Rooster Tomato Sauce (Recipe)

This may or may not be a unique recipe, we’re not sure. Years ago we took the techniques to make a chicken gumbo and applied it to the preparation of tomato sauce.  Fusion? Intuitive? Possibly been done for hundreds of years?  No clue, we just like it and as far as we’re concerned we “invented” it!  

Differences Between Raising Heritage Chickens and Cornish Cross for Meat (Part 3 – Eating)

“Finally,” the farmer says to the flock, feeling a mix of emotion. “You have grown for 5 months and are ready for processing.” She is solemn but proud. She thinks of the freezer to be carefully packed with the meat. She remembers the birds as chicks and when they first walked on the grass at 4 weeks. They were free to run and flap their wings and, eventually, crow and wake everyone up. But mostly she thinks about how she’ll only need salt and pepper to prepare the chicken for the grill this weekend.

Why you should stack firewood in a holzhaufen, the circular wood pile [infographic]

Having a well built stack of firewood is crucial for those of us who get through the deep freeze of winter using woodstoves and fireplaces.  You need a strong pile located in a convenient spot that will not succumb to rot by getting too wet.  Most people opt to stack rectangular piles that require careful attention to ensure they are sturdy.  They look boring and cannot be stacked too high.  And good luck stacking on a slope!  This year we opted to try a new (to us) style of stacking: the holzhaufen, a circular pile that resembles a house.  And we made an infographic so you can stack one too! 

Curling into Autumn

It is September, the in-between month up here in New Hampshire. I can feel the shift to Autumn and the change in the air.  Oh goodness, most of us get all excited when the coffee shops start to make pumpkin flavored things and our flannel and sweaters start creeping from the boxes in the closet or that bottom drawer.  

Turn pie crust scraps into easy Berry Swirl Pie Cookies (recipe)

What do you do with those pastry dough scraps when you trim your pies?  Do you trash them or just bake them into boring bland cookies?  Why not keep those wonderful baking juices going and turn them into a real treat that stands well on its own!  I present to you: Berry Swirl Pie Cookies!!! 

The Ban on Cinnamon in Apple Pie (with Apple Flavored Apple Pie Recipe)

Whenever we share our apple pies, people ask how we got it to taste so good.  Do we use a special secret ingredient?  Maybe reduced cider or spike it with a liquor?  Nope, all it takes is ditching the cinnamon that a lot of people think is required in an apple pie.  Without cinnamon demanding your tongue’s attention, the power of the apple comes through and it is simply stunning.  Cinnamon and apple can be a good combination, but we’d like to invite you to a world where the apple pie actually tastes like apples. 

Make all your holiday pie crusts in September and relax

What’s better than a completely homemade pie? How about not having to make everything on the same day.  How about knowing that you can have a crust with good ingredients that you selected and care about that will give you a good, flaky result.  Cut a huge chunk of time and effort and frustration out of baking those Thanksgiving pies by just pulling a ready to go disk of pie crust dough out of the freezer.  When Christmas rolls around, no worries, there’s more crusts in there waiting.  “How did you do it?” Your impressed friends and relatives will gasp. “I never have the time to make my own crust!” 

Differences Between Raising Heritage Chickens and Cornish Cross for Meat (Part 2 – Processing)

I don’t usually spend much time sharing the experience of processing chickens because usually people don’t think they want to hear it. But in the interest of sharing our observations, here goes!  This post will not contain any photos of actual processing.  

That’s (tomato) saucy! (tomato sauce recipe from fresh tomatoes!)

I picked up the best looking tomatoes today and I’m up with the sun to roast and chop and process them for the rest of the year! Canning can feel so daunting but if you plan ahead and always have a few certain things on hand, you can be ready when the harvest comes. And BOY is it harvest time up here!