Monthly Book Giveaway - February 2023
I recently read something or watched a video (sorry; I don’t remember the source) and the person spoke about gardening in terms of “giving and receiving” vs “taking”. The homesteading mindset is definitely connected to the process of giving and rece
It’s February 14th (Happy Valentines Day) I’m in zone 5b (with the last frost date around May 24th) And we are in the middle of a false spring - and it is lovely! But … is it too early to start some seeds? [12C7A41A-E150-4B69-B2D8-163ECB240DFD.png]
Well, spring is fast approaching and this will be the first year planning for a spring garden in my Hoophouse.  “The learning curve is real” The seed packets say “6-8 weeks before last frost” … but the hoophouse frost is going to have a different ti
I’ve made many, many loaves of sourdough so far this year (using the Elaine Boddy method, from her book “The Sourdough Whisperer”) and today was the first time that I had a fail … or Elaine would say “a learning experience”. [B3E6D246-0353-486E-A9B6
I went deep this morning in my reflecting … In the spring, we can’t wait to get our hands in the soil — and I think that that right there is the biggest “why” behind my desire to garden. “Getting my hands in the soil” Actually, as I think about i
This year, I want to do a better job at documenting what I grow in my garden, and how I grow it, and how well it grows.  My little 3/4 acre home is in Ontario, Canada and I am in Zone 5b. Estimated last spring frost: May 24 Estimated first fall frost
While in my pantry the other day I saw a jar of freeze-dried rhubarb powder and thought “how am I going to use this? What about in bread?” So sourdough bread it is - with rhubarb and parsnip powder in the flour. I made my sourdough bread as usual,
When I was young, we frequently heard the phrase:  “You will eat a peck of dirt in your lifetime. ” That was definitely true, back in the day. Today, in 2023, I wonder how much dirt we do consume and what are the benefits? [2A60AD0B-5774-4CE6-A73
“Don’t put me back in the fridge,” MzElla said. MzElla is my sourdough starter. Sourdough starters are named to remind us that they are alive. The wild yeast within that starter are active, living, hungry microorganisms. The experiment I already ha
This was the wisdom I received while journaling this morning:  “Making sourdough gives water, nbiish, time to do its medicine to help make grains digestible. ” Nbiish, the Ojibwe word for water, according to Native teachings, is the first medicine.
Ok, the experimenting already started - when I purchased the “The Sourdough Whisperer” book and tried Elaine Boddy’s sourdough method. But, with my sourdough starter begging,  “don’t put me back in the fridge”  and a loaf of bread already in the bre
When you have a smaller pantry, you want to get the most jars into the small space and that, for me, means stacking them. But, when you stack them, you’re putting pressure on the middle of the lid, which pulls the edge away from the jar, potentially