Kale and Winter Squash Strata [recipe]

I am a huge fan of breakfast, I  wish we could have breakfast meals all day long!  It is one of the main reasons I wanted to get chickens, in order to have fresh eggs every day.

Whole Wheat Winter Squash Brownies. No really, they’ll change the way you bake [recipe]

When working with alternative flours like whole grains or gluten free, you might find that texture and moisture are suddenly problems you never had to deal with with standard all purpose flour.  How many whole wheat breads and gluten free cookies have you tried to enjoy that just crumbled in your mouth and left you needing a drink?  We’ve found a solution to the dryness that comes with alternative healthy flours that is not only easy, but it results in a lower fat, higher fiber treat that anyone will enjoy.

Healthy Winter Squash Muffins [recipe]

I don’t think there anything better than warm bread from the oven. Oh, maybe warm bread with a slab of butter melting on it after emerging from the oven, mmmmm and the crack of the crust, and teeth sinking into a soft crumb.   Ahhh.  But most days, I don’t want to wait for the sourdough starter, and then firm starter to rise, and then playing with the dough and waiting. The quicker path to satisfaction is a muffin. The texture is there and it takes under an hour from opening the recipe to having a warm muffin in hand. And what a great snack for a chilly winter day, sitting with a cup of tea or warm in your pocket as you wander in the snow onto the next adventure.

HAPPY CHALLAH-WEEN (Pumpkin Challah Bread recipe)

We picked up some amazing pumpkins at White Gates Farm and one is just aching to become our jack-o-lantern. The pie pumpkins have been our table centerpieces.  I love pumpkins in the fall and winter because they store well, they can be added to many dishes for a depth of flavor (and vitamins and nutrients).  They make great baby puree and blends.  But the desserts are really why we know and love pumpkins the most. 

Fall Fun for Families

Every chance we get lately, we are outside! There is something about Autumn air and the chill of the mornings! I LOVE IT. Every moment we are not working on the homestead, we are trying to savor all of Autumn’s wonderful sights, smells, and traditions.  Here are a few things we like to do this time of year. What are you doing to embrace Fall?

Skip the Strawberries and Try These 7 Wonderful Rhubarb Treats

It’s rhubarb time!  My favorite crop is growing and I am noticing it popping up all over town.  At the market it is being sold for a pretty penny and there is talk of strawberry rhubarb pie for dinner.  This is my favorite summer treat too, but aren’t there more things you can do with this quasi-fruit?  I thought so and rather than just throwing it into brownies or making muffins with it, we have been seeking out the very best recipes for this strange plant. Please read on for our favorite rhubarb treats… and definitely don’t eat the poisonous leaves!!

Harvesting Wild Bread Yeast from the Top of a Mountain

Bread is just one of those things, isn’t it?  The more you learn, the better it can be.  Go from a factory produced white bread peanut butter and jelly sandwich to an authentic french baguette with some brie and your world view changes dramatically.  Take the leap from letting a bread machine and store bought yeast create your bread for you to feeding and caring for a sourdough culture, then handling the supple dough with your palms and fingers, and now the bread has a story to tell.  

5 Best Things to Buy At Early Season Farmers’ Markets

The leaves are green! The birds are singing! The sun is bright and warm!  Spring is shifting to summer and that means the farmers are coming out of the woodwork to share their goods at your local farmers’ markets!  But hang on, tomatoes won’t be ready for weeks, what on earth is there to actually buy at these first markets, anyway? 

For the love of baking

Some people meditate and other people run in order to clear their mind and relax. When I start baking for other people, to share this lovely science experiment of salts and sugars, my body relaxes. My mind clears. The day is gone and all is simplified to a cup or a teaspoon, stir or chop, mix, then pour, and bake until the knife comes out clean.  I have been asked many times where I learned how to bake, or where I was trained.  Why do I do what I do?

Summer in February Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

The snow banks are reaching towards the power lines as I dream about the grass growing again and the new garden plans and the baby chicks we will order in March.  It has been a record cold month and the east coast has been pummeled with snow for two and a half months.  Oh, February is definitely the time for summer dreaming. Winter is too long and pushes us right to the edges of ourselves, our pantry, our well stocked freezer, and our patience. So, what can I do but reach deep into the freezer and bake a warm gooey strawberry rhubarb crisp!? Dreaming of warmer days so soon to come…