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  1. K

    Arugula: Still a Favorite Weed

    The post below was one of my very first blog posts back in 2008, and it remains true that arugula is one of my favorite early spring greens and grows everywhere that it is allowed to seed, even in my high-desert climate. I still let it seed itself around in the way described below, but I also...
  2. K

    Seasonal Seasoning Butters

    At this glorious time of year, perennial edibles are coming up everywhere. Many of them are herbs used as seasoning for generations, and at this time of year I start making seasoning butters to take advantage of them at their best. The butters change throughout the season, according to what is...
  3. K

    Spontaneous Salads, and easy tahini dressing

    Years ago I wrote a review of Six Seasons: A New way With Vegetables. It remains a cookbook that I refer back to periodically and from which I have derived a lot of useful concepts. One of my favorites is the use of a “pad“ of some proteinaceous material, often whipped seasoned ricotta cheese or...
  4. K

    A Rant on Green Garlic

    Every few years I permit myself to carry a bit about garden produce that is misunderstood. Judging from what I see at farmers markets, green garlic is misunderstood. Because here’s the important thing: green garlic is green. It is bright vibrant green and not yet yellow-green or beginning to...
  5. K

    Chickens Have Feelings Too + Why Eating Eggs from Humanely Raised Chickens Matters

    Anyone who’s had a dog or cat would tell you that they definitely have feelings. Quinn exhibits shamefulness when he’s been caught sleeping on the bed, and sheer joy when Karl comes home from work. And the cat… well, he gives me the sourest look of anger and betrayal anytime I return from an...
  6. K

    Raising Chickens & Honey Bees Together

    Do chickens and honey bees get along? Can you raise them close together? The short answer is, well… yes. I remember last spring when we received our first-ever batch of baby chicks and a couple boxes of bees all in less than a month’s time. I wondered and hoped that I wouldn’t find a band of...
  7. K

    Chicken Behavior During Molting… or, Why Have My Chickens Gone Crazy?!

    Not only do they provide us with meat and eggs, but chickens are pure homestead entertainment! Spending even a few minutes out in the fresh air and sunshine with these birds will always put a smile on my face. I love just watching them- and actually, keeping an astute eye on them is part fun and...
  8. K

    Why Egg Yolk Color Doesn’t Matter

    Egg yolk color: the great homesteader status symbol! It doesn’t matter if you have a herd of perfectly-groomed sheep, prize-winning tomatoes, a beautiful milk cow, or a pantry full of home-rendered lard, nope. The real measure of a homesteader is the color of their chickens’ egg yolks. At least...
  9. K

    The Loneliest Rooster: A Chicken Story

    I never would have guessed that I’d turn into a “chicken lady,” you know… one of those. I own chicken pot holders, and I talk to the hens like they’re real people. I’m full-blown Chicken Lady. Crazy Chicken Lady. Or as I prefer to call myself: “Chicken Enthusiast.” Before getting chickens, I...
  10. K

    Homemade Organic Baby Chick Starter Feed Recipe {corn-free and soy-free}

    Thinking about making your own chick starter feed, eh? When we first got our baby chicks, I was determined to be the best chick mother I could possibly be. This involved painstakingly researching exactly what they should eat, being over-protective, and taking waaay too many pictures. There...
  11. K

    The BEST Way to Freeze Eggs!

    Farm fresh eggs: it’s either feast or famine around here! During the long days of summer I’ve got baskets full of eggs and I’m piling them on the kitchen table, the washing machine, and any other flat surface I can find. A good problem to have, I know… And then the days get shorter and the...
  12. K

    The Best Way to Cook an Old Chicken (Hint: in an electric pressure cooker!)

    For many homesteaders and farmers, chickens are more than backyard pets- they are meat and eggs to feed the family, or possibly a source of income. The reality of farming is that if a chicken isn’t producing or earning her keep, then she’s got to go. They’re business, not something you name and...
  13. K

    Super Gluing a Broken Chicken Beak, or… How I Became a Crazy Chicken Lady

    Living in the country on an old property with a big barn comes with a few inherent resources- like cats. People drop their unwanted pets outside of town, and cats seem to come and go, using our big vacant barn as shelter and a smorgasbord of rodents. I knew this was going to be hard for me. And...
  14. K

    How to Decide when to Cull a Chicken {The Story of Little Henny}

    Little Henny was one of our original chickens, she was on the homestead for three years with us. The name “Henny” is because we had five Buff Orpingtons who I couldn’t tell apart at first, so they were all called “Hennys.” As they got older and developed personalities they got additional...
  15. K

    Using What You Have VII: Primary and Secondary Consumption of Elm

    I’ve become more and more intrigued by culinary uses of tree leaves, since there is nothing more ecologically sound: the soil is never disturbed, carbon is sequestered, soil biota is preserved, and a small tree can produce an awful lot of leaves. The drawback is that there is little information...
  16. K

    Using What You Have IX: Pantry Stuff

    Now and then I run into new must-have pantry items, and recently I had a throw-together meal that incorporated several of them, so here are some brief descriptions. I do not accept any advertising, free samples, or other freebies. If it appears on this blog, I paid full price and thought it was...
  17. K

    Semi-Permaculture Garlic

    Glorious spring is here. There are no leaves on the trees yet, but the fruit trees are starting to bloom, and the perennials are starting to show up. Green garlic is always the first vegetable of my gardening year, and it’s one of the most welcome. I have seen “green garlic” in stores and...
  18. K

    Early Spring: Collards

    My yard is full of perennial greens ready to harvest, but the first greens I harvest every year are last year’s collards. Kale may be a good winter green in snowier areas, but in my nearly snowless windy desert, kale has desiccated to death by mid-December. My winter stalwart is collards, and...
  19. K

    Leaf Ales for All Seasons

    I’ve had more inquiries about this post than about any other, so I’m re-upping it with a few subsequent notes: 1. The effect of fermentation on flavors is unpredictable and often wonderful. I am not at all a fan of beets, for instance, but one or two beets gives the brew a beautiful rosé color...
  20. K

    Greens: Early Spring Horta

    For gardeners, early spring is a time of great anticipation. This is the season when the growing season to come glows with perfection in your mind, completely removed from hard weather, pests, and general exhaustion. But it is also the time of the very first harvest, if you grow some perennial...

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