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25+ Healthy Asparagus Recipes Plus 4 Ways to Store Asparagus

April 18, 2018 by Laurie Neverman 18 Comments

Spring asparagus is a wonderful blessing after a long winter. Those first tender stalks are absolutely delicious raw, straight out of the garden. If you have large home patch – or want to take advantage of the seasonal abundance in stores and farm markets – it's great to have an assortment of asparagus recipes on hand and to know how to preserve asparagus for later use. This post features over 25 healthy asparagus recipes, including soups, salads and main dishes, plus instructions on how to store asparagus and preserve it for later use. [Read more…]

Dandelion Wine Recipe – And the Mistake You Don’t Want to Make

April 5, 2018 by Laurie Neverman 152 Comments

Wine out of dandelions? You bet! Making homemade dandelion wine is a longstanding family tradition. We don't make it every year, but I do like to keep a few bottles on hand for company. You can use the dandelions from your yard, provided they are free of pesticides, herbicides and other things you don't want to eat. The taste of this dandelion wine is rich, golden and warming – more like a good brandy than a wine. I've had friends who don't normally like wine comment that they do enjoy this “spring tonic”. [Read more…]

Home Food Drying – 6 Things You Need to Know to Dehydrate Food at Home

April 4, 2018 by Laurie Neverman 28 Comments

Are you considering home food drying? Want an easy way to store and preserve food? Need a food storage method that doesn't take up much space and requires very little equipment? Want to make healthier snacks for your family to enjoy at home or on the go? Looking for portable food for camping or backpacking? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should learn about home food drying. [Read more…]

How to Can Food at Home – Quick Guide to Safe Home Canning

April 4, 2018 by Laurie Neverman 32 Comments

To can food at home, you combine canning safe glass jars, lids with rubber gaskets, food that's safe for canning and the right heat processing. Home canning allows you to preserve almost any food – even entire meals – but you need to follow the rules. I do the bulk of my home canning during harvest season, but can fire up the canner any time of year. One trick I've taken advantage of is to toss whole fruit (like tomatoes) or fruit puree into the freezer, and then finish processing when the weather has cooled. In this post I’ll discuss how to can food at home safely, basic equipment for home canning, canning tips and recipes.

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Fresh Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Recipe – Make Mozzarella Balls!

April 3, 2018 by Laurie Neverman 64 Comments

You can make fresh mozzarella cheese at home – with just four ingredients! Use your homemade mozzarella to make mozzarella balls from scratch, or stretch it into homemade string cheese. This posts features the “30 Minute Mozzarella Cheese” recipe from Ricki Carrol's book “Home Cheese Making“. If you'd like to make traditional mozzarella (which takes a bit longer), check out the “Cultured Dairy and Basic Cheese” e-course from Traditional Cooking School. [Read more…]