/
All blog posts
As you can probably guess, in this category you’ll find every single post from The Nourishing Hearthfire, from the very latest recipes and reflections, to my earliest blog posts, all in one simple category, sorted by date.
-
Backyard Dairy Goats: A Natural Approach to Keeping Goats in any Yard
·
I am excited to announce my new book Backyard Dairy Goats: A Natural Approach to Keeping Goats in any Yard You can read more about it by clicking here. Backyard Dairy Goats Work with nature to raise dairy goats in any yard Backyard Dairy Goats is a book focusing on raising dairy goats in a way that respects their nature, on any amount of land. Backyard dairying can be done by anyone. It doesn’t have to be a dream that…
-
Sunshine and her Babies
·
A goat birth story I wandered through the forest to check on her. It had been 5 months and a week or two since she had been introduced to the billy goat at her old home. We brought her here in July, she was from a large herd that had been raised wild in the forest. She continued her wildness here, staying close to where the other goats are and not drifting too far away. After a few days she…
-
Raising pigs for meat and lard
·
Raising pigs for meat and lard How much time does it take to raise pigs on the homestead for meat? How much of a commitment is it? What do you need to get started? How much does it cost?… I write this partly for myself to read next year, so that I remember how it all works, partly for others who are considering raising pigs. Choosing a breed The simplest way to begin it to buy piglets (also called ‘slips’)…
-
Curing Bacon and Ham without Nitrates
·
How to cure pork without nitrates There are two ways of curing whole pieces of meat – a salty brine, or just plain salt. I will share recipes for both. Which method to choose – brine cure vs plain salt Brine-cured meats are preserved for a shorter time, and also are ready to eat sooner. We chose to cure one leg of ham in the brine, to be boiled for our midwinter feast, and we cured the side bacon in…
-
Cutting up a pig without a saw
·
Before our pig kill (see this post) we had discussed what we wanted to do with each part of the pig. To keep costs down, we just had the mobile butcher here on one day to do the kill, hair removing, gutting, and sawing the pigs in half and leaving them to hang for a day before we would cut them up ourselves. If we wanted him to cut them into pieces he would probably have to come back another…
-
Raising pigs for meat: Butchering Pigs on our Off-Grid Forest Homestead
·
The next few photos are of the pig slaughtering process, with commentary, to help others who want to raise their own meat or understand a process that has mostly been forgotten in modern times. You can find more of my articles about raising pigs, butchering pigs, and making bacon here: About our naturally-raised forest pigs Our pigs have lived happy lives in the paddock above for the past few months. They have been able to express their pig-ness, and have…
-
Perfection
·
I am not that great at describing foods. I sometimes laugh at the descriptions on the back of wine bottles, and at the obsessions that plague the cosmopolitan boomer-inspired worlds of recipes and restaurants, when to me there is just nothing like simple foods created traditionally, and there’s not much to say except ‘perfect’. This cheese deserves praise though. I will post pictures of it and tell its story. This cheese was the last cheese I made this year, towards…
-
Spiced Elderberry Oxymel (Elderberry Syrup)
·
Here is a simple way to make a healthy medicine for the cold months ahead. An elderberry oxymel is like a slightly less-sweet elderberry syrup. I can’t say enough good things about elderberries, and this way of preserving them for the winter can be used either as a daily boost to health to prevent colds and flus, or as something taken when you are sick to relieve the symptoms and get rid of the cold or flu quickly, or just…
-
Nostalgia
·
We’ve moved into our house in the forest. We haven’t built the mud room/wood storage area yet so every morning I tromp towards the door in my muddy boots and leave bottles of fresh goat milk on the doorstep before taking my boots off. During my husband’s childhood milk was still delivered each day in glass bottles, a layer of cream would rise to the top. The bottles would be washed and returned, reused again and again. In my childhood…
-
How to Make Butter Without any Special Equipment
·
You don’t need a butter churn to make butter at home, or a even mixer or food processor. All you need to make homemade butter is a bowl, a whisk, and some cream. Ingredients for homemade butter The cream used for making butter should have no additives, just cream, and if it’s créme fraiche for making cultured butter, then it will have cultures as well (here’s my recipe for culturing cream at home). Cultured cream is far far easier to…
My books
More Resources for Off-Grid Living
Categories
Recent Posts
The Nourishing Hearthfire is reader-supported and mostly ad-free