We have an underground stone root cellar. It’s one thing I love about old farmhouses. I love old farmsteads! They have such character and so many details that are left out of the newly built homes and barns. Some cold cellars are built into a hillside, separate from the house, but that makes them difficult… Read More
Dry herbs and spices retain their potency anywhere from 3 months to two years, if stored properly. I had a few questions the other day when I posted about my vintage glass apothecary spice jars and my restored spice rack. Here are some of the recognized guidelines for storing dry herbs and spices. Shelf life… Read More
One of the great joys of this season for me is pomanders. Pomanders smell great, they’re easy to make and they last as long as they stay good and dry. I love them. I love them with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns–suns which I am desperate to see during this, the darkest… Read More
I’ve been purging, in case you didn’t know, and while the clothes went first, many other things have followed. I’m painfully going through cookbooks now and asking myself why I have certain cookbooks I’ve never used. As with the clothes, often there isn’t anything “wrong” with the books, it’s just that I have too many… Read More
Once you make these, you will never buy store-bought again! (The pictures below show a quadruple batch.) 2-3/4 to 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup water 1/2 cup sourdough starter 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup cornmeal (or as needed) The night prior, in… Read More
any MSG free recipes and substitutes for bouillon used to make my own, as the homemade recipes all contain flavored granules or bouillon which contain MSG
My MIL made the only thing I actually liked using the old fashioned citron fruit mix – a very soft cookie. Not a bar, just a regular cookie. Not particularly spicy, and more sponge cake like than a normal cookie. For some reason, the citron tasted good in this particular cookie. Other than in this... Read More
When I was a kid, my aunt used to can crab apples that I loved. Never thought to ask her for the recipe when she was alive, but a friend has a crab apple tree so loaded with crab apples, that some of the branches are touching the ground. When she told me that I... Read More