Linda Ly's Blog, page 14
July 27, 2017
Easy Peasy Homemade Tomato Sauce (No Peeling Required)
When I was new to gardening (and new to canning what came out of my garden), homemade tomato sauce was one of those projects that always felt a little intimidating. Every recipe I came across called for boiling a pot of water, blanching the tomatoes, plunging them into an ice bath, then making X-shaped slits in the bottom to release the skins. Some recipes went a step further, telling me to run the peeled tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds.
Frankly, it doesn’t sound all that ba...
July 24, 2017
How to Safely Freeze Liquids in Mason Jars
It’s that time of the year when our freezers are probably seeing a lot of action as tomato sauces, vegetable soups, and all kinds of seasonal bounties start making their way from the garden to the kitchen to — eventually — this winter’s dinner table. A severe lack of space in my own freezer means I’ve skipped my old standby of freezing whole cherry tomatoes in favor of tomato purees that are ready to spice up for homemade marinara sauce, soup, and ketchup.
And that brings up a question I’m o...
July 21, 2017
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. I haven’t been as vigilant with the garden as I usually am, which means loads of volunteer plants and lots of mystery vegetables that we’re starting to harvest. This week’s haul included butternut squash, mystery summer squash, mystery winter squash, and what I think is an overgrown mystery cucumber (but could possibly be a mystery melon). Such are the little joys the garden brings to the kitchen.
2. She loves to help at harvest time (or any time...
July 19, 2017
How to Support a Healthy Backyard Flock Integration
When I decided to add to my flock of backyard chickens (or should I say, chicken, singular, since we were left with a lone Cochin), my main concern was making the transition as stress-free, smooth, and safe as possible for all involved.
Integrating chickens into an existing flock can be a nerve-wracking ordeal if you don’t prepare for it. It’s not as simple as sticking all the chickens together and hoping for the best — flocks have a firmly established pecking order, and they take that order...
July 14, 2017
The Flock Has Grown! Meet the New Girls
A few months ago, Will and I revisited with friends and farmers Megan and Jeremy, just a couple hours up the coast from us in the small town of Lompoc, California. Tucked in a canyon north of Santa Barbara, on 40 acres of old-growth forest, they run a humane poultry farm, organic farm stand, and local CSA operation called Dare 2 Dream Farms.
Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a while may remember this post from nearly six years ago, when I brought home my original flock of three fe...
July 10, 2017
The New Camp Cookbook Is One of Amazon’s “Best Cookbooks of the Month”
Friends, ever since The New Camp Cookbook came out a couple weeks ago, it’s been a wild ride.
I attended the American Library Association’s annual conference in Chicago as a featured author with Quarto Publishing. That place (my first time being there) was my dream audience! I made the Stovetop Skillet Pizza with Fresh Corn, Tomato, Prosciutto, and Pesto (from page 143 of my book) on the ALA Demonstration Stage to a room full of food and outdoor lovers.
Let me tell you… If I can make the do...
July 7, 2017
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. Collecting calendula seeds and fresh eggs from the garden. One of the new hens has started laying those beautiful brown eggs, but as I haven’t caught her in the act yet, I don’t know who it is!
2. ’Tis the season for more seed collecting. These milkweed pods remind me of dandelion seeds with their silky fluff. Did you know you can start milkweed seeds from now until early fall? Doing so while the soil is still warm allows their roots to develop...
July 5, 2017
Gardening Quick Tip: Eat Those Thinnings
Thinning your seedlings is a necessary evil.
On the one hand, thinning helps produce greater yields in the garden, since overcrowded seedlings compete for sun, nutrients, and moisture. When they lack adequate space to develop roots, they can become stunted and unproductive. They’re also more susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases if there’s not enough air circulation between plants.
On the other hand, thinning can be tedious work if (like me) you tend to sprinkle your seeds pretty libe...
July 1, 2017
Today’s the Day! The New Camp Cookbook Is Officially Out!
Although many of you have had The New Camp Cookbook in your hands for a few weeks now, today makes it official in the publishing world: My new book is released, and I’m excited to share some sneak peeks with you!
This was an absolute dream project for me (and Will, who photographed it) because as you know from the blog, we’re avid outdoorspeople. Hiking, climbing, kayaking, surfing, snowboarding, you name it — but especially camping, which we’ve combined with surf trips, road trips, backcou...
June 23, 2017
Five Things Friday
The five little things that made my week…
1. After a handful of trips to Bend, Oregon, these last few years, we finally made it to Tumalo Falls! Not a bad way to spend a day.
2. Our new favorite route from Central Oregon to Southern California: straight down Highway 395, and this is why. The views never get old.
3. Summer is here!
4. I’ve been wondering what was eating our strawberries before we got to them and whaddya know… I caught the little berry bandit in action!
5. I find her here...
