Prepping · Preserving · Recipes

Pantry Staples: Making Cream Cheese From Powder

What if you could make fresh cream cheese whenever you wanted it? And have it easy to do? If you love cream cheese, this will make your bagels and tortillas feel so loved. And to have the ability to make dishes that call for it, instead of a drive to town when you realize you… Continue reading Pantry Staples: Making Cream Cheese From Powder

Gardening · Herbalism · Homesteading · Preserving

Air Drying Herbs and Flowers

Drying herbs and flowers is easy to do, and takes little work to put away a years worth. And you don't need a dehydrator either. My method is very simple: Take a clean brown grocery bag outside and pick, tossing into the bag as you do. Then fold over the top to keep light and… Continue reading Air Drying Herbs and Flowers

Homesteading · Prepping · Preserving

Dehydrating Mushrooms

Overall I prefer freeze-dried ingredients for long-term storage over dehydrated, but there are a few things i far prefer dehydrated. Mushrooms are one of those things. The act of dehydrating changes the structure of the mushroom. Freeze-drying mushrooms leaves them intact and raw, but when you dehydrate them, the heat slowly cooks them. It removes… Continue reading Dehydrating Mushrooms

Preserving · Recipes

Chocolate Strawberry Spread/Sauce

My inspiration for this chocolate strawberry sauce was for a chocolate raspberry sauce I saw on Fresh Preserving's website. It contained a lot of sugar - over 6 cups of it. And while I love raspberries, my body reminds me seeds are not my friend. So I got thinking, and adapted the concept to using… Continue reading Chocolate Strawberry Spread/Sauce

Preserving · Recipes

Canning No Peeling Pasta Sauce

It's first week of September and I am picking tomatoes daily to process. With salsa prepped for the winter, it was time to move onto pasta sauce. I hate peeling tomatoes. It involves spending more time in the kitchen, and more time sweating. This is how to use all the tomatoes you grow: white, yellow,… Continue reading Canning No Peeling Pasta Sauce