I’ve listed vinegar as one of my baker’s dozen of household essentials; I’ve extolled its virtues as a hair rinse (after a borax “shampoo”) and as a medium for extracting the culinary and healing essences of herbs.
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Margaret Boyles lives in a wood-heated house in central New Hampshire. She grows vegetables, keeps chickens, swims in a backyard pond in summer, snowshoes in the surrounding woods in winter, and commutes by bike whenever possible.
Vinegar: The most versatile product in your home?
February 3, 2012
Making Herbal Vinegars
January 30, 2012
You’ve seen herbal vinegars in upscale food boutiques and catalogues, usually stoppered or corked glass jars with sprigs of herbs floating in translucent liquid. Gorgeous. And pricey.
read moreHerbs for Health? Think Soup!
January 25, 2012
For millennia, our ancestors experimented with the leaves, roots, seeds, fungi, lichens, barks and other natural substances around them for healing.
read moreHousehold Uses for Stale White Bread
January 18, 2012
I’ve baked my own whole-grain bread for more than 40 years (the kind food writers call “rustic”). I don’t think I’ve ever bought a loaf of bread.
read moreMid-Winter Stress Relief
January 9, 2012
Light deprivation, snow and ice storms, dangerous driving conditions, power outages, frozen pipes, the frenzy of winter holidays, overindulgence, weight gain: winter delivers a load of extra stress to those of us in the colder, darker regions.
read moreWinter Exercise: No Excuses
January 2, 2012
Motivation flagging? Live too far from a gym? No room in the house for exercise equipment? Not enough light before or after work? Feeling sluggish?
read moreGot Wood Ashes? Manage Them Safely and Put Them to Good Use
December 22, 2011
If you live in one of the nation’s cold regions and burn wood for some or all of your winter heat, you’ve got wood ashes.
read moreMake Your Own Lip Balm
December 16, 2011
Coming indoors and going out, the dry winter air causes static hair, parched skin, and—especially—cracked lips.
read moreSplinter Removal: One More Use for Raw Garlic
December 12, 2011
I’d read about using a slice of raw garlic to remove a splinter when working on a previous post praising the healing powers of garlic. But I didn’t mention it then.
read moreFeeling Sick? Take Action!
December 5, 2011
Feeling tired and achy? Scratchy throat? Queasy stomach? Suspect you may be coming down with that bug that’s going around?
read moreWinter Colds, Flu, and More: Get Proactive
November 21, 2011
Here in the northern latitudes, the incidence of colds, flu, pneumonia, strep, chicken pox, and norovirus infections (“stomach flu”) — rises dramatically during the winter months.
read moreWinter Holiday Food-Safety Tips
November 13, 2011
Family gatherings, office potlucks, holiday buffets, neighborhood cookie exchanges, church suppers, mail-order food deliveries, gifts of home-preserved foods--from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day (and sometimes beyond), Americans go on what seems like a nonstop food binge.
read moreMore to a Potato than Meets the Mouth
November 6, 2011
Our modern potato came from southern Peru, domesticated there 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. Humble, homely, and earthy, the potato has traveled around the world, exerting an extraordinary influence on global civilizations for centuries.
read moreNew Uses for Old Socks and Stockings
November 5, 2011
Like me, you probably have a drawer or box where you toss all those socks that emerge from the wash without a mate or with a hole in the toe.
read more Grow Your Own Salads Indoors All Winter
October 28, 2011
Before we built a small food-producing greenhouse to replace a collapsing south-facing porch, I successfully grew salad greens all winter long in recycled plastic containers under a couple of inexpensive fluorescent shop lights. You can, too!
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