Much like vinegar, cooking oil is such a broad category it can be hard to know which oil to use. There are so many options to choose from – olive oil alone has seemingly endless varieties. Keeping a well-stocked pantry means including a few different types of oils, but how do you know which oil…
Tag: DIY
{diy exercise} Of Dog Trotting and Stand Up Desks
I have a very scary birthday coming up next year. When I think about my birthday, I am reminded of the Frederick Nietzche quote, “And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” The only good things about this birthday are that I am not dead yet and that it…
{weekend project} Dehydrator Yogurt
$1.00 per small container of greek yogurt seems like a good deal until you learn how easy and cheap it is make your own. Last year my husband and I purchased a 9-tray dehydrator. It’s a thing of beauty in our eyes. My husband noticed the yogurt setting on the dehydrator and that was the…
{backyard chickens} Hatching Chicks!
Last time I posted, I talked about incubating chickens and how to candle them. 21 days came and went and on that last day I had the privilege of watching 16 chicks hatch out of their shells. Seven of them were from Brown Betty Farm and fellow From Scratch Club blogger Liz, and the other nine were from…
{announcing} FSC Academy
Home Dairy…. Jams, Jellies & Preserves… Fermenting… Bacon Curing… Water Bath Canning… Bread making 1, 2, 3, 4… The Art of Tarts… Home & Body Sampler… Summertime Condiments… Food Preservation 101… Seasonal Soups… Home Brew… Baby Food… Ohhhh am I so excited to share this wonderful news! After a long organizational process, FSC is ready…
{Kitchen Basics 101} from veggie scraps to stock
Making vegetable stock is so easy, yet I’m guessing that not all of you have homemade stock on hand. By the time I remember to make some stock, I only have half an onion or a single celery stalk to work with and something about buying a whole basket of fresh veggies just to boil…
{backyard chickens} Incubating & Candling
It’s almost spring, and you know what that means – baby chickens! This year for the first time ever I’m incubating eggs and will watch my own chickens hatch. Today I’ll share segments from my personal blog, The Village Homestead, about how I set up the incubator and sourced my eggs, as well as how…
{photo diary} A Temporary Fireplace for Making Maple Syrup
My last post about syruping included a few photos of the cinder block fireplace we built in 2011 for boiling down the sap that we collect from maple trees in our neighborhood. When we built our current fireplace a week later, I took more extensive photos. We changed our fireplace a little this year; we…
{drink it up} The Art of the Hot Toddy
It’s officially flu season. According to the CDC, the onset of flu season has been delay recently. If (like me) you thought that you were in the clear, think again. The nasty virus might still be lurking, waiting to take you as its next prey. And then there is all the other yuckiness that’s been…
{how to} A Temporary Fireplace for Making Maple Syrup
Editor’s Note: Its that time of year again- Maple Sap running! You can do it- go outside & tap your neighborhood maple trees (with permission from your neighbors of course!) Dianna is back with another (helpful) installment in her How To Maple Syrup Series. If you weren’t with us last year this time, Dianna cranked…
{FSC SWAPPERS} breads, jams, soups, lip balms… oh my!
Editor’s Note: Swapper Natalie & her friend, Swapper Lindsay, have rocked the Saratoga Food Swap since they began attending a few months back. They are serious regulars now and I’m always delighted to see them (and what they bring to swap) each month! They tend to be very creative with glorious packaging and display wow….
{gardening} Making the Most of One Acre
How Does Your Garden Grow? Sizing up our land and making the most of 1 acre. My husband is a cultivator; it’s in his veins. By the time most people begin their Spring cleaning he is out tilling the ground and planning the upcoming year’s garden. When were looking to build a home all he…
{be mine} DIY Conversation Hearts
Valentine’s Day is a holiday of love, but also of CANDY! While you might immediately imagine a red, heart-shaped box of chocolates when thinking of Valentine’s Day, there is another candy that has also been capturing hearts. A favorite amongst school-aged children, the Conversation Heart has had a steady fan base over the years. I…
{4 saturdays, 4 giveaways} The Feedback Giveaway
UPDATE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2012: THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. The winner of their choice of Keeping Bees or Keeping Chickens or Home Dairy or Canning & {reserving by Ashley English is: LUCKY #3: KIMMER: “Took the poll, recipes, local food and vendor information, all make me read the blog, the local look at food, gardens,…
{planning your garden} Crop Rotation
Even though the ground is covered with snow and ice and the sun barely shines, January is the time to plan your garden. There are four essential tenets of good organic gardening; have a readily available water source, keep on top of the weeds, feed the soil and rotate your crops. Crop rotation is probably…
