Category Archives: Homemade

10 amazing blackberry recipes

Posted on July 16, 2019 by | 3 comments

10 amazing blackberry recipes

 

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Blackberries are the taste of summer.  When we moved to our farm, I was so excited to see that we had wild blackberries growing everywhere.  In fact, we have so many blackberries that they can become an annoying thorny weed.  We chose the best blackberry patches that have the tastiest berries for eating to pick from.  The goats and sheep get to eat the rest of the blackberries that are in the pastures.   Plenty for us to eat and plenty to share!

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Milk Kefir

Posted on April 29, 2018 by | 8 comments

All about Dairy Kefir

Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

 

Milk kefir is a fermented milk drink that is usually made with goat’s milk or cow’s milk that is incredibly good for you.  The best way to describe milk kefir is that it’s kind of like a drinkable yogurt, it tastes tangy and a little sour. It is much easier to make than yogurt. Homemade yogurt and kefir are staples in our kitchen, I make them on a weekly basis.

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Getting Started Making Hard Cheese

Posted on February 23, 2018 by | 15 comments

What you need to know before making hard cheese at homeHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

One of the biggest benefits of having your own dairy animal, be it goat or cow, is plenty of fresh, raw milk.  An abundance of fresh milk means making dairy products yourself.  Yogurt, kefir, butter and cheese.  Several friends have told me that making hard cheeses sounds difficult and are intimidated by the process.  Not so!

Cheesemaking is really not difficult and quite fun! Once you get started, you will soon want to make all the cheese and may be talking your husband into making your very own cheese cave.  Ahem.

 

Here is what you need to get started making hard cheese.

 

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Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby

Posted on September 24, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

It’s the time of year for apples!  We have planted quite a few apple trees in our orchard, but it will be a couple years yet before we will get a harvest.  Good things come to those who wait.  That’s what I keep telling myself anyway!  Imagine my delight when one of our neighbors stopped by with several boxes of apples!  She had canned apple jelly and applesauce and had apples to spare.  She graciously shared the bounty.

We’ve been enjoying all things apple ever since.  There’s something magical when you combine apples with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Yum!!  One of our favorite apple recipes is a Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby pancake.  Not only is it big on flavor, it’s a quick breakfast or breakfast for dinner meal.  I make it in my cast iron skillet, which is my favorite way to cook!

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Goat’s milk yogurt

Posted on March 21, 2017 by | 10 comments

thick and creamy goat's milk yogurt

Homestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

My family loves yogurt.  When our goat’s are in milk, I make 1 gallon of yogurt a week and I still can’t keep up with my kid’s appetites!  Who can resist a bowl of thick, creamy goat’s milk yogurt with a bit of fruit mixed in? 

 

Wait, thick and creamy goat’s milk yogurt? 

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Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bake

Posted on November 22, 2016 by | 7 comments
Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal BakeHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Whatever you have for breakfast should stick with you until lunch, especially when you’re out working on the farm.  Our go-to breakfast is soaked oatmeal.  Make it up the night before, turn the burner on low under the pan of oatmeal in the morning, head out to do morning chores and viola!  Breakfast is ready when we come back in.  We add in seasonally available fruit, nuts and raisins to mix it up a little.   We do vary a little with our breakfast options, homemade granola, eggs & bacon and on occasion, boxed cereal.  Most of the time when it comes to breakfast, oatmeal is on the menu.
One morning last winter, when it was chilly in the house and I was thinking of ways to help warm things up, I started thinking about baked oatmeal.  After looking around for some recipes and not finding what I was looking for, Travis decided to make up his own recipe.  He’s good like that.

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Eating Well in Rural America

Posted on October 29, 2016 by | 1 comment

Eating real food in rural AmericaHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

Eating real food with real ingredients is a priority for our family.  Before we moved to the Ozarks, we lived outside a large city where organic produce and meat was not hard to find. The prices were reasonable since there was a demand for organic food.

We moved to an area of the country where the organic food movement is just now trickling in.  It was definitely an eye opener to see how spoiled we were, with pretty much anything we wanted just a 10 minute drive away.   There are grocery stores that sell organic meat and produce about an hour away, which we do go to if we happen to need to go to the city for other reasons. However we prefer to stay on the farm and avoid unnecessary running around as much as possible.

how do we eat well in rural America when organic food isn’t readily available?    

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Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Posted on December 8, 2015 by | 3 comments

 

 

Chocolate Candy Cane CookiesHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

It’s the time of year when nearly everything has a peppermint twist.  Pair chocolate and peppermint together and you have a winner!   I love chocolate and peppermint together.  Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies fit right into the season of peppermint.  With double chocolate and candy cane pieces sprinkled on top, these cookies are a decadent treat.

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Corn-free “Corn Bread”

Posted on February 3, 2015 by | 11 comments
Skillet Corn BreadHomestead in the Holler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

 I made chili the other day and a couple hours before dinner, cornbread started to sound like a really good addition to the meal.  However, since we have a child with a serious corn sensitivity, corn is not a normal part of our diet.  Sometimes we make grain-free flax bread using almond flour, but our daughter is mildly sensitivity to almonds, so we have limited almond flour greatly.  Given these restrictions, I started searching for recipes.  It is quite possible that my google-fu was rusty and my impatience too great, but I quickly decided that what I was looking for wasn’t available.  So, on to plan B: do it yourself!

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