Living Homegrown Podcast with Theresa Loe

How one homesteader balances family life with raising farm animals and bees.

There's so much processing done to the food in our grocery stores today that much of that food is unrecognizable. And that processed food has certainly lost most (if not all) of it's nutritional value.

Homesteading is one way to take back control of the food that we eat. When we grow our own food, we know EXACTLY what's on our plate and where it came from.

 

This week, host Theresa Loe invited Kristina Urquhart, author of The Suburban Chickento talk about raising a young family on a homestead. They dive into the challenges of producing your own food, raising meat rabbits, and everything you could want to know about beekeeping.

Kristina shares the story of how she and her husband struggled at first to get a financial foothold on their dream, and how dedication, hard work, and some creativity made that dream a reality.

You will learn:

  • Why it’s so important for our kids to know where their food comes from
  • Which meat rabbit is good as a full service animal
  • Where should you start if you’re interested in keeping bees
  • Which books are best for beginning bee keepers
  • Why sometimes homesteading doesn’t always go as planned
  • What can keep you motivated to keep going
  • And there's some bloopers at the very, very end...LOL

As always, you can get more free information and all the links mentioned at www.LivingHomegrown.com/135 and you get a full PDF transcript as well.

This episode is brought to you by the Living Homegrown Institute - Theresa's online membership for living farm fresh without the farm.

Enjoy!

Direct download: 135_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:26am PDT

Learn how mead is made (in a sustainable way) with local honey and fruit

Mead is an old-fashioned drink that's been around for centuries. If you aren't familiar with mead, it's an alcoholic beverage made from fermenting honey and it can be DELICIOUS.

Host Theresa Loe invited Nick Lorenz of Nectar Creek Brewery on to talk about the art of crafting mead.

This drink is experiencing a resurgence thanks to companies like Nectar Creek. But they're doing WAY more than just producing a tasty beverage. They use locally sourced honey and educate their taproom guests about the importance of honey and bees.

We can all say 'Cheers' to that!

You will learn:

  • Why supporting the local farmer can support the bees and visa versa
  • The science and process of making mead
  • What fermentation science is and how it relates to sustainable agriculture
  • Why it's important to these brothers that their mead be farm to table
  • Which yeast gives the best results
  • How a mead is flavored and the nuances of those flavors

As always, you can learn more and get all the links at www.LivingHomegrown.com/134 including a full transcript of the episode.

Direct download: LH_134_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:36am PDT

Why Grow THIS, When You Can Grow THAT

Who wouldn't want to grow something like purple sugar magnolia peas, cape gooseberries, cucamelons, or dragon's egg? These unusual and heirloom varieties of vegetables add an element of fun in the garden and flavor to the table. Plus, they make our veggie gardens more magical...especially if we have kiddos.

So let's change what we grow this year and dive into the HUGE variety of tasty, exotic looking vegetables that honestly take very little effort.

Host Theresa Loe invited Niki Jabbour, author of Veggie Garden Remix, to share her tips on getting experimental with our vegetable varieties this year.

You will learn:

  • Why amaranth beautifies your garden while expanding your flavors
  • Which undervalued plant tastes like pineapple with a hint of vanilla
  • Why French gold, dragon's tongue and red swan beans are all "must haves"
  • How Sugar Magnolia has a purple pod, green peas and tastes amazing
  • When to pick a loofah gourd and how to cook it (yes, they're edible!)
  • How hand-pollinating will guarantee a more bountiful harvest
  • Which varieties are so beautiful, they are Instagram worthy

As always, you can get all the links mentioned and more free resources at www.LivingHomegrown.com/133 including Theresa's Favorite Seed Sources PDF, a full transcript and Theresa's handy guide for garden/food experts looking to create online courses. 

Direct download: 133_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:36am PDT

LH 132: Behind the Scenes of the Elliot Homestead

This episode focuses on what it's really like running a homestead - from raising dairy cows, laying hens, meat chickens, hogs, sheep, turkeys, and growing produce in a large organic garden.

Host Theresa Loe invited Shaye Elliott, author of Welcome to the Farm and blogger for The Elliott Homestead, to talk about running a super active homestead that's full of animals, food gardens, four active children, and how she manages to make it all run and operate at the same time.

Shaye shares how ordinary, everyday moments can be magical and THAT'S what life is all about.

You will learn:

  •      How this popular blogger balances home and family
  •      The possibility of a new Food Network series on REAL FOOD
  •      Why having a diary cow was so important to her family
  •      What is raw milk
  •      All the ways to use the extra milk from a dairy cow
  •      How to make “Junket” and why you’d want to
  •      Why a popcorn maker can make the best coffee EVER

As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/132 for the free recipe for Shaye's Junket (PDF Download), all the links mentioned, the Farm Fresh Success path and a full transcript of the episode.

Direct download: 132_LivingHomegrown_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:18am PDT

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