Simple Living With Nature
Cooking and preserving traditional food from scratch is one of my passions, and it’s even better if it includes homegrown, foraged, or fermented ingredients. I prefer to use whole foods and many of my recipes use herbs, flowers, and other fresh from the garden ingredients. Sourdough is another passion, and I also have a thing for cooking in cast iron pans!
I love me a good cocktail, especially if it has herbal components! I’m of the mind if you can add a bit of herbal or foraged medicine to a festive cocktail, why not? Let’s get healthy while we imbibe! Since rosemary is one of my favorite fresh herbs and it is available year round in…
{This post is sponsored by iHerb} Dandelion root is one of my favorite medicinal herbs to use for many reasons. It is great for digestion and can be used to make digestive bitters. It is also a tonic for the liver and is high in many trace vitamins and minerals. When dandelion root is roasted…
Homemade mead (honey wine) is probably one of my favorite fermented beverages to make. It’s a simple and inexpensive way to produce your own tasty homebrew. I put together this awesome list of easy mead recipes so that you can have access to all of them in one place! If you want to learn more…
When elderberry season is here I want to make ALL the elderberry things. Elderberry syrup is a standard every year for keeping our immune system healthy. Some years if I have a large elderberry haul I’ll made elderberry mead or elderberry soda. But this year I wanted something a little more simple. Ever since I…
If you’re like many gardeners, you just might have zucchini coming out of your ears during harvest season. I’ve been there before, and I’m all about new ways to preserve zucchini! I especially love it when I can use my dehydrator for preserving because it’s simple to use and a great way to store food….
Sipping a cup of herbal tea is something I like to do throughout the year, but when it’s hot outside I want something cool and refreshing. Of course, I can always make an iced herbal tea like my wildflower infusion or white clover tea, but sometimes a frozen treat is the only thing that sounds…
Elderflower season is an exciting but short lived time. Every year I try to find some way to preserve the elderflower harvest so that I can enjoy them for a longer period of time. Elderflower sparkling mead is one of my favorite things to make, but I’ve been wanting to try making elderflower liqueur (also…
White clover is almost ubiquitous in lawns and backyards, but most people don’t know that it’s both edible and medicinal. Red clover is known for having amazing medicinal benefits, but white clover is more readily available and is useful in its own right. One of the most simple and delicious ways to use the sweet…
Homebrewing is one of my favorite things to do, but I especially love it when I can incorporate foraged ingredients. I came across some nice big spruce tips recently, and when I saw them I immediately knew what I was going to make with them: spruce beer! Homemade spruce beer has been something that I’ve…
Summertime means elderflowers, and that couldn’t make me more happy! Elderflowers are easy to forage for and are a common sight in many locations (just make sure that you aren’t accidentally grabbing poison hemlock, but I don’t think they look that similar). They have a delicate floral flavor that is delightful and perfect in drinks…
