November 30, 2012

This Christmas, Give the Gift of Nutrition Through Fermentation {plus Free Printables!}

The Gfit of Fermentation at KeeperoftheHome.org

By Diana, Contributing Writer I can't believe it's been a week since Thanksgiving.  I had a wonderful time planning and preparing a real food feast for my family and friends. I spent two days in preparation that included a slow roasted pastured turkey; sourdough crackers and rolls; labneh (yogurt) cheese; roasted brussels sprouts with onions and bacon; sweet potatoes with fresh cranberries in a real maple syrup; mashed potatoes drenched in butter; and for dessert, pie – oh sweet pie. As much as I love the holiday [...]

Filed Under: Baby Steps, Holidays, In the kitchen, Nutrition, Preserving Food, Real Food, Traditional foods Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 12 Comments
August 24, 2012

Freezing and Using Up an Abundance of Peppers

freezing and using up peppers

Written by Erin Odom, Contributing Writer I don't pretend to be a master gardener. In fact, my thumb is more black than green. But one vegetable that always seems to flourish in my garden is the pepper. And, despite my limited abilities, my family always ends up with an abundance of them! Thankfully, peppers freeze extremely well, and there are lots of great recipes that call for peppers that you can implement in your kitchen all year round. Health Benefits of Peppers Besides being fairly easy [...]

Filed Under: Frugality, Gardening, Preserving Food, Seasonal eating Tagged With: , , , , , , , 14 Comments
August 17, 2012

5 Frugal Ways to Stock Up on Chemical Free Fruits and Vegetables to Preserve

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Written by Diana, Contributing Writer Just like clockwork, late summer comes knocking with an explosion of fresh vegetables. This is a typical late summer harvest at my urban homestead.  I do my best to use as much as I can in dishes and the rest I try to put up for the winter. Jars of salsa, enchilada sauce, peppers, and relish line my pantries while I wait to soon be inundated by apples, pears, and grapes. I'm blessed to have most of what I preserve [...]

Filed Under: Frugality, Preserving Food, Real, whole food Tagged With: , , , , , , , 25 Comments
July 23, 2012

Canning: Not What You Think!

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Written by Anne S, Guest Writer In the "old days", canning was just part of the household routine, a useful way to preserve the bounty of the growing season for the cold dark days of winter. Mothers passed down the skills of canning to their daughters in the same way they passed down all the other essential house-keeping skills - by example and instruction. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the practice of canning fell by the wayside as mothers began to rely more and more [...]

Filed Under: Do it yourself, In the kitchen, Preserving Food Tagged With: , , , , , 50 Comments
September 29, 2011

September at Our Home

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I can hardly believe that fall is upon us already, but the beautiful crimson leaves outside my window attest to the fact that it's true. I am always sad to see the summer go, especially since we had such a short season of truly warm summer weather here in the Pacific Northwest, and yet I do relish autumn as a time to take stock of things, slow down, establish new routines and capture summer's last fleeting moments before we say good-bye for another year. This summer was [...]

Filed Under: Gardening, Home Educating, Our family, Preserving Food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 27 Comments
September 8, 2011

Gardening with Herbs 101: Harvesting Your Herbs

Written by Meg Dickey, Contributing Writer Our weather may not be showing signs of Autumn, but our plants and gardens are certainly indicating it is time for harvesting! If you have been consistently using your herbs throughout the summer, you may not feel you have many to preserve for the winter season (my catnip has been well-used this year, and I won't be saving hardly any!).  However, you certainly don't want to wait until the first freeze to start harvesting your herbs! You can begin [...]

Filed Under: Gardening, Preserving Food Tagged With: , , , , , , , 10 Comments
September 5, 2011

Small Batch Dehydrating for the Summer Bounty

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There's a woman who lives a few blocks down from me with this miraculous garden that seems to go from a freshly tilled plot to a wildly abundant gardener's delight in about one month flat (my husband keeps telling me not to be jealous because she probably uses Miracle-Gro or something of the chemical-sort). She grows enough teepees full of green beans that I assume she must can and freeze then continually, and eat them weekly all winter and spring. I, on the other hand, [...]

Filed Under: Gardening, In the kitchen, Preserving Food Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 20 Comments
September 1, 2011

How to Peel Peaches and Tomatoes for Canning

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Although I've been canning for 4-5 years now, it was only about 2 years ago that I learned this simple trick for peeling peaches that has made canning an easier task. I was missing out! My 6 year old and I made this short video the other night, while peeling 40 lbs of peaches. She's behind the camera, so I apologize for a few rocky moments (but overall I thought she did pretty well!). If you wanted to use this method for when you are canning [...]

Filed Under: In the kitchen, Preserving Food, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , 21 Comments