We Like Making Our Own Stuff

These days, roses are best known as an ornamental garden plant, or as a gift between lovers.  But in years past, roses were much more than a young man’s means of wooing a pretty lady.  Roses were once used for medicine, decoration, beauty products, and even food. One easy way to make use of your roses is to make rose water, using a simple distillation method.  You won’t need any special equipment to do this, and chances are you have everything you need already. Note:  Please read my upcoming blog post to find out what to use your rose water for once it’s made . Homemade Rose Water Ingredients: Handful of rose petals 3 Quarts filtered water or rain water Ice or frozen cold packs* Equipment: Large Pot with rounded lid Large Rock with a flat top or a large, heavy glass bowl* Small glass bowl Process: 1.  Thoroughly wash the rock and place it into the pot.   2.  Scatter the rose petals around the rock...

I made up a recipe the other night to use up some leftovers.  I had cooked chicken from making chicken stock, leftover cooked rice from another meal, and some broccoli from the Farmer's Market.  So, I combined them in this Chinese-food inspired, stove-top casserole.  This is a one bowl meal, and it's delicious! Chinese Chicken Casserole Served my family of 4, with about a cup of leftovers. Ingredients: 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger root 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 cloves pressed or minced garlic 2 cups shredded cooked chicken 5 tablespoons lard 2 cups chopped broccoli 2 shallots, minced 4 cups cooked brown rice, chilled 1/2 cup water 1.  Combine salt, sugar, ginger, cayenne, soy sauce, and garlic in a bowl; mix well. 2.  Add chicken; mix well and leave sit while preparing broccoli in Step 3. 3.  Heat 3 tablespoons of t...

July has brought some hot, sunny days to us in central Wisconsin.  The warm, humid afternoons are doing wonders for the garden, though a little more rain would be nice!  Luckily, we have had great success collecting rain water this year to supplement our watering.  We have just been strategically place five-gallon pails around the house to catch the run-off from the roof.  We then pour these buckets of water into a large barrel, that my husband has outfitted with a spigot, next to our greenhouse. Here is a view of our garden showing the front of our greenhouse, which is like an island in the middle: And this is a view showing the back of the greenhouse: This year, we interplanted our corn with the potatoes.  Our hope is that the corn will give the potatoes a little reprieve from the hot sun, while the bushy potato plants will shade the ground by the corn, helping to keep the roots moist. We have planted French marigolds (Tagetes patula) throug...