love summer and the bounty that it brings, but there is something special about autumn. Not only does it signal the beginning of the end of the harvest, but it heralds in a drink that I associate with crisp days, bonfires, and hayrides. Yes, I […]
Anticipation…Making Homemade Ketchup
Who doesn’t love ketchup? This ubiquitous red sauce was the go-to condiment for burgers, hotdogs, and fries amongst my friends and family. The distinctive shaped bottle graced most tables and just about every picnic. Now fast forward about 25 years. I am in the midst of canning season with a surplus of tomatoes. Frankly, the […]
Large Batch Processing: Tales of a Home Canner
A garden’s bounty is one of the true pleasures in life. With time and effort, seeds you sow in April and May become mature plants rewarding you with produce later in the season. And later in the season it is. As we draw near the end of September, we are still blessed with a wonderful […]
Confessions of an Organic Gardener
Gardening is in my roots. I grew up on a farm in rural Iowa where we had three separate gardens. One was in the backyard, one by the old chicken house, and the third … out in the west field. It was a long way to walk, especially if you were carrying buckets of water […]
Fall Flavor: Mushroom Barley Soup
After a long, hot summer, I welcome the crisp air, yellowing leaves, and the damp earthy aroma of the soil. It offers me a chance to rest and simply enjoy the final blossoms of the season and bounty from the garden. Yes, it is time to get back in the kitchen with burners blazing. And […]
Free-Range Chickens: New Method or Remake of an Old Classic?
In the last few years, chickens have experienced a resurgence. Now while they never went away, more people (I am talking families and individuals, not corporate farms), are raising them. Part of the credit can go towards a movement of knowing where your food comes from. People are raising their own for egg and meat […]