Buttermilk Basics: Culturing Your Own

Buttermilk Basics Culturing Your Own

Buttermilk.  Delicious and Irreplaceable. I used to substitute regular milk for it in recipes until I realized that the tanginess of buttermilk does, truly, add another dimension to the finished product.  It is easy to buy at the store but also fairly simple to culture on your own at home.  The benefit … Read more

Small-Batch, Homemade Applesauce

Small Batch, Homemade Applesauce

We had an amazing Labor Day weekend.  One of the best weekends in recent memory. We headed three hours south to the little town and did some serious apple picking. It was so much fun and only a *tiny* bit hot and humid.  (Ok…. maybe it was a lot bit hot and … Read more

Coconut-Lavender Relaxation Salve

coconut lavender relaxation salve

Relaxation. Does that word even exist anymore? Like many people these days, I seem to fall into bed each night without much regard for “relaxing,” per-say, which is one reason I came up with this nifty little salve. You see, I’m a routine person.  I set up a routine and I generally … Read more

Natural Homemaking: Homemade Laundry Soap

Natural Homemaking Homemade Laundry Soap

We are doing a short, weekly series on natural homemaking.  You can check out the other posts here, here and here. So.  You knew this one was coming, right? We are not exactly the first bloggers to talk about making your own laundry soap.  However, we also felt like no series on … Read more

Natural Homemaking: Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Tablets

Natural Homemaking Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Tablets

Are you familiar with those little dishwasher tablets that are sold in all the stores?  (Here’s one example Cascade ActionPacs Dishwasher Detergent and here’s another Finish Powerball Tablets.)  They seem awfully handy and I’ve often wanted to buy them.  However, they also are really expensive and just squirting or shaking a little … Read more

Fresh Homemade Ketchup Recipe

Fresh Homemade Ketchup Recipe

Have I mentioned that I froze a bunch of tomatoes last spring? Yeah, I know, I’ve mentioned it only a million times.  Well, you should know, they’re gone now.  I’ve used them all!  My freezer has never felt so empty! Originally I made pasta sauce, then I made pizza sauce and now … Read more

Homemade Sourdough Pancakes

Homemade Sourdough Pancakes

I’m always looking for new ways to use my sourdough starter.  So far, the homemade English muffins have been my favorite way to use it but these sourdough pancakes may be a close second. Check out the recipe below and let me know if you give them a try. Ingredients For the … Read more

Pantry Revamp: Sourdough English Muffins

Pantry Revamp Sourdough English Muffins

We previously posted about making sourdough bread and now you may have this starter in your fridge and are trying to figure out all kinds of ways to start using it.  One great way is to make English muffins. We drew heavily from this recipe on the blog Nourishing Joy. Ingredients Sponge … Read more

Pantry Revamp: Sourdough Bread

Pantry Revamp: Sourdough Bread

Sourdough bread is a fermented food.  I’m just beginning to learn about fermented foods and their health benefits.  From everything I’ve read, I can only improve my health by adding more of them to my diet. I am no scientist, but this what I’ve gathered so far. Sourdough bread lasts longer than … Read more