Over the last two months I’ve spent a lot of my spare time putting up food. It brings me joy now and through the colder months and […]
Tag: Aldona Bird
Homemade apple cider isn’t easy, but it’s good
We have a bumper crop of apples this year — we’ve harvested many bushels worth and some are still on our trees, ready for picking. I had […]
Cactus gets into the holiday spirit early
You’ve heard of Christmas cactus, and probably Thanksgiving and Easter cacti. But have you heard of Halloween cactus? Probably not, because it doesn’t exist … but I […]
A little chemistry can help cheese melt better
Milk, water, whey, cream, whey protein concentrate, sodium phosphate, milk protein concentrate, 2% or less of annatto and apo carotenal (color), calcium phosphate, cheese culture, enzymes, lactic […]
Live entertainment is out there waiting
The time at home the pandemic forced on some of us, renewed the interests of many in gardening, baking (sourdough especially), keeping chickens, sewing and other slower […]
Having fun testing foods in thrifted dehydrator
Recently, I found a food dehydrator while thrifting. I hadn’t been on the hunt for one, because for years my family has planned to make a solar […]
USDA guide make scanning much safer
For Christmas last year my sister gifted me the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. I’ve only used a few recipes from it, but it has changed […]
North Elementary garden teaches kids valuable lessons, far beyond simple planting
A homeschool alumna and homeschooling my child, I haven’t been often in public schools. As a teenager, I occasionally went to take standardized tests, and as an […]
Feeling spicy: Our love affair with capsaicin
As you may have guessed from my recent do-it-yourself feature, I have a lot of jalapenos to process. I used the USDA canning recipe book to calculate […]
European hornets can stay if they stay out of my way
Over the last few summers, I’ve seen huge wasps. They haven’t obliged in holding still long enough for me to measure them, but I’d estimate their length […]