Part of my homestead dream for the ranch, included a good sized portager ("kitchen") garden.

Spring foraged violet syrup recipe

Garden season is coming to a close (cue the sad violins)… One of the things I love most about summer, is the fewer groceries I buy from the

Squash, pumpkins, & gourds, oh my! This year we decided to try our hand at a pumpkin patch.

One afternoon, watering my many lavender plants, it occurred to me that I was more than fully capable of recreating it at a fraction of the

While our operation is not currently big enough to warrant visitors, this year we did invest in a larger homemade sap evaporator for the who

Two-for-one deals are my favorite, especially when it means one less thing I have to buy from a store.

Using the rendered lard that we had from butchering our pork hogs this year, I decided to make my own candles.

With the return of pork from our homestead pigs, we were also given quite a few bags of pig fat. Now, what does one do with bag fulls of fat

Winter feels a lot longer when you become a gardener and keeper of livestock. The sunshine months are when everything glitters...

Why do we bother? All this extra work and time spent making, baking, prepping, tending, feeding and watering. It seems like a lot - and some

Start With A Stick (SWAS) - that's the age-old Harper family motto on the use of butter.

We harvested our first duck for Christmas dinner.

I am proud to say that we have accomplished much of what we set out to do on the Homestead this year.  We are raising our feathered and furr

We are very proud to have our eggs featured in their dishes, and to be considered part of their collection of quality local farms.

Using whatever variety of dried herbs you like, place in a mortar with pestle and add course salt and peppercorns.

In preparation for the big day, I can be a little intense... The Homestead Husband knows to stay faaar out of this Big Momma's way, when

It's the turkey day staple - cranberry sauce. Although the jelly-like tin can variety has the spotlight usually, I tried my hand at maki

No country french farm scene would be complete without the scent of lavender floating on the breeze.  While we are definitely not in Paris,

We have more cucumbers than we know what to do with.  Went a little overboard this planting season... oops.  I have been drinking cucumber w