Ashley English's Blog, page 11

What I'm Digging

Happy Friday, friends! What weird weather this week has brought, right? Serious snow and ice have raged in the Pacific northwest while we've been inundated with spring-like rains here in the south. We even have daffodils peeking up here in the cove!

My poor honeybees are all kinds of confused, out foraging on the warm days and stuck indoors on the rainy and cold ones. Fellow beekeepers, keep in

Recent Acquisitions

I'm super excited to try out these Italian honeys my little sister Theo brought us last week. A junior at Notre Dame, she spent last semester studying Art History in Rome. On one of her many weekend jaunts, she stopped by La Ginestra, an amazing looking inn, spa, restaurant and more in Tuscany. Her gift included truffle and coriander honeys, along with a beeswax candle, all sourced from La

Grow. Cook. Eat. (Humpday Giveaway!!!)

While I can't recall exactly where it was that I first encountered Willi Galloway, I can tell you that I was instantly smitten. Positively radiating goodness, Willi's blog Diggin Food captivated me from the get-go. It's a digital cornucopia of organic growing and cooking tips and suggestions. 

And Willi should know. The former West Coast Editor of Organic Gardening magazine, she now pens

Celebrate, Good Times!

Big thanks to Where Women Cook for profiling me on their blog Amuse Bouche today. Being a contributor to the book was so much fun (by the way, those are our grit cakes on the cover!). I can't wait until Huxley is big enough to show him the images and cook him up some of the recipes from that loving, fun-filled day!

Dairy Dabbling in the WSJ

 The Wall Street Journal has a post up today on making dairy products at home. Myself and my buddy A.J. were both quoted in it. I've put a partial excerpt of the article below (to read the entire piece, you'll need a subscription).

The Latest DIY Craze? Say Cheese (And Other Dairy)
By ALINA DIZIK
A.J. Simone, a 23-year-old account executive at a furniture chain, had tried pickling, canning

Bag Lady

To know me is to love, and accept, my abhorrence of waste. I'm constantly on the prowl for ways to reduce, or eliminate entirely, the amount of things we toss in the garbage. This means loads of recycling, making abundant use of Craigslist and Freecyle for unloading used goods, donating to thrift stores, and reusing and repurposing whenever it makes sense.

Plastic bags are one item in my waste

Squawk Talk

Just thought I'd post a quick reminder for all the local yokels that I'll be chatting up all things "Backyard Chickens" this coming Thursday at the AB-Tech campus. I think there's still a few spaces available.
And, for those of you unable to attend a Thursday evening course, I'll be doing the whole shebang again on February 10th (a Friday) from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Asheville Mall.

Recent Acquisitions

Quite excited about the newest addition to our reading library. With 11+ acres to forage from out here, there's bound to be more wild edibles than those I already know of.

Incidentally, I was thinking of perhaps doing a wild foraging walk on our property sometime this spring. We'd tour the woods, searching for and discussing wild foods, then come back to the house for lunch. Would any local

What I'm Digging

 Happy Friday, friends! My sisters are visiting from Florida, so we've been doing lots of sisterly things, like playing Rummikub, chatting by the wood stove, sipping hard cider, and giggling, lots and lots of giggling (especially after watching this video-and this clip, too). 
Here's a smattering of this's and that's that tempted my tastebuds, dazzled my vision, and pleased my ears! 
*These

Barnheart (Humpday Giveaway!!!)

Ever had something you long for? Something you pine for so deeply it aches? An itch you just can't seem to scratch, no matter how hard you try? My buddy Jenna had that particular affliction something fierce. She had a desire so strong, a yearning so profound that she called it a disease, seemingly without cure. "Barnheart" was what she had, and a farm of her own was what she wanted.

In her new