Christa Nelson's Blog (8)

 

Mapling, or sugaring, is the process of collecting and boiling down the sap from maple trees in order to make syrup. It is an ancient practice, being one of the few sugar sources found in the northern hemisphere. The entire process takes a bit of time, but after tasting the…

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Crisp air and chilly nights makes me want to have a campfire, and I thought some homemade seasonal goodies to go with it would make an extra cozy touch. Pumpkin doughnuts and mulled wine seemed to fit the bill.



First of all, I started with the mulled wine, as that needs time to cook. You can make it on a stovetop, but I chose to make mine in a crock pot. There are many…

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Ever since my third grade teacher read "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George to us, I've had visions of living off the land. As a child I always noticed wild onions, and thought that if I were to live off the land that this would definitely be part of my diet.



As an adult, wild onions are often more of a nuisance, popping up everywhere in the garden, yet I still use them as an ingredient for cooking.



There are… Continue

We here at Homegrown are all about the gardens, farmers markets, and CSA shares, yet I thought I'd highlight yet another outlet for fresh, homemade, homegrown produce, dairy products, meat, canned goods, and other things one might find at a farmers market--the country market. Country markets are yet another avenue for local food producers to sell…

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Black walnuts are native to eastern North America, ranging from Ontario to northern Florida, and west to Texas. There are quite a few of them here in south central PA, and considering that they usually sell for about $13/lb, I thought I'd try harvesting some myself.



Finding a tree is easy--just look for the fallen, institutional green fruits, which somewhat resemble Asian pears. I found mine along a back country road dappling an… Continue

Today was my third experience this year with gardening trainings provided through the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office of Cumberland County. I've been very impressed with content and quality of the trainings, and I felt that it was time to share this wonderful resource with any of those not familiar with the Cooperative Extension office and what they offer the community.



Cooperative Extension is a collaboration between the… Continue

'Tis the season......fall harvest time will all the fall fruits, and all the yummy goodies that come from these.



A neighbor with a few apple trees gave me permission to harvest apples, and while they're not exactly the most perfect things, they still taste good and I thought they'd work well to cook with.

I've always associated the apple spice flavors of apple butter with autumn, so that seemed an appropriate way to make… Continue

I'm in the process of planting for the fall, and one of the things I was going to try is fall beans. The other day I was thinking that I would need a trellis for them, when I thought of the bamboo grove in the treeline next to the house and realized, "Heck, I'll just make one from the bamboo!"



Bamboo is something found all over the US, often in abundance, and is a useful building and craft material. Many folks have it in their backyards, or often you can find growing in abandon fields… Continue