A natural living site where you'll learn about organic gardening, foraging, home medicine and more.
We grow everbearing raspberries, and the way we manage them, they produce a heavy crop of berries from mid-August through September. And it just so happens that our jalapeño peppers ripen during that time as well. Thus, the perfect combination for an amazing treat – low sugar raspberry jalapeño jam!Continue Reading
Like Stinging Nettle Spanakopita, Stuffed Grape Leaves are another Mediterranean food that we just love. While we aren’t Greek, our community has an amazing Greek festival each year and we never miss it.Continue Reading
So, my sister-in-law makes THE BEST cream of broccoli soup. EVER. And she won’t give me the recipe because the person who gave it to her made her swear never to give it away.
Can’t she cheat a little? I was determined to make this cream of broccoli soup and it had to be just as good. In the end, it was my husband who made a suggestion that made the soup rock. I was missing the cheese!Continue Reading
While I love foraging and eating wild mushrooms, when it comes to growing my own mushrooms, I am completely inexperienced. Thanks to the new book, Growing Mushrooms for Beginners, by Sarah Dalziel-Kirchhevel, this will be the year to remedy that. Continue Reading
Fiddleheads are simply the furled fronds, or tender shoots, of a young fern in spring. As the fiddlehead unfurls, they become the ferns new frond, or leaf. Their name comes from their resemblance to the scroll head of a violin and can be found throughout most of the NE U.S. and all of Canada. And they are a wonderful plant for spring foraging. Continue Reading
Do you suffer from cold sores? If so, I highly recommend that you grow lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, in your herb garden. Also called Sweet Melissa, its oil has a strong antiviral effect on the herpes virus and can easily be made into a healing cold sore lip balm.
What this means is that if you apply this lip balm for cold sores topically, it can inhibit the virus directly and can help speed up the healing time (source).Continue Reading
