I’m not into pretentious recipe titles, but this one is a new low… even for me… I considered calling it “Salt Encrusted Roast Chicken with….” And then I got stuck because there is no “with.” The ingredients are salt and chicken. That is it. (Plus it sounded stuffy anyway.) Anyway… The ingredient list may be humble, but the final dish is spectacular. The magic lies in the technique. I first learned this method from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat— a brilliant cookbook by Samin Nosrat. The first time I tried it, I almost bailed halfway through. This is one of those recipes that screams at you to “ABORT T ..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 movement once fueled by love of food and land has seemingly transformed into a frenzied mob selling fear and paranoia 24/7. I’m not a fan. It’s not that I don’t believe we ..read more

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, and even won a book award. But more importantly, it’s made its way into countless kitchens across the globe and accomplished the mission I set for it at the very beginn ..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 boyfriend. My kids had been monitoring the situation for several days and finally snatched up the abandoned eggs. I hesitated at their plea. The eggs were likely not viab ..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 I’ve perfected this simple recipe that uses the simplest of ingredients, and it’s a hit every time.  It’s taken me a while to write it down since I usually adjust it depend ..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 meat. (Christian had to pause the show a couple of times so I could holler at the TV.) Needless to say, it provided us with a wonderful opportunity to teach the kids about bias, che ..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 to homemade bread, I’d have to compromise and use all-purpose flour. So I did… for many years.  And it gave me the much-needed confidence I needed to finally mak ..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 to Restore a 1920’s Restaurant (video) I’ve Owned a Restaurant for 60 Days. Here’s What I’ve Learned (podcast) Soda Fountains, Small Towns, and Life Lessons (podcast) When ..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 had a magazine editor or book publisher ask me to add my “unique holiday ideas” to an article, interview, or manuscript… …and I’m forced to tell them I have none. Zero. Nada. Zi ..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 temps plummeted, a frightening thought frequented my mind… “What if it doesn’t come back?” “What if my passion for growing food is gone for good?” But the spark rekindled that ..read more