Hello world!

I spent two years fighting the shade on our property before finally admitting defeat. Half my garden sits under oak trees, and I kept trying to force sun-lovers into spots that barely get three hours of direct light. The tomatoes were pathetic, the peppers nonexistent, and Ben kept saying I should just work with what…

Ben found a forum post last month claiming you could cure bacon in just three days with the right salt blend. I told him that was ridiculous, but he printed it out anyway and left it on the kitchen counter where I’d see it every morning with my coffee. Turns out curing and storing homemade…

Most cowboy candy jalapenos canning recipes tell you to slice your peppers, make a syrup, pour it over, and process the jars. And most of those recipes produce something that looks right in the jar but turns out soft and weirdly soupy once you open it. I made four batches before I figured out what…

The jar didn’t shatter dramatically. It just cracked along the bottom seam sometime in the night and leaked pickle brine across the shelf until it pooled on the floor. I found it at two in the morning because I couldn’t sleep and went to the kitchen for water, and stepped in it barefoot. That was…