Author: Carrie

More Dandelion Delights: Refreshing Herbal Beer

~ Carrie ~ 1 Comment

The bumper crop of dandelions on the farm has inspired me to look for new ways to use these delicious and nutritious gems. My most recent find was a recipe from Mother Earth News (by Roger Phillips, April 2015) for dandelion beer. In his article, the author provides some interesting history behind the drink: it was apparently a very popular brew among iron foundry and pottery workers in England. No tiny paper umbrella with this one!

Continue reading “More Dandelion Delights: Refreshing Herbal Beer” →

Winecraft: Dandelion Wine #2

~ Carrie

20180507_DandelionWine-01

Those gorgeous golden blooms just keep coming, so I had to get out there and pick some for both a wild-fermented dandelion-ginger wine and for (truly addictive) dandelion water kefir. I’ve really come to appreciate those precocious dandelions!

For this version of dandelion wine, I used the recipe found on Pixie’s Pocket’s blog: Wild Fermented Dandelion Ginger Wine. Amber has great recipes on her site (like the Goldenrod-Ginger wine I made last year) – check it out!

Continue reading “Winecraft: Dandelion Wine #2” →

No Food Waste: Candied (Fermented) Grapefruit Peel

~ Carrie

20180503_Peels-01

Earlier, I shared how we made several enjoyable products from 6 fresh grapefruit: wine (Wine Chronicles: Now Making Grapefruit), fermented syrup (Ferment This: Grapefruit Rind Syrup, No Food Waste: Grapefruit Rind Syrup Part II), and grapefruit water kefir. The wine’s not ready to taste yet, but the syrup and water kefir are great! The final item we made from the grapefruit is candied fermented peel. Interested in how we did it? Read on. Continue reading “No Food Waste: Candied (Fermented) Grapefruit Peel” →

Winecraft (Update): Banana Is Amazing!

~ Carrie ~ 1 Comment

20180501_BananaWine-01

Have you heard of banana wine? Does it sound like something you’d make, even if you had bananas handy? Back in January, when we started the banana wine, it truly looked like dirty dishwater. It was this unappealing grayish-brown color from the cooking process (though it smelled wonderful). It was the first time we had tried making banana wine, and you just never know how a first run is going to go…which is one of the reasons I like small batch winemaking: you’re never stuck with five gallons of something you just don’t want to drink! Continue reading “Winecraft (Update): Banana Is Amazing!” →

The Importance Of The Farm (Animal) First Aid Kit

~ Carrie

Farm First Aid Kit

When we went out to do the evening feeding recently, we noticed that a Muscovy duck seemed to be limping as she came up the hill to the feeding area. Limping can indicate a relatively benign injury like a minor sprain or something more serious, like a bumble, so we caught the unhappy girl and took a closer look. What we found was unexpected, and a bit of a shock: her head and bill were bloody. We caught her and put her into a cage in the “infirmary” in the garage for treatment and observation. While you hope that none of your animals ever suffers an injury, in a setting where they free range with the threat of predators, it’s likely that an injury will occur at some point. Continue reading “The Importance Of The Farm (Animal) First Aid Kit” →

Farm Foraging: Blue Violet Syrup

~ Carrie ~ 1 Comment

20180429_VioletSS-01

The beautiful wild violets are popping up with enthusiasm around here. Shy and diminutive, they really merit inspection and – better yet – collection and use. Aside from their delicate beauty, they (flowers and leaves) are very nutritious and high in vitamins A and C. I was particularly interested in making beverages with them, in the hopes of extracting some of that lovely purple hue.

Continue reading “Farm Foraging: Blue Violet Syrup” →