Chelsea Green
The holiday season is in full swing, and if you haven’t been to a holiday gathering yet, chances are there’s one in your near future. If you find yourself hosting this year, why not spice up the night by offering your guests a cocktail that utilizes Campari? Its herby and fruity flavor is sure to…
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It’s the darkest time of year here in the north and the short days have us feeling extra lazy. When it’s already dark out by the time we get home, it’s hard to find motivation for anything other than cozying up on the couch with a new book. So, when we found this easy-peasy recipe…
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Autumn olives are quite the berry. No added sugar is required! Give it a try and keep some delicious and nourishing olive fruit leather on hand for whenever you get the craving. The following excerpt is from Wild Flavors: One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking from Eva’s Farm by Didi Emmons. It has been adapted for the…
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Do you have a love affair with wood-fired pizza? Can’t resist a fresh from the oven loaf of bread? Are always looking for another DIY project? If you said yes, then this one’s for you! Richard Miscovich, bread expert and wood-fired oven builder, offers a few useful tips and general masonry guidelines to help you…
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Fall means apples: Walking through orchards picking apples, finding wild apple trees, and best of all…eating apples! We’ve had the privilege of publishing many books with delicious apple recipes over the years but one of our all-time favorites has to be the Lost Nation Cider Pie from Michael Phillips’ The Apple Grower: A Guide for…
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Have you ever tasted a gooseberry? These unique, tangy fruits are related to currants but have a flavor all their own. Though gooseberries aren’t a common ingredient in pie, they’ll take your dessert to the next level. The following is an excerpt from This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader by Joan Dye Gussow.…
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Have an overabundance of tomatoes? No problem. Preserve your summer harvest and enjoy the taste of the season all year long with these dried tomato recipes! For more recipes using traditional preserving techniques like salt, oil, drying, cold storage, vinegar, and fermentation, read Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning. Tomatoes Dried Naturally Tomatoes Almond oil (or another…
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Chances are you’ve heard of fig trees before. Beyond producing fruit, you can find fig trees woven into several different cultures, pieces of art, and works of literature. Given their prominence, you might be wondering what exactly makes these trees so special. Lucky for you, we have the inside scoop on everything fig-related. The following…
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Harvest season is finally here! If you’re anything like us, you’ve got green beans up the wazoo around this time of year. If you’re looking for a new way to preserve your green bean bounty for the fall and winter months, these four salt-based techniques should help. Here’s to months of delicious green beans ahead!…
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Fresh, ripe raspberries picked straight from the garden in the morning. What could be a better start to your day? According to Michael Phillips, author of The Holistic Orchard, growing your own berries is entirely possible for anyone with a bit of space and a passion for the fruit. Brambles grow from the north to…
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Climatic uncertainty has become “the new normal,” and many farmers, gardeners and orchard-keepers in North America are desperately seeking ways to adapt their food production to become more resilient in the face of such “global weirding.” The following is an excerpt from Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land by Gary Paul Nabhan. It has…
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The new threshold for green building is not just low energy, it’s net-zero energy. In The New Net Zero, sustainable architect Bill Maclay charts the path for designers and builders interested in exploring green design’s new frontier net-zero-energy structures that produce as much energy as they consume and are carbon neutral. The following is an excerpt…
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Scientists maintain that a mere 2 percent increase in the carbon content of the planet’s soils could offset 100 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere. But how could this be accomplished? What would it cost? Is it even possible? The following is an excerpt from Grass, Soil, Hope by Courtney White. It has been…
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Wouldn’t it be cool if, after some time and practice, you’re known as the Beer Brewing Master? Your friends gather at your house every weekend to try your latest ferment, eyes filled with wonder. Your homebrewing skills unmatched by all. Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods,…
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Admired by a pantheon of America’s greatest writers and considered one of our most prolific essayists, Hoagland is in a class of his own. He came of age during our country’s literary heyday, learned to write the old-fashioned way — through direct experience in love, travel, and immersion in the natural world — and then…
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As much as we love to drizzle (or drown, let’s be honest) our pancakes in maple syrup, you may be surprised to learn that a variety of drinks are made with tree sap, with results that will far surpass your typical sugar buzz. Several companies have ventured into the world of sap related alcoholic beverages.…
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There’s nothing better than kicking back after a long day with a nice cool glass of tree sap. Sounds sticky, but you might be surprised to hear that sap from maple, birch, or walnut trees is comprised mostly of water with 2 percent or less sugar and loaded with minerals, nutrients, enzymes, antioxidants, and more—an…
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Do you know what a pawpaw is? A few generations ago, most would say “yes!” You could ask just about anyone and they could tell you what this fruit looked and tasted like, and more importantly, where to find it. But today, the pawpaw remains a mystery to some and entirely unknown to others. With…
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Farmers young and old are seeking new ways to shrink their carbon footprint and promote more ecologically friendly ways of getting chores done. So, what’s a modern farmer to do? For some, the centuries old approach of using draft animals—especially horses—is offering a very 21st century solution. Here’s an overview of draft power and its…
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Sourdough is a simple wild ferment made from nothing but flour and water. You can start a batch today, use it in a few days, and keep it alive and bubbling … well … forever. If you have the patience, enjoy the flavor of sourdough, and can commit to feeding your quiet new “pet” frequently,…
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Autumn is undeniably apple season, but how do you take your apples after you can’t get them straight from the tree? Instead of buying mealy apples from your grocery store, try drying your fresh apples and enjoying them later! The following is an excerpt from Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by The Gardeners & Farmers of…
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Autumn is the perfect time to enjoy apple-focused food & drinks and reflect on this staple of the American diet. Here are some Chelsea Green books that embrace the biodiversity of apples in all forms! The New Cider Maker’s Handbook by Claude Jolicoeur To make the very best cider—whether for yourself, your family, and friends…
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What could be better than an oven you can build yourself, that allows you to cook an array of delicious foods outside, and can help restore the individual and communal resiliency we’ve lost in recent decades? Follow these tips to learn how to make and maintain your own wood-fired oven! The following is an excerpt…
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Wood-fired oven are not just for baking bread and pizza! If you utilize the full heat-cycle, as Richard Miscovich details in From the Wood-Fired Oven, you can make a wide range of tasty eats during just one firing—from roasting meats and vegetables to drying herbs. With live-fire roasting, this recipe for Dry-Fried Okra comes out…
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The historical prominence of hemp can be seen in dozens of American towns that still bear its name, including Hempfield, PA, Hemphill, KY, Hempstead, NY, Hempfork, VA, and more. How did humanity’s longest utilized plant, that has more than 25,000 uses and so many towns named after it, end up nearly extinct in the U.S.?…
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