This week I dug up about 1/3 of my Jerusalem artichokes. The yield was 15 pounds  of tubers. Pretty good for a crop that you plant just once, huh? What’s Jerusalem artichoke? Well, for starters, it’s not at all like an artichoke. It bears no resemblance to the artichoke and is only a distant cousin. The…

Summer just wouldn’t be complete without a few Chili Relleños on the menu. This recipe is a family favorite. When August and September birthdays roll around, this is what everyone wants for their birthday dinner. Ingredients: 6 peppers 6 egg whites 3 egg yolks 1/3 C corn meal 1/4 C flour 1/2 tsp salt 2-3 Tbsp…

No garden should be without kale and collards. These easy-to-grow green leafy vegetables are both  from the Brassica family (which includes cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussel sprouts and broccoli.) What makes these so great? Well, first of, they are packed with nutrition. Studies show that they may prevent several kinds of cancer. And they taste good! These are…

If you don’t already routinely use whole wheat in your cooking, now is a good time to start. You’re probably already going to do a lot of holiday baking this month. So build on your cooking skills and use whole wheat from your food storage for your holiday treats. If you are already adept at…

A creative Wonderbox My sister, Cynthihah, had some red fabric that came to her free. So she used it to make a Wonderbox. But she thought this red was just a little too…RED. So, since she lives in Washington, she did the only logical thing: she turned it into an apple! How creative is that?…

Sprouting beans turns the dry bean into a fresh vegetable with more vitamins and a brighter flavor. It’s the perfect thing for late winter, when you are running out of fresh vegetable from the garden or any time you want an extra punch of nutrition in your menu. Added bonus: if you typically have trouble…

The first of this month my second son turned 20 (can you believe that!?) and for his birthday dinner I made (among other things) fried squash blossoms. What?!? You haven’t tried this yet? What are you waiting for? Here’s the recipe. These are really so very, very tasty and a wonderful way to use the zillions…

Sometimes it’s hard to get enough vegetables into your family’s diet. You think picky toddlers are difficult? Try stubborn teenagers. One of my favorite ways to hide veggies is using veggie powder. You can put it into soups, casseroles and (my favorite) meat loaf or meat balls. I use it in the place of crackers…

As you first start using whole wheat flour, you will find that it doesn’t quite “behave” like the flour you buy in the store. You may find the bread doesn’t rise as much as your white bread and you are left with a denser, heavier loaf of bread. What’s the problem and what can you…

November sales There are lots of great sales in November. I hope you are taking advantage of them. There’s turkey (of course), spices, flour, sugar, evaporated milk. And…celery. Well, I’m going to get eight bunches of celery. Because this is the perfect time to make celery powder. And nothing could be easier. Just rinse the…

Remember back in November when turkeys were on sale for a ridiculously low price? You bought a a couple extras, didn’t you? A 28-lb turkey will yield about 7 qt jars of meat plus 7 pts of broth. That’s a lot of ready-to-heat meals from one turkey. But what if you didn’t buy any extra…

Here are a handful of kitchen gadgets that I like so much and find so indispensable that I can’t imagine not having them in my kitchen. Some may even be new to you.  Butter Bell First in my list of non-electric gadgets is the Butter Bell. I love my Butter Bell so much, I often…

In the dead of winter, when everything is frozen and bleak, Mother Nature blesses us with a ray of warm sunshine: Citrus fruit. This is the season that citrus fruit is harvested and so there’s plenty. It’s abundance means it’s on sale a lot. And a good thing too–this is when we are most prone…

Cultured dairy is a great way to get calcium into your diet as well as introduce health-promoting probiotics.  When we talk about cultured dairy everyone thinks of yogurt. Unfortunately, many of the flavored yogurts in the store no longer contain live cultures. So you might be getting the taste of yogurt but you’re not getting…

Safety note: Whenever handling hot peppers, always wear disposable plastic gloves. Always. And wash hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after taking the gloves off.  This last week I finished making our family’s favorite: Sriracha. All the men in our family love this spicy condiment and chances are yours do too. It’s on our…

Just in time for Easter Just for you and just in time for Easter: A free guide to coloring Easter eggs using natural ingredients. Between now and April 30th, you can download  my guide Natural Dyes for Easter Eggs for free! Happy Easter! Some of the many colors you can get using natural dyes. Dyeing…