Did you know you can harvest a Christmas tree from the National Forest? You can! And in Michigan, the permit is only $5, making this a more affordable alternative to many traditional Christmas tree farms in addition to an amazing family adventure. This is one of my FAVORITE […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how sustainability does and does not go hand in hand with this global pandemic. On one hand, we’re all struggling with big and challenging things, like unemployment, safely shopping for groceries, and educating our children. On the other hand, I think it’s important […]
If you have extra hot, medium, or mild peppers hanging around your house, I highly recommend making your own shatta. If you don’t have peppers hanging around your house, I recommend you go find some from your local farmers market or roadside stand and make your own shatta. However you […]
This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat local all year long. Here’s blog #3 on preserving tomatoes. Preserving tomatoes (and then eating them all winter long) is such a favorite activity for our whole family that I’m devoting several blogs to the […]
This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat local all year long. I’ve collected them all into a free course that you can access here. The course includes lessons that explain the basic preservation methods of canning, freezing, and dehydrating, and specific examples of how […]
This tomato sauce recipe comes from my mother-in-law. We use it as pizza sauce, pasta sauce, and the best damn tomato soup you’ll ever eat! This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat local all year long. I’ve collected them all into a free course that you can access here.
Last year I turned about 30 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes from my farmers market into 17 quarts of canned tomatoes for year round cooking. Tomatoes are such a favorite for me that I’m devoting several blogs to my best strategies to bottle this summer goodness […]
It’s canning season! My backyard garden is starting to overflow with vegetables and I’m starting to see bushels of tomatoes and cucumbers at my farmers market. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! This blog is part of a series about preserving food so you can eat […]
It’s sweet corn season!!! Can you believe it? Have you visited your local farmers market or roadside stand to pick up a few dozen ears yet? Apologies to my non-Michigan friends, but Michigan sweet corn is so delicious, that when it comes to market… it’s an event worth celebrating! If […]
I’ve been talking a LOT about local food lately. It’s summer and when the weather gets warm I quickly become obsessed with my garden (where I grow herbs, vegetables, and fruit), the farmers market, UPick, local roadside stands, foraging in the woods, and buying in bulk to can and freeze […]