Extras

December 29, 2014 - Simmering Stock

Did you have a Christmas turkey? Or duck? Or goose? We had Christmas goose here. And not THAT goose! This goose. A goose we didn’t know personally. Then! Because the goose was so expensive to begin with, and because I have heard the wondrous tales of goose fat, and because making stock is just the...
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February 12, 2013 - Making Maple Syrup

Depending on where you live, now, or sometime soon, is maple syrup time! I planted five sugar maples on my farm last year, but I’ll be long gone from this earth before they are ready to be tapped. However! I have big old maple trees in the woods here–ready for tapping. Maple syrup is a...
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November 26, 2012 - A Hot and Sweet Jerky Recipe

I had jerky in the dehydrator pretty quick last week because that is one of Ross’s favorite things–and he wanted some of his own deer jerky. He wanted it hot, and I tried a couple different small batches before coming up with his favorite recipe. I looked at about half a dozen recipes before developing...
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August 9, 2011 - “Sun-Dried” Tomatoes in Oil (and Bread)

I’ve been working on an article for the Charleston Daily Mail on various ways of preserving tomatoes, which brought me back to my issues with dehydrating tomatoes. I’ve had trouble in the past with stickage. (Is, too, a word!) The tomatoes stick to the dehydrator trays. I took my sticky issue to the Chickens in...
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July 24, 2011 - Saving Squash and Zucchini

Summer squash and zucchini can seem like a plague of locusts–in the summer. When they’re plentiful. In the winter? They are like touching the sun. But how to get there? This summer, I realized something miraculous and obvious. So I post this for those of you who, like me, haven’t thought of this before. For...
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May 23, 2011 - Rosemary & Garlic Oil

I have rosemary. And lots of it! I confess, I didn’t plant this rosemary from seed. I purchased healthy, lovely rosemary plants and planted them. With my own two hands. That’s almost as good, right? Rosemary is what fairies use for Christmas trees, don’t you think? If only rosemary survived the winter….. Which is why...
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April 22, 2010 - How to Pasteurize Milk

Start with a cow. Tie her up, tie her down, tie her sideways. (Shades of Clover.) Okay, a cow is not quite as much trouble to milk as a goat, but cows are quite strong. Get ‘er milked and take your booty home. I have a post specifically about handling milk here: Handling Milk. I’ll...
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April 20, 2010 - Let’s Make Butter!

Butter is one of my very favorite things in the whole wide world, so I’ve been really looking forward to making my own homemade butter ever since I found out I was getting a cow. As soon as I had a quart of heavy cream stashed away, I did it! And it was so easy....
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April 8, 2010 - Homemade Mayo, Mustard & Potato Salad

How did we go from winter to summer overnight? It’s been in the 80s here. The 80s! (The temps are supposed to drop off starting today, though. Hello, spring???) Cook-out weather makes me hungry for potato salad right away. Cold, creamy, cook-out-style potato salad with lots of celery and pickle relish. I can’t stand store-bought...
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February 27, 2010 - Make Your Own Lard

First, go downstairs to the freezer and get out a big bag of fat. If you don’t have a big bag of fat, you’ll have to go to a butcher shop. Trust me, it’s worth it. Making your own lard is easy! It’s fresh, natural, and not hydrogenated like store-bought lard, and if you grew...
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February 4, 2010 - How to Freeze Eggs

Step one, get a chicken. Or forty. Be sure you have complete control of them. Good luck with that. You’ll need a big garden rake…. ….to drag the eggs out from the very back-back-darkest-back of the dog house. They’ll change to a new hiding place soon, so good luck with that, too. Just be glad...
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August 3, 2009 - Homemade Crushed Hot Peppers

I’ve been canning. I’ve been freezing. We’ve got fresh vegetables coming out our ears! And suddenly I remembered the dehydrator. My cousin and his wife gave me a beautiful new food dehydrator for Christmas. My cousin’s wife is one of those people who are most excellent at choosing just the right gift. She knew I...
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November 22, 2008 - Snow Ice Cream and Dancing Farm Animals

I was fascinated by a discussion in the forum this week about making “snow ice cream” as it was something I had never heard of before. I didn’t grow up around a lot of snow, and while I certainly had my childhood moments of cramming snowballs in my mouth during rare episodes of snowfall, the...
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November 7, 2008 - Homemade Vanilla: The Big Bottle Method

I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet and Christmas is too scary to think about, but I want to post about Homemade Vanilla Extract while you still have time to make it! Since I started making my own vanilla in the past year, I never use anything else. I love it! How many...
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May 6, 2008 - How to Make Homemade Dough Enhancer

Dough enhancer is just what you need to make whole grain homemade bread light and wonderful, just like white bread, only better. You can buy dough enhancer, but it’s more frugal–and fun–to mix it yourself! What goes into a dough enhancer? I use a combination of wheat gluten, lecithin, ascorbic acid crystals, pectin, gelatin, nonfat...
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February 9, 2008 - Homemade Vanilla Extract

Make homemade vanilla extract! Yes, you can! And it’s so easy and fun! You will feel so handy and survivalist afterward! It makes me feel like a pioneer!!!! And it’s fun, did I mention that part? It’s stronger, it’s cheaper, and you can avoid preservatives and artificial flavorings. It also puts you completely in control...
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December 8, 2007 - How To Prepare Fresh Pumpkin

Preparing fresh pumpkin is oh so worth it! Once you taste pumpkin pie made from fresh pumpkin, you’ll never go back. The most common pie and baking pumpkins include Sugar or Sweet Pie, Small Sugar or New England Pie, and Sugar Baby. Choose a pumpkin that is heavy for its size, which means more moisture...
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