August, September and early October are the prime months for milkweed pods in many parts of North America. The pods range in size from 2 to 4 inches and grow in clusters of 4 to 8 pods. They’re typically a ...
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Turn Bitter Acorns Into Delicious Nuts, Butter And Flour
A variety of oak trees across North America produce acorns that usually mature in early to late fall. The size and shapes vary — and so does the flavor. There are basically two types of acorns: bitter and sweet. What makes ...
Read More »Canning Tomatoes: Here’s What Grandma May Not Have Told You
It is never more gratifying to be a gardener than when luscious ripe tomatoes are rolling off the plants and into our kitchens. For most of us, though, there are often far more tomatoes than we can eat at the ...
Read More »4 Delicious Ways To Use All Those Extra Apples
The average healthy, mature apple tree can produce a few hundred pounds of apples every year. That’s a whole lot of apples! Whether you have your own orchard or have a different source for apples, when summer is near an ...
Read More »Storing Potatoes For 20-Plus Years
Extending the shelf life of root vegetables like potatoes has been practiced for centuries as a method to enjoy the harvest year-round. Traditionally, potatoes grown for storage are a variety bred specifically for winter storage, since not all varieties keep ...
Read More »Simple And Easy Cheese-Making For Beginners
After visiting with a friend, she convinced me to try making my own cheese. Doubting my ability, I asked her if there was a cheese-making for beginners class she could recommend to me. She smiled and said she would be ...
Read More »10 Signs Your Canned Food Has Gone Bad
Do you know how to tell if the can or jar of food in your stockpile is safe? Surprisingly, some dents are ok, but these 10 signs mean that your particular can or jar is not safe to eat. ...
Read More »5 Easy Steps To Making Homemade Apple Juice
Like most children, my kids consume a lot of apple products—fresh apples, applesauce, and apple juice. I love the health benefits apples offer. Cornell University in particular has conducted several studies on apples and found that the antioxidants in apples ...
Read More »How To Cook, Eat And Even Make Acorn Coffee
I have had the pleasure of having some mighty oak trees in my life. The beautiful trees have provided shade to sit under, branches for my children to swing from, plenty of leaves to rake in the fall and quiet ...
Read More »7 Reasons Canning Food Is Better Than Freezing Food
There are plenty of reasons why people prefer one food preservation method over. But individual choices aside, here are some compelling arguments why canning is better than freezing and other methods, followed by a few notable exceptions. 1. Flexible ...
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