Cook: Summer Potato Salad For Mayo-Haters
Show off your onion and bush bean harvests with this simple salad
Grow + Harvest: Onions From Seed
And how doing so taught me that friends are actually important in life…
Cook/Sip: Non-Alcoholic Elderflower & Wild Blueberry Refresher
A celebration of recent efforts on a hot August day
Harvest + Enjoy: Elderflower and Elderflower Cordial
Wispy white blooms with wisdom, power, and tradition
OOPS! What happened?
Somewhat explaining my 5-month absence with a facepalm and my tail between my legs…
Enjoy: Make the Sourdough Bread and Tame Your Ego
There’s a big life secret in sourdough. It’s a beautiful partnership between our hands and the invisible gifts on this earth, that results in nourishment of our bodies and souls. We learn humility, because sourdough can be fickle and we are never fully in control (hint: we’re not supposed to be), and we practice faith in the unseen. Here’s why you should be making sourdough bread.
Rest: Do Not Fear the Darkness — You Are Not Alone
Winter often brings an increase in darkness, and with that some people experience an increase in anxiety, sadness, and fear. Why do we fear the darkness so much? Why does it bring out the worst in ourselves? Is there another way to look at this time of year? Yes, you bet there is. In fact, these months provide a really beautiful opportunity to turn inward and be honest with ourselves… if only we have the courage to do so.
Plan: Our 2024 Garden Plan + Goals
This year’s garden plans are created with the deep understanding that whatever ideas I have in my head for how things are going to go are completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I am working this year to set aside my ego’s need for control, while still diligently putting in the effort (and a sprinkle of faith), and simply enjoying the ride that the 2024 garden will take us on.
Enjoy: Homegrown + Handpicked Tea All Winter Long
In my tiny kitchen on the wooden shelf above my sink, you’ll find glass jars full of dried leaves, flowers, and berries. I love they way they look and the Good Work they represent. It takes time and intention to fill those jars. I work at it from the beginning of spring, when the primrose and violets are blooming to the end of fall, when I get my last batch of peppermint from the garden and wild thyme from the field. every year when I’m harvesting the 4th batch of peppermint in the boiling sun, my back hurts and I wonder if we really need this much tea.
This Project is for My Babies
To my children,
This is a gift from me to you. It is my heart, my soul in writing for you to seek comfort and wisdom in whenever you might need to. Life is unpredictable, challenging, exciting, and full of twists and turns. I don’t know where we will be in 20 years, 5 years, or even 5 hours, and I want you to have some of the inner workings of my mind and the lessons from my life experiences with you, in case they might ever help you.
Prep: Letting Go + Starting Over
The mountains around us are topped with snow. It’s a signal for me that it’s time to let go of previous gardening season and prepare for the next. The to do list before the first real freeze goes something like this…
The Big Idea
Over the past decade, I’ve experienced a lot of things that I would consider Good Work. I’ve grown food and preserved it. I’ve cooked nourishing meals and fed my family. I’ve tried and failed and tried again (remind me to tell you about the time maggots took over my sourdough starter). I’ve learned to forage mushrooms and herbs. I’ve worked my body hard during the growing season and I’ve rested during the cold months. And I’ve observed that my mental, emotional, and spiritual states (not to mention physical) are always significantly improved when I’m actively engaging in Good Work.
But before I go any further…