by Angela It’s that time of year again…the weather is turning warmer, five minutes outdoors and I smell like grass and sunshine, the lilacs are in full bloom, and I’m back to feeling like a hippie. I don’t exactly know what it is about spring that makes me feel like brewing kombucha tea, sprouting seeds, …
I’m from Texas, y’all, and most Texans understand that a Tex-Mex restaurant isn’t truly authentic unless it makes its own tortillas. I’m certainly not a Tex-Mex chef but I have found that a meal of tacos feels much more authentic when it’s served with homemade tortillas. Have you ever noticed the number of ingredients in …
by Amy Peterson You live in a small town where – you’ve checked the laws – farm animals are not permitted within city limits. But you’ve bought a house just outside of city limits, a house that already has a coop in the backyard, and you plan to move in May 15. A friend tells …
by Heather I’ve always loved chips and salsa. Who doesn’t? Over the years I’ve graduated from the Walmart salsa with too much corn syrup in it, to the nicer brands (when I could afford them) to WOW, my friend cans her own salsa and it tastes amazing, to OOPS, I canned an enormous batch of …
by Heather I have an anarcho-primitivist magazine on my bookshelf (anarcho-primitivists think civilization has poisoned our minds and we should all go back to being hunter-gatherers. Basically, anyway.). I picked up it from a friend and kept it because I was weirdly fascinated. There are some disturbing things in there; some of these people seem …
by Angela As a kid I was terrified of -and obsessed with- witches. I don’t know where the obsessive fear came from. But I was convinced witches were laying in wait under my bed, lurking in the attic, hiding in the tool cabinet in the garage, and worst of all, behind the shower curtain in …
by Christie Purifoy We moved to this old farmhouse nine months ago. For the first time in my life, I am keeping chickens, starting seeds, and planting trees. Indoors, I am baking sourdough, brewing kombucha tea, and making chicken stock like clockwork each Friday. If you could see me with my baby on my hip …
I’ve often heard people say that pizza is unhealthy: it’s greasy, fatty, bad for our bodies. But I disagree. Pizza can be a healthy addition to a recipe repertoire if you make it yourself and use good ingredients. This is a staple for us. I make a pizza every single week because it’s fairly easy …
by Jocelyn Granola bars are a staple food around our house. They’re great for a quick breakfast on the go or an afternoon snack. For a couple of years, I ate only “natural” granola bars from places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Then one day, I decided to actually read the labels. I’d always …
by Elena Today, I am angry. I am angry at my loads of unfolded laundry. My procrastination laid out in various colors and sizes. I am angry at the swarm of fruit flies thatrefuse to evacuate my kitchen. I’d rather use my energy elsewhere than clean the dishes. I am angry that I haven’t made my boys …
I don’t need to convince you that peanut butter is a good thing for families. It’s the go-to happy-making jar o’ protein we all love. But there are a couple of things that I’m not loving about most of the peanut butter on the shelf at the store. First is sugar – peanut butter usually …
In her book, A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle speaks about the daily workings of life at her farmhouse Crosswicks. Since we moved to a farm four years ago, and I’ve taken on all sorts of new tasks like canning and preserving food and raising chickens, I found a kindred spirit in her musings on …
by Angela **As a woman of faith, I used to get quite embarrassed talking about sensuality and intimacy, let alone conversations about S-E-X. Moving into a faith that embraces mystery, including the mystery of our bodies, has given me courage to learn about my own body and how it works – and has given me …
by Elena It was a day I will always remember. The day when a friend yelled to me, “Don’t eat that! You may die of food poisoning!” My spoonful of raw cookie dough dropped back into the bowl and instantly became a monster that was out to attack my immune system. I wondered if I’d …
For days the sun shone and the weather was warm. There was no frost on the windows in the mornings. All day the icicles fell one by one from the eaves with soft smashing and crackling sounds in the snowbanks beneath…When Mary and Laura pressed their noses against the cold window pane they could see …
I’m horrible with plants. When my sister called and told me she was building an herb garden to grow her own seasoning, I wanted to try it too. She was setting it up in her mud room by the window and talking about the amount of sunlight and the exact watering measurements she needed. I …
by Angela I said goodbye to my children this week. I would say my foster children, but O told me not to use foster to describe our relationship anymore. A wise one, that girl, at 5. On Sunday they were reunited with their biological family. They’ve gone to live with their great-grandpa in route to …
by Jocelyn Cooking dry beans is one of the easiest, healthiest, and cheapest ways to eat well. There are several benefits to cooking dry beans: 1) They are almost always cheaper than their canned counterparts. 2) You can control what goes into the beans, such as what kind of water is used (filtered vs. tap), …
by D.L. Mayfield The other day I walked into a grocery store, saw local free range pork bones for a dollar a pound, and literally squealed with excitement. I grabbed my husband’s shoulder as I shrieked: “Aren’t you excited? Just think about the pot of beans we could make with these beauties!” He looked at me …
by Christiana This recipe was shared with me by my friend Erin. She’s a gardening guru. One of the first times I met her she was five months pregnant, wearing a bonnet, and a skirt; I followed her through a pasture of onery horses, under two electric fences and around barbed wire so she could …
by Christiana The reasons: I have very sensitive skin. So when a friend offered me her homemade face lotion, I wasn’t so sure. I’ve spent years very carefully following my dermatologist’s advice on what lotions, shampoos, soaps and face creams to use to combat my issues with rosacea and other skin irritations. But my friend’s lotion was …
by Jocelyn “The sense of futility is one of the greatest evils of the day…People say, “What can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?” They cannot see that we can only lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time; we can be responsible only for the …
by Angela An infusion is basically a strong cup of tea. An infusion is used when working with delicate parts of plants – flowers, leaves, seeds, and roots with volatile oils. For barks, stems, nuts, and most roots, you’d make a decoction (more on that next week). An herbal infusion is typically done with water, …
* by Christie In August we moved across the country. We bought an old farmhouse and a few acres of land on the edge of a suburban development. McMansions grow where corn once stood. In September we had a baby (our fourth). We brought her home and marveled at our dreams coming true. A farmhouse …
by Angela Mom knew I leaned hippie, but imagine her surprise when, quite blush with embarrassment, she told me our toilet was broken and I told her it was intentional. We had cut water off to the toilet and jerry-rigged a gray water system. There was a cat litter bucket under the sink to catch …
by Amy When I told my best friends recently that I haven’t bought deodorant in the last year, they looked a bit concerned, like they wanted to step closer and sniff me, like they wanted to rush me to the store.About a year ago I started making my own deodorant. I did it for a …
by Angela See Part One for more tips and reasons for soapmaking. * Shameless plug: for a donation of any size to The Nourish Collective I will send you a PDF of our Soapmaking Manual. (It’s pretty basic, but does include some more info on fats, oils, etc.) 1. Find a recipe online or visit Majestic Mountain …
Renew and Sustain aims to create an online community of those of us who desire to live more sustainably. We hope to be a place free from guilt, judgment, and embarrassment. Instead we wish to encourage, excite and inspire you and ourselves to try new things and rethink our ways of being in the world. … Continue reading »
* by Christie Purifoy Give us this day our daily bread … I’ve prayed those words since I was a little girl. I grew up understanding them as metaphor. I wasn’t really asking for bread. As I’ve continued to grow, as I’ve begun to watch my four children grow, I’ve found my faith becoming – not exactly … Continue reading »
by Angela Infusions and decoctions are the basics of herbal remedies. Two weeks ago I shared how to make a simple herbal infusion. An infusion is usually used for leaves and flowers, while decoctions are used for roots, stems, and bark. To make a decoction, place your herbs in a pot and cover with water. … Continue reading »
by Christiana This weekend we started some of our seeds inside: tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplant. We used organic seed starting soil, trays that will go directly into the soil when the seedlings are ready, and three sets of eager hands. Now, lest anyone think that this part of gardening is a blissful and beautiful … Continue reading »
by Christiana This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a personal list that has helped our little family focus on what’s doable.* 1. If you eat meat, sprinkle it throughout a dish rather than slapping it on the plate as the main event. Most of us have heard that Americans eat way too much … Continue reading »
This piece began life as a slice of life on The Messy Table. Christiana saw the recipe and enjoyed it with her family, so she thought that it might be a good fit here. Thanks for that invitation! I wondered if I should just copy out the recipe with a brief introduction, but looking over … Continue reading »
by Christiana We live in a rural area where our restaurant choices are basically fast food chains or the local bar that serves $1 tacos on Wednesdays. With few choices to tempt us, it’s easier to stick to our commitment to eating healthy. We grow much of our own vegetables and berries for at least … Continue reading »
