If you would have told my 18 year-old self who HATED cooking that she'd someday write a best-selling cookbook, she would have called you crazy. Little did I know that I'd fall in love with cooking on a windy Wyoming homestead miles from civilization. It's funny how life surprises us sometimes, isn't it? The Prairie Homestead Cookbook celebrated its 5th birthday this week. It's been a best-seller, named an Amazon Editor's Pick ..read more

"I initially didn't listen to your podcast because I assumed it was going to be full of conspiracy theories like all the other homesteading shows... but I'm glad I was wrong!" I stared at the DM and my heart sunk. It wasn't the first time I'd received a message like that. I was torn between feeling grateful that they gave my show a chance and feeling sad. The homesteading movement has changed so much in recent years. A simple ..read more

“Are you SURE we can’t help it??” My son peered anxiously into the incubator as the little beak poked through the pea-sized hole in the shell. The project started 3 weeks prior when my two youngest children (8 and 11) carried four goose eggs into the house with a pleading look. “Pleeeeease mom… can we incubate them?” Our female goose had built a half-hearted nest before deciding she'd rather spend her days cavorting with her ..read more

“We can continue to improve [our meatless product] now until forever, and the cow is not going to get any better at being meat.” -Patrick Brown, Founder of Impossible Foods during an interview with Vox We recently sat down as a family to watch You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment on Netflix… It wasn’t until halfway through the first episode that I realized it was a propaganda piece for artificial ..read more

Chili is such a polarizing dish. Popular? Yes. But everyone has strong opinions as to what makes the best chili.... Beans or no beans? Tomato or no tomato? Spicy or mild?  And that's just the beginning... But at the end of the day, debates aside, chili is one of my favorite ways to serve a crowd, especially when time is short. It's easy to get paralyzed by the myriad of possible chili ingredients. But over the years ..read more

My whole grain journey has come full circle. When I first experimented with baking bread over a decade ago, I was determined I would use 100% whole wheat or nothing at all. (I have a bit of an all-or-nothing personality...) And it was a complete DISASTER. In fact, my family was so traumatized by my inedible bread bricks that they swore off whole wheat for many years. I quickly realized that if I had any hope of switching them over ..read more

I dropped a bit of a bombshell on social media beforehand...Yes, we’re selling the soda fountain. The announcement surprised a lot of people and since many of you have been following the soda fountain's story from the beginning, I wanted to share the behind-the-scenes of this decision today. In case you need to catch up on our soda fountain journey, check out these: We Bought a 107 Year Old Restaurant (video) Getting Ready ..read more

I paused as I dumped the mound of seed packets and tiny baggies on the table. I felt it. Finally. 2023 was intense. As the year drew to a close, I was feeling burned out with basically everything: Cooking… writing… working… people… and yes, even gardening. As I put the gardens to bed last fall, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “It’s over.” I closed the cedar gate and didn’t look back. As winter took hold and the ..read more

“What do you do for fun?” The question came in the middle of an interview and caught me off guard. I blinked at the interviewer as I stammered… “Eh, well… ha. I’m not sure? I mean… I have fun but not in the regular ways… Um, I guess I work for fun? *nervous laughter*" It wasn’t my most shining moment. You see, I’m not good at recreation. At least not in the conventional sense. Passive amusements like movies ..read more

I walked into Hobby Lobby last week and stopped dead in my tracks. Disorientation washed over me as I stared at the gigantic Easter displays. “Wait… have we had Valentine’s Day yet?!” After a moment of contemplation I determined that we, in fact, have NOT yet had Valentine’s Day. (You’re welcome for that Public Service Announcement.) So anyway, I’m the absolute worst at holidays. I can’t count the number of times I’ve ..read more