My family loves pickles. We like them with bowls of steaming brown rice, on fresh crusty bread and sometime just straight up from the jar. They are easy to make and full of healthful probiotics. Ingredients: 1/4 cup pickling salt 2 quarts water 1.5 pounds pickling cucumbers 1/2 T red pepper flakes 2 cloves garlic […]
Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category
Dill Pickles
Posted in canning, Cooking, tagged dill pickles, fermented, pickles on September 24, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
Sun Tea with Fresh Herbs
Posted in Cooking on August 30, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
Sunday it’s supposed to hit 90 degrees!!! Pure heaven for this Arizona desert rat and high time to make sun tea. My favorite way to make this popular summer drink is to take a couple of bags of high quality black tea and throw in a generous handful of fresh herbs. You can use traditional […]
Herbal Caramels
Posted in Cooking, tagged caramel, exotic caramels, herbed caramels, herbs on August 20, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
I have been experimenting with herbal caramels for a while and the possibilities are endless. You can use almost any herb such as rosemary, thyme or lavender. I tried using green fennel seeds and the buttery sweet licorice result is delectable. You can add herbal flavor either by infusing or by sprinkling the setting pan […]
Dried Apples
Posted in Cooking, tagged apples, dried apples, dried fruit on August 19, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
The apples on my front parking strip are starting to fall and it’s time to do something with those apples! Over the years I have made apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie filling and several other types of apple based products. The thing that my family likes the most are dried apples. These can be […]
Making Pickled Beets
Posted in Cooking, tagged beets, pickles on August 18, 2016 | 4 Comments »
It’s wonderful to pull out a jar of home-grown, home-canned pickled beets for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. They are very easy to make, so get your canning supplies ready… First you pick the beets. Then you either cut the tops off to stir fry or, if you have goats or chickens, they love them too! Once […]
Garden Fresh Potato Salad
Posted in Cooking, tagged garden potato salad on July 16, 2016 | 1 Comment »
A summer staple for my family is a hearty garden fresh potato salad. We have this sustaining dish with almost every outdoor meal and prepare it for guests as well. Walking through the garden I found onions, nasturtium flowers, peas, purple potatoes and new eggs from the hens. Ready for 4th of July picnics it’s time […]
How to Use Anise Hyssop
Posted in Cooking, tagged anise hyssop, using herbs on July 16, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
Anise hyssop is a lovely plant that grows well in our climate. This edible licorice flavored member of the mint family can be grown from seed, divided from another plant or purchased at a nursery. Here are some of its many uses: Cut flowers Dried flowers – the flower heads dry to a pretty navy […]
Oregon Grape Jam
Posted in Cooking, tagged jam, Oregon Grape, wild edibles on July 6, 2016 | 4 Comments »
Oregon grape laden with berries The Oregon Grape in the park near our house is a luscious deep purple blue color and the berries are just a bit soft to the touch. On the way home I picked some berries then made jam with my harvest. This deep blue jam has a great flavor and pairs nicely with […]
Focus on Collards
Posted in Cooking, tagged collards, stir fry on May 31, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
Collards grow well in the Seattle area so it’s one of those fail safe crops that I plant every year. To get a good yield enrich your soil with some compost and manure then sow your seeds once the soil has warmed. I often start these indoors then plant them out to get a jump on […]
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