Homegrown and Handmade Our food system is dominated by industrial agriculture, and has become economically and environmentally unsustainable. The incidence of diet-related diseases including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Whether you have 40 acres and a mule or a condo with a balcony, you can do more than you think to safeguard your health, your money and the planet. Homegrown and Handmade shows how making things from scratch and growing at least some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life. Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, it's packed with answers and solutions to help you: Take control of your food supply from seed to plate Raise small and medium livestock for fun, food and fiber Rediscover traditional skills to meet more of your family's needs than you ever thought possible.
Sugar and Charm - sweet recipes - entertaining tips - lifestyle inspiration - Charming inspiration for a sweet life, your daily dose of Sugar and Charm. Sugar and Charm – sweet recipes – entertaining tips – lifestyle inspiration Why The Hell Do I Put Myself Through This? There are those days. Those days start at midnight when your 7 year old wakes you up because she has explosively vomited a four egg-and-cheese omelette down the side of her bed and the putrid mess has leached so far past the sheets that it has permeated the very springs of the mattress itself. You clean her and the bed up as best you can one-handed because you’re holding your sleeping infant in the other arm. You can’t set him down because he’s cutting a tooth. He’s spent all day either gnawing your nipple raw or screaming and pulling at your shirt in an effort to get back on the boob and you’ll be goddamned if you’ll risk waking him up now, not even for omelette puke. Your daughter stays home from school the next morning and watches tv. No doubt, kid. “What sounds good to you?” “Not eggs.” No. Toast would be good. The kid is hungry now, so you can’t really wait the 3 hours it would take to make a loaf of bread. The crack hurts. “Fuck right I did!” Damnit, that was the wrong thing to say.
Brown Thumb Mama: Five things you should be making (and not buying) “Why?” My husband asks for the eight zillionth time. “They sell _________ (insert item here) at the store. I give him a cheezy grin and say, “Because I can.” Why would you make something that you could just run out and buy? I’ve been “making instead of buying” for a while. Here are some tried-and-true recipes that we use all the time in the BrownThumb household. Taco seasoning mix No MSG, no fillers, and you can make a huge batch for very little money. Granola bars A giant pan of these barely lasts a week around here. Rice-a-Roni (via the Prudent Homemaker) I mix up the rice, pasta, and spices ahead of time and keep it in the pantry. Glass cleaner Jackjack had a great time mixing this up and using it. Chocolate syrup The ability to manufacture chocolatey goodness needs no explanation. There’s more!
Don’t Be An Urban Homesteader Asshole You ripped up your front lawn to plant kale and a heritage quince tree. You adopted as many chickens as your town will allow. You make your own bread, jam, cheese, pickles, yogurt and beer. Worms eat your garbage , beekeeping supplies are on the way and you’re wondering if the neighbors would notice a dwarf Nigerian dairy goat under the porch. What you’re doing is ecological, economical and profoundly personally rewarding. You are at risk of becoming an Urban Homesteader Asshole. Remember the guy in college who would only listen to Polish post-Industrial Pop, because German post-Industrial was total mainstream swill? We really don’t want our Urban Homesteading to turn into that. Image by Jana Remy. See, the thing is, Urban Homesteading is hip. But as more self-sufficient urban living becomes more mainstream, there is also a backlash. It is easy to read Ms. And yet, and yet…just maybe they’ll stick a pot of basil on the porch this summer instead of a geranium.
Building Your Medicine Chest: First-Aid Antiseptic Ointment Today I want to share with you an all-natural product that you can make easily at home in order to build your DIY medicine chest. This homemade antiseptic ointment is packed full with germ-killing properties that will help treat everyday minor cuts, scraps, and abrasions. You can use this ointment just as you would a tube of that pricey commercially-prepared stuff. Best part of this is…you control the ingredients! First-Aid Antiseptic Ointment Ingredients 0.5-1 ounce (approx. 1-2 tablespoons) raw beeswax, grated8 ounces (approx. 1 cup) olive, almond, or coconut oil (this is the BEST coconut oil on the planet and it makes the BEST ointments)1/4 teaspoon non-GMO vitamin E oil 20 drops tea tree (Melaleuca) essential oil 15 drops lavender essential oil10 drops lemon essential oil For recipes such as these, I only recommend the use of dōTERRA™ Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade™ essential oils. Directions Over very low heat, in a small pot or double boiler, melt oils and beeswax. Notes