Hey Reader September is National Preparedness Month, so now's a good reminder to take another look at preparedness. And I donāt mean filling a shopping cart with survival gear or worrying about every possible disaster. The boring stuff matters first. Do you have food your family will actually eat? Could you manage through a power outage? Does everyone in the house know what to do if you canāt reach each other? Thatās where Iād start. Survival Preparedness for Beginners If preparedness feels...
about 5 hours agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey Reader This last weekend of August always feels like a bit of a handoff. The garden is still very much in summer mode, but September is sitting there on the calendar with cooler evenings, busier routines and all those little jobs we meant to get to before fall. So todayās reads are a little of both. Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins If zucchini is still multiplying on your counter, this is my newest recipe over at Recipes From Leftovers. These muffins use two cups of grated zucchini,...
4 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, The Labor Day weekend is right around the corner, and this is one of those holidays you don't want to overthink. Maybe youāre feeding a crowd. Maybe youāre taking something to someone elseās place. Or maybe you simply want good food that makes the long weekend feel a little different from every other weekend. I pulled together 47 Labor Day recipes in one place, including breads, salads, mains, appetizers and desserts. And several of the recipes come from the archives of An Off...
5 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, Depending on where you live, it might be tempting to look at your garden and think the growing season is almost over. In fact, when we lived full-time in the Northwest Territories, August often brought frost, along with the amazing northern lights. And while your garden season may almost be over, that doesnāt necessarily mean youāre finished growing food. Cool-weather crops, a little frost protection and even a simple cold frame can stretch the season longer than you might expect....
7 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, Weāre not quite into fall yet, but apple season doesnāt really care what the calendar says. And once the apples start coming in, they have a habit of coming in all at once. If youāve got a tree producing, youāre heading to an orchard, or you simply spotted a good grocery store deal, today Iāve got three ways to put those apples to work. 10 Ways to Store Apples If you want fresh apples to last longer than a week or two, a little sorting and planning makes a big difference. Read...
11 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Free meat. Every box. For a YEAR. Hey friend, Late August always felt like two seasons at once. The garden was still producing, but the mornings and evenings were starting to hint at what would come next And that was usually when I started looking beyond the current harvest and thinking about the jobs Iād rather not scramble to finish later. Firewood. Repairs. Fuel. Animal shelters. Garden cleanup. Getting equipment ready for colder weather. It's too easy to get overwhelmed. A few years ago,...
12 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, Have you ever found yourself busy with summer projects like house renovations, chicken coop and animal pen chores, or even time away? If so, you may have been surprised at what a little neglect can do to your vegetable garden. A few days is plenty of time for cucumbers to get bigger, beans to multiply and perfectly manageable vegetables to turn into a counter full of work. So if your garden is doing the same thing right now, todayās reads are all about putting some of that food...
14 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, One thing I wish more people understood about homesteading is that you donāt have to wait until you own the homestead to start. You can learn how to preserve food in an apartment kitchen. You can grow something on a balcony. You can learn to cook without relying on another electric appliance. And you can start figuring out which skills matter to your family long before you ever sign papers on a piece of land. In fact, learning some of those skills ahead of time makes the eventual...
18 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, August is one of those months when the garden can steal all your attention. Youāre picking, preserving, watering, weeding and already thinking about what needs to happen before fall. Meanwhile, the chickens are still out there expecting room service. So todayās reads are three simple chicken projects worth keeping handy. Nothing complicated. Just practical ways to keep the flock comfortable, make better use of your feed, and do a little more yourself. How to Make a Chicken Dust...
19 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hey friend, By this time of the summer, a garden can go from "nothingās ready yet" to "where did all these vegetables come from?" in the blink of an eye. And once you start picking, thereās another question. What are you going to do with all of it? A little planning now can mean less waste, fewer frantic preserving days, and even fewer seeds to buy next spring. Today Iāve got three practical reads for dealing with whatās coming out of the garden right now. 5 Vegetable Garden Harvesting...
21 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read