May 15, 2013

Can’t Garden? Grow Herbs!

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By Diana, Contributing Writer A great kitchen garden begins with herbs. Fresh herbs add flavor and freshness to a dish – they add color and vibrance.  Fresh herbs can turn the ordinary into something spectacular - like this eggplant bechamel. Besides their wonderful flavoring to dishes, one of my favorite things about fresh herbs is how incredibly easy they are to grow at home.  Even if you've never started a garden before, or lack the space, growing herbs will make you feel like a master gardener! [...]

Filed Under: Gardening, Keeping the Home, Sustainability Tagged With: , , , , 6 Comments
April 15, 2013

5 Spring Super Foods and Spring Sun Safety

Bekah Daniel gardening edit

By Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer I am so excited that spring is finally here!  In the last few weeks, my kids have been obsessed with playing outside and have spent several hours out each day.  We're lucky to have a fenced-in backyard, so I can send them out and watch from the kitchen window.  They dig in the dirt, run, kick balls, and come up with lots of creative games. The shifting of the seasons means that it's time to start thinking differently: local, fresh, [...]

Filed Under: Baby Steps, Healthy kids, Healthy Living, Living healthy, Natural Remedies, Raising healthy eaters Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
March 8, 2013

Teach Your Child to Love Vegetables: Gardening with Children

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By Diana, Contributing Writer I'm always so excited to share a bit about my passions here at Keeper of the Home.  Recently, I've enjoyed sharing a couple of posts on budgeting in real food and cooking with seasonal vegetables that both nourish and taste phenomenal. Many of you have started to follow me on instagram where I frequently post pictures of my ridiculously good lunches for kids. As you can tell, I enjoy loading up my children's diets on vegetables.  A frequent question that I get is, [...]

Filed Under: Children, Family life, Gardening, Good stewardship, Healthy kids, Homesteading, Keeping the Home, Living healthy, Living Simply, Nutrition, Raising healthy eaters, Real, whole food, Seasonal eating, Sustainability Tagged With: , , , , 18 Comments
December 5, 2012

Could you have a farm… in your own backyard?

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About 5 years ago, I first stumbled upon the "homegrown revolution" and the idea that it was not only possible, but liberating to be able to grow one's own food. From that first spark, my backyard gardening attempts have continually grown, and I've learned how to support local farmers for my meat and dairy, and the produce that I am not able to grow myself. I wouldn't say that I have a backyard farm. At this point, I'd call myself a somewhat ambitious suburban gardener, [...]

Filed Under: Books, Gardening, Homesteading, Sustainability Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments
June 27, 2012

Having Vegetables When You Can’t Grow Your Own

Vegetable Basket

Written by Stacy Myers, Guest Writer I’m a country girl, born and raised on a farm in Virginia. My parents are excellent at growing a garden. I never remember a summer without having something to preserve, even if it was a “bad year.” I’ll admit I took it for granted. I grew up and got married and discovered something. My parents did not pass their growing gene on to their oldest daughter. I have what my husband commonly refers to as The Black Thumb of [...]

Filed Under: Frugality, Real, whole food Tagged With: , , , , , 24 Comments
June 20, 2012

It’s Not Too Late to Start a Garden

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Written by Diana, Contributing Writer By now, many people have their gardens well underway. Lettuces and spinach have been growing in abundance while plump roots of carrots and beets are being un-earthed. The rising heat is nudging us that Spring has passed and we're just about to dip into Summer. With the changing seasons, many people may be wondering if it's too late to start a garden. I've got great news.  There are many varieties of vegetables that you can still put into the garden [...]

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: , , , , , 24 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 14, 2011

Gardening with Herbs 101: Preserving Your Herbs

Written by Meg Dickey, Contributing Writer Last time we talked about how to harvest your herbs - now that you've harvested them, what are you going to do with them? Here are my favorite ways to preserve herbs for out-of-season use: Freezing This method best preserves flavor.  Rinse the herbs and chop coarsely.  Place about 1-2 teaspoons in each compartment in an ice cube tray.  Cover with chicken stock, olive oil, or plain water and freeze.   Transfer frozen cubes to Ziplock bags for longer [...]

Filed Under: Gardening, Herbs, In the kitchen, Natural Remedies Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , 12 Comments