There’s nothing like finding a steaming hot bowl of soup waiting on the table when you come in from the cold. The Indian-inspired flavors in our Curried Squash Soup will warm you up right down to your toes, and the aromatic spices will make your tastebuds tingle!
Read on for step-by-step instructions and special tips from the Chef!
Anyone can learn to make better butter!
There are two options in this article: making your own butter from scratch, or improving on the butter you buy. You may ask, why would I want to improve on the butter I buy? Great question!
REAL butter is a wonderful product! Years ago, they used to tell us it was bad for our health, but research has shown otherwise. Today, we know that REAL butter is actually a healthier fat than those manufactured products with chemicals and dyes and hydrogenated molecules that can potentially lead to cancer and heart disease.
Now that we know that REAL Butter is good for us, we can teach you how to make it better. This is a project that you can even enjoy with your kids. Basically, it involves creating a variety of flavored butters by adding ingredients like fruits, nuts, spices and herbs. The options are endless and entirely up to your imagination.
So here we go… Continue reading
Oh my gosh are these beautiful! We love cutting boards and rolling pins and handcrafted, artisan quality wood products. We are very excited to have these ready for you to use during the holiday baking season and to give as gifts. They are fantastic!
Triple Wood handcrafted rolling pin and cutting board
Jerri’s been busy. She designed our new handcrafted Triple Wood Rolling Pin and Cutting Board and she’s having them made in Tennessee. She’s created two more American designed and made products. The rolling pin is comfortable in your hand. They are made with maple, cherry and walnut hardwoods. No two are exactly alike because of the natural grain of each wood.
Seasoned with 100% organic Non-GMO coconut oil which brings out the natural beauty of the wood. We chose coconut oil for its natural ability to inhibit bacterial growth without adding any coconut scent to your baked goods.
Triple Wood rolling pin
The Triple Wood Rolling Pin is 17″ long and 3″ wide. Its rolling surface is 9″ long.
Triple Wood cutting board
The Triple Wood Cutting Board is 14″ long by 10″ wide. It’s 1.5″ thick. It’s sturdy enough to handle any task. Slice bread, cut cheese and meat or even cut into those heavy winter squash using the cutting board.
Both pieces are easy to care for. Wash only with warm lightly soapy water, air dry and reapply oil of your choice.
All of our products add beauty to you kitchen as well as functionality. This set makes a great gift! You may purchase them separately or save money by ordering both pieces at a special price.
Earlier sunsets lead to earlier evenings which lead to movie and game nights.
Do you flavor your popcorn in a certain way? We love a little homemade butter with grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. It’s our current favorite but it changes from time to time.
Our stainless steel stove top popper is built to last. The handles stay cool. The lid vents to let steam out to keep your popcorn tender and light.
Old fashioned popcorn is the best!
Popping corn on the stove takes only a minute or two more than tossing a bag into the microwave. Stove top popcorn is healthy and tastes yummy, and it’s adaptable to the seasons. I’m thinking of trying one of the Pumpkin Pie spice recipes in last week’s newsletter.
Pour two tablespoons of oil (coconut or olive) into the popcorn popper.
Add 1/2 cup popcorn kernels to the oil.
Place the popper on a burner and turn the stove on to medium to medium-high heat. Stoves vary so much that there’s no absolute setting. From the time you turn the heat on until the last kernels pop should span about three minutes. Start turning the handle as soon as you turn on the heat and don’t stop until the popping is finished. When more than six or seven seconds passes between pops your corn is done.
Powdered Ranch salad dressing is a great topping. A little goes a long way so one packet will last for at least two cups of unpopped popcorn. Look through your packets of seasoning. There might be a few you can use on popcorn. Taco or Fajita seasoning are great. Try a soup mix like French Onion, but sift out the solid onions first.
Cinnamon toast popcorn is an old time favorite. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a 50/50 blend and sprinkle over hot popcorn.
Back when we ate chips, Salt ‘n Vinegar was a favorite, and luckily it’s easy to make Salt ‘n Vinegar popcorn. Spray malt vinegar on popcorn and sprinkle with salt.
Chocolate popcorn, anyone? Melt semi-sweet or dark chocolate in a double boiler. Pour over popcorn and sprinkle with salt before the chocolate cools and sets.
Once you know how to make popcorn on the stove the possibilities are endless. What kind of popcorn do you like?
The Homesteader’s Supply logo is branded on each Prepper Pro
This morning I woke up with enthusiasm and dread. It’s a food day. Mushrooms needed to be cleaned and dehydrated. Beans were waiting to be picked, blanched and frozen. The blueberries were taken out of the freezer last night to thaw and needed to be made into jam today. I knew I’d be working with the Prepper Pro today. I waited until it arrived in the mail to make jam. When it was time to put it to use in the blueberries, I hesitated.
The Appalachian Maple wood is treated with raw, organic coconut oil but I wasn’t sure the blueberries wouldn’t stain it. It’s such a beautiful piece that I didn’t want to take chances with it. I thought about wrapping it in Saran wrap but wasn’t sure it would stand up to two quarts of blueberries without slipping. I opted instead for a zippered sandwich bag. It worked perfectly to protect the wood.
A zippered sandwich bag protected the Prepper Pro from being stained.
I won’t use the bag when I grind dehydrated Chanterelle mushrooms into powder or when grinding herbs. I’ll be pulverizing wild mint later this week. The large end (pictured above) of the Prepper Pro fits into a wide mouth canning jar. The smaller end fits into a small mouth jar. As I used it I thought of more ways I’ll use this new tool of mine.
The Prepper Pro is another of our new products that was designed by Jerri, owner of Homesteader’s Supply, and is being made locally from locally sourced Appalachian maple trees. It’s well balanced, smooth as can be, and fits comfortably in my hands.
You can purchase the Fermenting Kit that comes with:
The Prepper Pro fits into small and large mouth canning jars.
I’ll be mashing strawberries, raspberries and blackberries I’ve frozen to use later. There are always herbs to grind, both fresh and dehydrated. And I think I’ll give a grind or two to my loose, dried tea blends to wake them up a bit before putting them into the tea ball. I’ll be using this for more than packing my jars when I make sauerkraut. I washed the Prepper Pro when I finished using it, applied more organic coconut oil, and put in easy reach on the shelf. This is going to be used often.
And I’ll be adding the Prepper Pro to a few Christmas baskets this year. I have friends who’ll put it to good use!