Keeping quality pantry staples on hand makes preparing homemade meals from scratch at home so much easier. While the grocery store is full of convenience food items that make home cooking fast, these prepared foods contain preservatives or ingredients that you may find questionable. Not to mention, the cost of convenience foods adds up. Pressure…
As with most homesteads, preserving food is a primary focus of a homestead lifestyle. At Kowalski Mountain not only do we raise most of the meat that we consume, but Philip is also an avid hunter. While we have multiple freezers, that limited freezer space is a hot commodity! Whenever we can, we like to…
Raw honey is the purest form of honey, exactly as the bees make it! In its liquid state, honey is a supersaturated solution. Regular raw honey crystallizes over time. The crystallization of honey is a natural process. It occurs when the glucose separates from the water creating large crystals. So what’s the difference between creamed…
Home food preservation is not only a big part of a homesteading lifestyle, but it’s also a great way for any home cook to stock the pantry and saves money. Buying a whole chicken is the cheapest way to buy chicken, but it takes a lot of freezer space to store. Freezer space on the…
Honey naturally does not spoil when stored properly. There are several factors that make this possible. The first is the high concentration of sugars, such as fructose and glucose in the honey. Additionally, the low moisture level of honey makes it practically impossible for organisms to grow. Natural raw honey is acidic. It has a…
Preserving the harvest can seem intimidating as you look at the different canning methods. However, home canning is a safe and effective means of home food preservation. There are two methods of canning: water bath canning vs pressure canning. Let’s look at the two canning methods to determine what method you should choose. The appropriate…
Home canning is an integral part of a self-sufficient lifestyle. Possibly you plant a large garden and preserve the harvest, or maybe you purchase produce in bulk from local farmers to ensure you are serving the most wholesome produce you can for your family. Having the right canning supplies on hand is a necessity for…
As Philip and I move to live a more self-sufficient lifestyle, learning to grind my own flour has been such an appealing option for the reasons I have been sharing in this series of posts. Today we look at the nuts and bolts of grinding our own flour and look at the mill itself. There…
As I embark on this new journey of grinding my own flour, I have to ask myself why? Why do I want to grind my own flour? It certainly takes a little longer to grind my own flour. Wheat berries aren’t easily available at a neighborhood store. Plus I am still trying to nail down…
Philip has a preparedness mentality that drives him to prepare for the future. Therefore we prepare for not only the known circumstances but also for the unknown. Keeping a stocked pantry is just one of the means we prepare for both scenarios. I wanted to dive into grinding my own flour for a few…
