Compound herb butters are a cinch to make. All that’s needed is butter and the fresh herb (or herbs) of your choice. Mince the herb, mix it with softened butter, and there you have it-compound herb butter!

The butters can be used in many different ways. For instance, you can spread radish butter on a baguette and then toast it under the broiler or on a grill; garlic scape butter can be used in the same way to make garlic bread. Dill butter is great when used with fish or even on a…

photo credit: sxc.hu/scajmon

I know, I know, I'm lucky to have a couple of baby tomatoes peeping out from underneath the blossoms on my plants, so this is early--I started this post last fall, making Fresh Tomato Pesto with all of the late season tomatoes I could get from our CSA and the garden. 

This recipe is great with cherry, grape, slicing tomatoes or yellow, red, orange, or even purple skins.  It's delicious using basil, parsley, or arugula.  It's wonderful with almonds, cashews, pistachios or macadamia…

Saturday, we finished painting the barn (save a little touch up here and there) just in time for a huge Derecho type straight-line wind storm to peel back 2 of the tin roof panels like a sardine can, and bent back the corners of the ledge on the west side. I'd never seen anything like it in my life. The sheet of rain was so thick, you couldn't really even see out the front window. I had a barn full of people who promptly piled into the basement thinking it was an approaching tornado! Quite…

Although I've been reading Michael Pollan's book somewhat out of order, I've enjoyed each book and this is what I learned from the Omnivore's Dilemma here. Definitely makes me want to continue an increasingly "homegrown" lifestyle.

girlgonelocal.com

You can find the recipe right…

The sustainable living lifestyle doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does require a change in your way of thinking. Just as a meat eater who decides to adopt a vegetarian diet will have to alter their way of thinking, changing to a green lifestyle from one infused with waste will require some changes. If you are interested in making the alterations required to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, here are some tips for you to follow when it comes to decorating your home.

General tips…

            The Queen Bee is back home.

            On Monday, I went into the hive to check on progress and make some adjustments to the comb bars. As usual in a natural comb hive—at least, I believe it is usual because it always happens to me—a few combs broke off in the process. Honey spilled everywhere. Several combs were pure honey, so I placed them on the already prepped harvest platter. Two had some brood and pollen on them, so, when I was finished, I laid them back in…

Read all about it right…

We got our first 2 eggs tonight! Since Peckerina, our White Leghorn, is the only white egg layer we have, we assume the smaller egg was laid yesterday, and the larger one today? They're fairly small, but I'm assuming they will get bigger as she fully matures. She's 17 weeks on Monday. Regardless, we are very excited!…

We've been so busy lately with coop building and other projects around the place, we neglected our garden for a few weeks. It has become over-run with crabgrass and other miscellaneous uselessness. (Fortunately, though, the veggie plants are still doing very well regardless!) Turning a horse pasture into a field of herbs and vegetables is turning out to be extremely tricky with our limited available equipment and resources...

Here is a taste of what we started with (other half of…

Paella de Marisco 

(this recipe will create a 26” paella, enough for 12-24 people)

To a large stockpot add:

12-15 cups chicken stock

2 tsp saffron, ground with a mortar and pestle

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half

1 TB smoked sweet paprika

2 bay leaves

Simmer, covered, until onion is soft and…

If you are considering a kitchen remodel, why not take the opportunity to go green? Many green products use less energy and outlast other similar products. However, in some instances, they also cost more. Thankfully, an ever-expanding market for stylish and smart green products has pushed the costs down, making it easier and cheaper to create a green kitchen.

Sustainable kitchen cabinets

These types of…

Yesterday at the local Kroger's store I saw they had certified organic Eggland's Best™ eggs on sale for the stupid low price of 99¢ a dozen. So I bought a dozen, not to eat but to show the huge difference between what we raise-pastured hens fed certified Organic soy based feed plus all the leafy greens, berries, insects, seeds, etc they can get their little beaks on…

Step-by-step instructions…

Hey all,

I'm Jordan and I'm new to Homegrown - I'm so thrilled I stumbled upon this site! I just started a small raised bed garden and began receiving a CSA box a few weeks ago, so this is the perfect site to ask questions and see what you all are doing. I also started a personal blog to share my summer challenge of living more locally: www.girlgonelocal.com. I am loving writing about food and agriculture as well as visiting…

Right here!

It's Saturday night, and the thunder is rolling into town. Crackling outside the open bedroom window, the claps sounding as if they are over the lake. The breezy air has finally cooled, and the drops are just starting to settle on the pavement below. Miss N is making magic in the kitchen downstairs. The whir of the Kitchen Aid and clanking of pans will yield homemade ice cream sandwiches by the end of the night. And yet, it feels quiet. Quiet in my head and in my heart. Calm.…

We love our garden, but one of the major challenges of off-grid living is water. Even though we have multiple springs, creeks and wells; how do we get that water to where we need it? Although 2 wells have been dug on our property, we don't have a manual pump, nor do we have a power source to power a pump to get the water out of the well. This means we needed some ingenuity to keep our garden healthy and well watered. Luckily, I'm married to an amazing engineer, who came up with an ingenious…