Pascal Baudar is an author, wild food researcher, brewer, and traditional food preservation instructor in California. His 2018 book, The Wildcrafting Brewer: Creating Unique Drinks and Boozy Concoctions from Nature's Ingredients, is a really interesting read about brewing and fermenting flavorful beverages (not just beers!) using local ingredients you can find in your backyard, … [Read more...]
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
My love of spaghetti squash is one reason I garden. Until recently you never saw it in grocery stores. Thankfully it is gaining in popularity, and I can buy it at the store if we run out of homegrown. It looks like a typical winter squash at first glance, but when you cook it, you discover that it is quite different from butternut, acorn, and all the rest. Instead of having … [Read more...]
Indian Goat and Sweet Potatoes
Although you can use goat meat in place of beef or pork in your usual recipes, I don't really like to do that. When I eat chili, for example, I expect it to taste like pork. If it tastes like goat, I just don't like it. I greatly prefer recipes that come from parts of the world where people eat goat regularly. And it makes sense that they would have figured out which spices and … [Read more...]
Nigerian dwarf meat and Goat Goulash recipe
We have fallen in love with goat meat all over again, and it's all because of a goat we called Horny Dude. Time for true confessions here. In the fall of 2016, a doe gave birth to a single buckling, and she was the only goat to give birth that fall. About a month later, I was teaching a goat class, and someone asked, "When are you going to disbud that goat?" I looked to where … [Read more...]
Butternut Squash Soup is So Easy!
One of the quickest and easiest recipes I have is for butternut squash soup. This is one of my "fast food" recipes. Just cook the squash, add 3 tablespoons of butter, sprinkle with a five-spice blend (if desired), then blend it up, and pour it into bowls. One pound of squash makes two servings, and you can easily double or triple this if you have more guests or if you want … [Read more...]
Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies
When I discovered I had a gluten sensitivity, it meant a huge shift in the way that I cooked. I used to eat breakfasts filled with flour -- homemade pancakes, biscuits, waffles, French toast and plain toast from our homemade bread. We had homemade rolls and bread at lunch and dinner, and we usually had some type of dessert daily, which was often made with wheat flour. … [Read more...]
Buckwheat zucchini fritters
If you have a garden and you planted zucchini, there's a good chance that you have more than you know what to do with. So, I thought I'd share one of my favorite zucchini recipes with you. We started making zucchini fritters years ago using a recipe from a very old Betty Crocker cookbook. Then, when I had to go gluten-free as part of my regimen to beat Hashimoto's, I started … [Read more...]
Celebrating summertime with the best varieties of tomatoes
Reading Epic Tomatoes by Craig LeHoullier took me back to my childhood and enjoying tomato sandwiches with my grandfather during the summertime. Though I've reviewed many books this year, this is one of the most delightful perhaps because of the many delicious-looking photos, descriptions, and the author's personal stories about different tomato varieties. LeHoullier even … [Read more...]
Homegrown Pork: Learn to raise ‘the Einsteins of the farm animal world’
As I'm getting started with pigs, I was happy to discover Homegrown Pork: Humane, Healthful Techniques for Raising a Pig for Food by Sue Weaver, and I can't imagine a more comprehensive guide to raising pigs. Not only is the book very well-organized and thorough, but it will certainly endear you to these intelligent and entertaining animals if you're not already. In fact, … [Read more...]
Book review: Restoring Heritage Grains
I keep hearing more and more about gluten allergies. In fact, I learned in Restoring Heritage Grains that over the past 60 years, gluten allergies and celiac disease have become at least four times more common.The book's author, Eli Rogosa became interested in this topic after learning to grow wheat crops in the Middle East. She was impressed by how well these crops grow in … [Read more...]
