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Welcome to the Nourishing Hearthfire Blog. This is where all our in-depth articles, step-by-step tutorials, seasonal recipes, and honest homesteading stories live.
Whether you’re diving into natural cheesemaking with raw milk and heirloom cultures, baking perfect whole grain sourdough loaves, mastering lacto-fermentation and food preservation, cooking nourishing meals from your garden and pantry, or learning the full spectrum of self-sufficiency skills – you’ll find it here.
Every post is written for real homesteaders and off-grid families who want practical, no-nonsense advice that actually works in a busy, self-reliant life. No fluff, no shortcuts, no nonsense – just time-tested methods, beautiful real-food results, and the quiet satisfaction that comes from doing it yourself.
Browse the latest posts, search by topic, or dive deep into any of our main categories.
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Superkraut (Fermented Salad)
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Why this homemade sauerkraut recipe is so good This kraut is super for a number of reasons: Special superfood ingredient While these vegetables (especially fermented ones) are superfoods in their own right, I like to add iodine-rich sea vegetables to my ferments, to give added nutrition. Fermenting for beginners If you’re new to ferments, or have never successfully fermented before, or aren’t sure why I am recommending the ingredients and techniques that I do, I recommend you read my article…
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7 Secrets to Making Successful Sauerkraut Every Time
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This will help you to make perfect sauerkraut every time.
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Autumn Leaves and Hearth Fires
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The leaves are falling off the trees today. The wind isn’t particularly strong, the day not much different from the last few, it’s just a combination of things that tell the trees it’s time to go to bed. My oldest son climbs up the apple tree to harvest apples, I never see him happier than when he’s harvesting fruit and vegetables, he used to harvest potatoes with me and would jump up and down with excitement whenever one was unearthed.…
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Perfect Pulled Pork
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This pulled pork ecipe is perfect for a number of reasons. Firstly it’s just two ingredients, thrown in the oven and left in there for several hours to slowly cook. Secondly the taste is great (you need to use good pork though). Thirdly, the leftovers reheat well, just bake the amount that you want for one meal on a low heat until it’s heated through. This recipe can even be made with frozen pork without needing to thaw it in…
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On work
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“I once knew an old lady who lived by herself in the Golfen valley of Herefordshire. She was one of the happiest old women I have met. She described to me all the work she and her mother used to do when she was a child: washing on Monday, butter-making on Tuesday, market on Wednesday, and so on. “It all sounds like a lot of hard work,” I said to her. “Yes, but nobody ever told us then,” she said…
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Indian Lamb Stew from Leftover Roast Lamb
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A hearty and nourishing stew, perfect for making use of leftover roast lamb, or any time that you want a simple lamb curry. Indian Lamb Stew Makes 4 to 8 serves. Leftovers reheat well. Ingredients 2-3 tablespoons ghee or tallow1 onion, roughly diced1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh turmeric (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered)2 teaspoons cumin, ground2 teaspoons coriander, ground1/2 teaspoon garam masalaoptional pinch of asafoetida4 to 6 cups (800g to 1200g) roughly…
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How to Make Mayonnaise by Hand
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Mayonnaise is one of those homemade staples that most people end up buying at the shop, but it’s actually really simple to make it at home. Animal fats can be used in mayonnaise, but when it’s refrigerated the consistency will be too solid, so you may need to bring it to room temperature before using. Melted bacon fat is wonderful in mayonnaise, especially for potato salad, but for the best consistency I like to use macadamia oil or sunflower oil.…
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How to Make the Best Bone Broth
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Here are my tips for making the most nutritious and tasty bone broth, plus some thoughts on whether to add salt or vinegar to your broth. How to make bone broth For the best bone broth, you need bones from healthy animals. 1. First roast the bones (if they were not roasted already) Roasting helps to bring out the best flavours in the bones. When I am starting with raw bones, I always roast them in the oven for around…
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Homemade Cherry Ripe Bars (grain-free)
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These gluten-free cherry ripe bars are absolutely delicious, and healthy too… Homemade dark chocolate combines with a cherry coconut filling to make a delicious treat that can easily replace store-bought chocolate bars. Homemade cherry ripe bars Ingredients For the chocolate1/2 cup cacao butter, coconut oil, or butter, melted1/4 cup raw honey, plus more to taste, if you wanta pinch of salta pinch of vanilla bean powder, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup cacao powder For the cherry filling1 1/2 cups…
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How to Make Jam Without White Sugar or Pectin
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How to make jam the old fashioned way, without sugar or pectin Jam made with honey brings out the flavour of the fruit, and tastes better than jam made with refined sugar. It keeps well too. Making jam with honey isn’t a very well known skill. There are some recipes around showing how to make jam without sugar, but they’re often designed to be a small batch that’s kept in the fridge and used up quickly, not for serious fruit…
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Mulberry Crumble
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I’ve memorised this recipe from making it so many times, because it’s an easy and wonderfully tasty way to serve all kinds of seasonal fruit.
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Mulberries on the homestead and in the kitchen
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I don’t think there’s anything that gives a feeling of abundance more than fruit trees. To watch the tree first awaken in early spring, the incomparable colour of soft green buds, and then the fragile pastel flowers bursting into life, covering the tree in the archetypal colours of springtime. We moved onto this rental property in winter, when the trees stood bare and skeleton-like in the frosted landscape. We had no idea of what would happen to these trees in…
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Recent Posts
- Magic Overnight Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe with Fresh Milled Flour
- Cooking year-round on a wood cookstove: the dream, the reality, and the practicalities of relying on our own firewood and being off the gas grid
- 100% Whole Grain Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Bread for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Easy 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread (honey-sweetened, and works with fresh milled flour & ancient grains)
- Natural Cheesemaking: How to Make and Use Your Own Cheese Cultures
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