Dilly Beans Recipe, Small Batch

A good green bean harvest meant we could feast on dilly beans this year. This was our first season of pretty good success with beans. At least in our eyes. Success looks different to different people. Let me explain that last year we were only able to save 11 ounces of beans… carefully packed away…

Read More

Bone Broth Basics

Making bone broth from scratch was much easier than we ever imagined. We’ve been easing into homesteading with the mindset of using what we have on hand and trying new-to-us things as we are ready. We harvested a half-dozen of our first meat birds over the summer. I saved the bones after meals and simply…

Read More

Wild Violet Jelly Recipe

“How to make wild violet jelly” or “Another weed not to kill in your yard”. Wild violets usher in spring. The dainty purple wild violet flowers carpet the grass and hint of warmth to come. These flowers come in various shades of purple that are so intriguing at a closer look. At your next opportunity,…

Read More

Ms. Olivia’s Sweet Peaches

A peach buzz began to swirl. There was a buzz among the locals that a peach truck was scheduled to deliver in our small town. There is nothing like access to good foods that aren’t typical of your area. A friend called to let me know it was coming and we started thinking about all…

Read More

Cinnamon Rolls with Chestnut Jam and Eggnog Icing

Here is a little spin on your classic cinnamon rolls. These cinnamon rolls truly ring of the holiday spirit. They have such a warm and inviting aroma. There are a few cinnamon roll recipes out there that are pretty good. All of the recipes are basically the same. For years, I would hand-knead the dough…

Read More

Chestnut Jam Recipe

When life gives you chestnuts… you make chestnut jam. When you have more chestnut trees than you can easily count, and they produce an abundance of chestnuts, you find a way to use them, unless of course, you are only using them to feed the local deer and squirrels. Since we have enough nuts to…

Read More

Make as You Go, Pico de Gallo

As summer’s end brought inconsistent weather, autumn stepped in, and we began to bring in less and less tomatoes. This just about puts a damper on canning tomatoes. We had too many to have for just sandwiches, but not enough for major preserving… What can you do? Use the tomatoes for a refrigerator jar of…

Read More

Candied Jalapeños Recipe

Call it “Candied Jalapeños”, “Jalapeño Candy” or “Cowboy Candy”, it’s just yummy! Our nephew’s family joined us for a gathering and brought a tray, a block of softened cream cheese, and a jar of sliced jalapeños in a sweet, clear syrup, and dumped it over the cream cheese. There were crackers and tortilla chips to…

Read More

Garden Fresh Tomato Soup Recipe

There’s nothing like garden fresh tomato soup. After a couple sessions of canning tomatoes from our garden, and a few rounds of B.L.T. sandwiches, we needed another way to enjoy them and boy did we find the answer with this tomato soup recipe. Our dining room table has become the place to unload our rolled…

Read More

Summer Squash Muffins Recipe

There’s all kinds of ways to make squash… this recipe is delicious We only have one yellow squash plant and it’s really been producing! We are so thankful! From this one plant, we’ve been able to enjoy them sauteed, grilled, and fried. We’ve had squash casserole, summer squash pickles, and summer squash relish. Not all…

Read More