Okra : a Brief Overview

I have found that the obstacle that people run into with okra is the slime factor. The pods are highly mucilaginous and it is this feature that makes them so wonderful to thicken soups and stews. However, outside of the realm of soup, this quality can gross highly-sensitive-to-texture people out. I get it—AND, there are ways around this if cooked properly. While deep-fried is usually the go-to cooking method, I would love to introduce some other strategies to offset the plant’s slime potential.

Foraging Etiquette

Just coming back from harvesting wild elderflower, foraging etiquette is on my mind. I hope that by reading some of the recipes here on The Blue Heron Project, you might feel inspired to go out and forage for some of the wild bounties your land has to offer. It is so fulfilling to head out into the wild with an empty bucket and coming back home with a bucket full of wonderfully delicious things.

The truth is though, the act of foraging must be done responsibly. If you want to come back year after year to the same stinging nettle patch, or the same elder bushes, you need to make sure that you are harvesting in a manner that is sustainable.

Why you need to use a scale in your kitchen.

kitchen scale — Why you need to use a scale in your kitchen.

One tool to make you a better cook and baker.

I realize that if you don’t have a scale and you come across a recipe that only uses weight as a measurement it is annoying. I get it. It is just so darn simple to measure things in your handy dandy measuring cups. It is what you are used to, and it’s probably how you grew up cooking. I am not saying it is wrong, but if you want to become a better cook or baker - ditch the cups and get a digital kitchen scale.

How to Use Your Oven to Bake Your Pizza Properly

I’m not saying this is the only way to cook pizza, or even the best, but I do have to say, until we build our wood fired pizza oven in the back, this is my go to method. The results are incredibly impressive, and the pizza-eating monster in the house says it is the best pizza he has ever tasted.

What is a Shrub?

The word shrub, like sorbet, sherbet, and syrup, all are derived from the Arabic word sharab meaning beverage. Pre-refrigeration, the only way to preserve fruit juices were to douse them heavily with sugar, alcohol, or vinegar.

What is Kombucha?

Many of our “familiar foods” such as cheeses, cured meats, yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, and miso all undergo fermentation, and while fermented tea might sound very weird, there are many documented benefits for bringing fermented foods into your diet.