Pumpkins – Scones, Seeds, and Clotted Cream

This year my pumpkin vines went the way of the squash – horribly. Neither one seemed to produce any female blossoms, and so I ended up with no orange pie filling or bread sweets produced in my garden.  Instead I picked up a dozen pie pumpkins from a fruit stand (thanks, Mom!), and I’ve been [...]

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Breakfast Bread

We had a couple of requests for bread recipes this past week so I thought I’d be obliging and share our Cinnamon Swirl bread. This is the bread that my daughter asks for almost every morning of the week. It’s fantastic toasted and supremely decadent served up as french toast. I’ve used both dried cranberries [...]

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Soda Pop

In spirit of those of you that have not the taste for alcoholic beverages (hic!) I’m here to share some basic recipes for making soda pop at home! What could be better than a frosty ginger ale to help cool off during these hot summer days? If ginger’s not your thing, how about a lemon-lime soda [...]

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Ode to a Pizza

Dear Grilled Pizza, Oh! How I love you so! You’re the perfect combination of char marks and melty cheese oozing between slices of vegetable and sometimes meat. I love to share my leftovers with you, especially if it’s barbeque. Chicken, zucchini, onions, ground meat (even salami!), they do compliment you so. You pair just as [...]

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Granola the Inexpensive Easy and Healthy Breakfast recipe

My littlest kids just loves granola…well we all do, but they do especially.  I on the other hand hate the high price of good granola.  Making your own is so simple and satisfying…not to mention less expensive!  There are so many variations you could have a different kind ever day of the week and still [...]

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Whole Wheat Banana Bread Vegan or Not

We love banana bread around here, seriously dig the stuff.  I have perfected what I think is the yummiest whole wheat banana bread and it happens to be low fat too!  So if you love banana bread but want a healthy version that is moist, sweet, yummy and very bananaeee (new word, like it?) then hold onto your peels [...]

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Homesteading 101 Kitchen Efficiency and Organization

I cook our family’s food from scratch, every day, 365 day a year.  We don’t go out except on very rare special occasions.  I am too cheap and as a vegan to finicky to eat out most places…besides we live in the sticks! As I covered in my last post about food storage.  Being prepared [...]

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What’s for dinner?

I have to admit sometimes I don’t know until late afternoon.  I would like you all to think that I am sooo organized – menu plans, and the like.  But it ain’t true.  Sometimes, I just get too distracted to think about cooking food.  But I do like to mix things up a little.  We’re [...]

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Homemade French Dressing

Fresh greens from the garden or farmers market are just crying out for fresh dressing too.  Salad dressings made at home from simple ingredients everyone has in their pantry are a good way to cut out additives in our diets, and add one more recipe to our scratch cooking files.  But, if your family is [...]

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Scratch cooking: art AND science

 I cook from scratch for many reasons.  It saves money, I can cook without additives, I can be creative, and I’m in control of my food.  Does it take longer?  Yeah, I guess, if you count the time it took me to grow the beef in the Beef Pot Pie recipe I’m going to give [...]

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