This year, we're trying to keep Christmas buying to a minimum, and mostly giving gifts of food or simple items that we've made here on the farm. So in that theme, here's another DIY item that I resurrected from the past and have been making. It uses leftover wine corks to make ornaments for your tree or to attach to packages as a gift for someone else's tree! One of the nice things about making these ornaments is that they can be varied almost infinitely to fit any ... continue reading...
Split Pea and Ham Soup
Grandma made the best split pea & ham soup, it was always delicious. One year (when she was in her early nineties), she gave each of the grandchildren a package of split peas and her recipe as a Christmas gift. It is still one of the most memorable gifts, and I'm so glad she did it! There's nothing difficult or exotic about this recipe, but it produces a great pot of soup. I think the secret is the ham bone and sautéing the vegetables before adding them, it gives the soup great depth of ... continue reading...
Homemade Vanilla Extract
It's easy to make your own vanilla extract rather than buying the expensive little bottles of (often fake) extract at the store. All it takes are a few vanilla beans, a tall bottle, and some vodka. Once it’s made, you can keep the recipe going for years by adding more vodka and vanilla beans; and, you get an extra “ingredient” – the vanilla beans. Just slice open the bean and scrape out all the seeds, they add wonderful flavor to your baking. Which Vanilla Beans Madagascar vanilla ... continue reading...
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
The butternut squash always seems to do well in the garden, and rewards us with lots of squash in the fall. This recipe is a great one for using the squash, and although my husband says he doesn't like butternut squash, he likes this. I think it's the curry powder that makes it such a great soup. The ingredient list is very short and it's super easy to make, but the flavor is outstanding. And since butternut squash store so well, it's something that we can enjoy throughout the fall ... continue reading...
Swiss Chard Frittata
The Swiss chard is looking beautiful again in the fall garden, and this homey frittata makes delicious use of it. The great thing about chard is that once it gets going in the garden, it just doesn't quit. I particularly like this recipe because it uses both the leaves and ribs, and has such wonderful flavor. For filling a frittata like this, chard is one of our favorites for color and flavor; but other greens like escarole, frisee, collards, dandelion greens, arugula, ... continue reading...
Pole Bean Thief!
We usually have a great pole bean harvest when we grow our favorite homestead bean variety (Fortex), but this year things went wrong. Almost immediately after the seeds started sprouting, something began eating them. A few years ago, I would have strongly suspected deer; however, we fenced the garden with eight strands of electrified fencing on six-foot posts to keep the deer out. Also, the garden is now almost entirely surrounded by bee hives, further discouraging any deer that might ... continue reading...
8 Honey Bee Hive Inspection Tips
This is the time of year when new beekeepers and seasoned experts alike are starting to regularly inspect their hives, so here are eight hive inspection tips to help ensure success: 1) Watch the Front Door It’s very important to regularly inspect your honey bee colonies (this means taking off the top and going into the colony), but the colonies should be visually checked daily too. During the daily check, watch the hive entrance (front door) - you’re looking to identify healthy hive ... continue reading...
Stopping an Egg Eating Chicken
We've been having a little problem lately - an egg eating chicken. Chickens will eat insects, fruits, vegetables, greens, and just about anything else – including their own eggs (they’re omnivorous). But having chickens that eat their own eggs is obviously not good for chicken keepers – we want those eggs! Chickens can develop a taste for eggs in a number of ways, perhaps they lay a weak egg or they are startled and accidentally break an egg, or they become calcium deficient and try ... continue reading...
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