This year, my cayenne pepper plants have outdone themselves. I planted a handful in the spring and didn’t think much more about them — but the hot, dry stretch we had in July and August must have been their sweet spot. By late summer, the bushes were loaded with bright red peppers. Once they started…
Living here on the farm has been so much fun and satisfying. I love finding ways to create homemade versions of food using things I grow, pick up at the local Amish market, or discover around the farm. One of the projects I’ve been wanting to try for a while is homemade sauerkraut. Recently, I…
What’s my perfect idea of a Saturday night? Peeling a ½ bushel of fresh peaches and canning several quarts so we’ll have them ready for winter sounds pretty perfect to me. We love growing as much as we can here on the farm, but our two tiny peach trees are still really young. It’s going…
We’ve been on the farm for a few months now, and we are absolutely loving it. We’ve quickly learned that when you’re out here, being prepared is key, especially since a quick trip back to the house isn’t always an option when you’re down by the barn or over in the orchard. We’ve started putting…
The garden is keeping us busy with fresh produce, and if you’re anything like me, you’re up to your ears each evening deciding how to enjoy it all year long. Our garden surprised us this year and did pretty well for our first year on the farm, but we didn’t plant any corn or green…
If you live on a farm or spend any amount of time outdoors in the summer, you know that bugs are just part of the deal. Out here, we deal with mosquitoes, ticks, flies—you name it. I’ve always kept the traditional bug sprays on hand, but lately I’ve added some new products to help fight…
When I’m baking, I don’t just make one batch. I triple it. If I’m already getting out the ingredients and making a mess, I might as well make it count. That’s how I’ve ended up with jars of muffin mix, waffle mix, brownies and other mixes lined up in my cabinet—ready whenever we want something…
So you’ve decided that you want to learn about canning and you are interested in canning your first batch of something. Maybe you want to make homemade salsa, a batch of dill pickles or homemade spaghetti sauce. I first learned how to can tomatoes in 1999 and have learned a few things that worked and…