Insteading
Homesteading & Sustainability
For the vast, vast majority of time, humans lived and cooked without electricity or gas. Yet, within less than two centuries under the influence of electricity’s convenient grid, people in the …
Continue Reading about Cooking Off-Grid: Fire, Sun, and Earth-Powered Methods →
We've recently put out quite a few articles on ways that you can build an oven to cook food with the most ancient of methods: fire. So far, we've got articles on Outdoor Brick Ovens, (largely …
Continue Reading about Outdoor Stone Ovens: What Are They, How Do They Work, And Photos →
There's something about an outdoor fire that speaks to us humans on a basic wiring level. It doesn't matter if you are from the most technologically-advanced city, backwoods, dirt-road country, or …
Continue Reading about Outdoor Earth Ovens: What Are They, How Do They Work, and Photos →
When it comes to building an outdoor oven, you may start feeling like one of the proverbial three little pigs when you try to decide what type is best. Will you build it out of mud? Concrete? …
Continue Reading about Outdoor Brick Ovens: Types, Uses, And Photos →
If you had told my 10-year-old self that I would one day be deeply emotionally invested in growing asparagus, I would have said “Gross!” Love it, or hate it, this early spring crop has a unique …
Olive oil has been an important food source, lamp fuel, religious material, cosmetic, and medicine for thousands of years. More than just a salad topping, olives join wheat and grapes as the core …
When you first moved into your house or apartment, there were probably a few things on your wish list. Maybe it was a fireplace. Or perhaps, a big open kitchen. And of course, you probably had a …
Continue Reading about DIY Wine Cellar Plans + 10 Ideas to Inspire You →
Stop already, you say. You've heard it all before: Drink plenty of water, stay hydrated, and stay healthy. You may think it's boring. It's old advice. But even though this is sage advice, few …
Continue Reading about 13 DIY Flavored Water Drinks to Stay Hydrated and Healthy →
'Tis the season of gift-giving. Since colder weather has many of us stuck inside instead of in the dirt, we figured this holiday season is the perfect time to find the best in gardening gifts …
Creating your own furniture is a great way to make a piece that's unique and special, and a DIY kitchen island is a fantastic place to start. If you are someone who enjoys DIY projects, building a …
Continue Reading about 25 Stylish DIY Kitchen Islands to Upgrade Your Space →
It's not always possible to buy that new greenhouse or build a rain garden as a holiday gift. At Insteading, we understand that garden gifts can easily run on the large and expensive side. We …
Continue Reading about 25+ Sustainable Stocking Stuffers To Give This Holiday Season →
If you've never had the experience of growing leeks, you don’t know what you’re missing! This straight-laced member of the allium family has a milder flavor than onions, and it’s extremely cold …
Continue Reading about Growing Leeks: From Starting Seeds to Blanching Bulbs →
For several years after I started cooking and farming, I avoided canning. It intimidated me. I was afraid of making someone sick. I was overwhelmed by recipes. I didn’t have any of the special …
Serving family and friends properly cooked cuts of venison (deer, elk, moose, or antelope) is one of the finest rewards of hunting. Venison or other wild game can be prepared much the same way as you …
Continue Reading about 12 Delicious And Savory Venison Tenderloin Recipes →
Your kitchen is spotless. Your counters are shiny, and your fridge is immaculate. Take a peek in your pantry, though, and you may find a different situation. It can be tough to keep things neat and …
Continue Reading about 25 Easy And Clever Kitchen Pantry Ideas →
I come from a large family. Blessed with parents, siblings, children, and grandchildren, I have baked a lot of birthday cakes. Until I discovered the creative world of cake decorating, my attempts …
Continue Reading about 10 Basic Cake Decorating Tips For The Perfect DIY Dessert →
One of my favorite college coffeehouses was across the street from a milling company. I spent many hours sketching and sipping their various brews, the mood-lit ambiance of the cafe constantly …
Small kitchens can be challenging. Especially when you love to cook and entertain. It's easy to feel the walls caving in when you have a few cabinets open and the pot is about to boil over and your …
Your kitchen serves many purposes. It's the place where you make your morning cup of coffee and pack the kids' lunches. It's also where you cook your famous macaroni, and above all, spend time with …
Continue Reading about 30 Kitchen Shelves To Declutter Your Space →
There are a lot of different types of maple trees – at least 128 species. Some grow better than others. Some are a harder wood, making them ideal for use on bowling alley floors, while others are …
Continue Reading about Homesteading Stories: Maple Sugaring →
It often feels like the kitchen is one of those rooms within our homes where we really wish we could add just a few more drawers, some extra cabinets, and a bit more surface space. If you’re not …
The shape isn’t perfect – it never is. It’s rather flat on one side since that’s the way it laid on the ground while it grew. Its shape adds character. At least, one can imagine that it …
Continue Reading about Homestead Stories: Memories Of Carving Pumpkins →
Learning about Mother Nature’s edible and healing plants is a critical component of living a sustainable, self-sufficient, and prepared lifestyle. Broadleaf Plantain, commonly pronounced plan-tin, …
Currants are a great addition to any homestead. Native to the United States, currants are a flavorful and versatile berry used in jellies, jams, wine, cordials, puddings, and pies. Currants, no matter …
One day, I realized that the pre-packaged food I was giving my pets wasn't healthy for them. I took the time to consider what they would be eating in the wild, and it definitely wasn't …
There is nothing more bucolic and familiar in our imagination of a farm than the image of milking a cow by hand into a bucket, and then pouring a glowing glass of milk for two or three smiling …
Bone broth has recently come into vogue, showing up in health food stores and gourmet restaurants—for a pretty penny. Making your own bone broth is a simple and rewarding practice for a fraction of …
It’s with good reason that homeowners are installing the farmhouse sink once again. Not only are they an aesthetically pleasing design element, they’re highly functional. The farmhouse sink has no …
The gizzard is an extremely strong and tough muscle with grit inside it, which doesn’t sound appetizing, but it is actually my favorite chicken organ. It's the part of the chicken’s digestive tract …
Root cellars are the original refrigerator. Back in the days before refrigerators were invented, homesteaders stored their produce, among other things, in the root cellar. They have been around …
Continue Reading about Root Cellars: The Original Refrigerator →
The long, cold, winter months or even the fate of living in a small apartment are not enough to stifle the need for fresh herbs. The smell of basil, the sight of green cilantro, is something that we …
To have a nice island or snack bar, you'll need different seating than traditional dining areas, namely, kitchen stools. The stools you'll want depends on your style, the size of the space, and the …
Onions are easy to grow, and they're the first ingredient in my culinary toolbox. Almost every dish I make starts with caramelized onions, so my garden is never complete until I have grown my season’s …
Leeks are a must-grow star of the winter garden. Leeks are milder in flavor and have a longer growing season than onions, another member of the allium family. Because the edible bulb of a leek grows …
Although it may seem like the modernized live edge wood slab furniture is a relatively new trend, it began and was popularized back in the 1940’s by furniture designer George Nakashima. The …
At our goat dairy, we run summer workshops on making cheese. We like these cheeses because they don't require rennet or even aging. In this article we'll go through everything from getting the milk to …
So you’re at the supermarket, standing in the chilly wasteland of the meat aisle. You’re looking at all the options and wondering how do you really know which brand or label is better for the …
My enameled Dutch oven is my favorite cooking tool. But only since I graduated from my 20s. The impatient, impulsive, careless me and the Dutch oven were not compatible. I had a date to meet, a show …
Continue Reading about Cast Iron Dutch Ovens: The Ultimate Guide →
With a greater focus on the environment than ever before, more and more people are trying to figure out how they can make a positive impact. If this sounds like you, then indoor composting might be a …
As an urban homesteading enthusiast, I definitely have the DIY bug. Gardening, landscaping, and chickens are all great for outdoor ideas, but in rainy Seattle it’s nice to find an indoor project too. …
Using data from tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Working Group has picked their "Dirty Dozen" produce for 2016. These 12 foods contain the most dangerous …
Continue Reading about Dirty Dozen Produce (And 2 To Really Avoid) →
Canning is a fun project that gets your hands dirty, keeps your food fresh, and gives you a last-minute gift option when the holidays roll around. The key to successful canning is starting with a …
Your favorite foods also go by Latin names. Can you figure out what they are? No botany degree required! The hints are all in the names. Give it a shot. …
Continue Reading about QUIZ: Match The Food With Its Scientific Name →
Handy Camel Bag Clip The problem: Most bag clips are cheaply-made and used for light stuff like bags of chips. The solution: A hardy clip that seals bags without puncturing them, since the plastic …
Continue Reading about 10 Awesome New Inventions For Homesteaders →
Dehydrated potato sounds pretty boring, but it’s the food that made the Incan empire possible. Tragically for Incan society, this nutritious, stable food also allowed Spanish conquistadors to wage war …
Seekers of eco-friendly sinks, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news first: Affordable, new kitchen sinks aren’t 100% eco-friendly. When choosing a sink you'll be balancing …
Editor's Note: We've been hearing awesome things about Thrive Market, but before we plunked down the $59.95 membership fee, we needed to know: Is it better than other online and local organic food …
If you're lucky enough to have an overabundance of fruit, veggies, or meat, you also have a problem. How to preserve this bounty? Refrigeration may only keep the stuff fresh for a few days. Freezing? …
Looking for plastic-free water filtration? Try activated charcoal sticks...the only significant difference between a Brita filter and a stick is that water is filtered through a Brita …
Flickr pic: miikkahoo 1) Beet and Bean Burgers Inspired by the veggie burgers at Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio Makes 6 burgers Ingredients 1/2 cup brown rice (a bit more if you love …
