Healthy Eating

Elderberry Syrup 2

dakota pharmgirlMay 11, 2023May 11, 20232 Comments

Hard to believe that my last blog post was from March of 2021! A new managerial role at my day job - while a great career opportunity - certainly took its toll on my available time for pleasure writing. Didn't COVID-19 seem to wreak havoc on our habits as well?

Anyhoo, I'm thrilled to get back to some nature musings and restore a little of that important work/life balance we all need.

And fortuitously, the post I happened to be working on last - before earning a paycheck rudely interrupted my farmgirl scribbles - was on elderberry syrup. Which is timely as we'll be coming up on the elderflower season in June and the subsequent elderberry season in July. Perfect excuse to get prepared for their harvest. Hey, it's all good!

Elderflower Enthusiast

dakota pharmgirlJuly 1, 2018September 6, 2020Leave a comment

Soda is generally not allowed in our house with the exception of a shared 2-liter bottle on pizza night or for a party of some kind. But we love our SodaStream carbonator to have 'fizzy water' on hand at all times. To add some flavor, we've gotten hooked on 2 syrups from IKEA to spike our fizzy water….lingonberry and elderflower.

Elderflower is my favorite, as it is very light with a hint of citrus. It's hard to describe the flavor - it's frequently compared to lychee, but to be honest I don't really remember what lychee tastes like so I can't say if it's true. Probably the closest description I can make is that it's a delicate floral taste with a hint of honey.

...continue reading "Elderflower Enthusiast"

Lettuce Be More Exciting! 1

dakota pharmgirlMarch 18, 2018September 6, 20201 Comment

Anyone else looking at seed catalogs with dreamy eyes???

My fingers are itching to get out in the garden already but recent snows unfortunately have my wishes way ahead of my weather.

But I know I'm not the only one! Even our chickens, Speckles and Ginger, have caught Spring Fever, resuming their laying and enjoying some 'free range' time out of the coop wandering the yard. We're ALL ready for Spring!

This year I'm determined to get out there a little earlier to spice up my greens, especially with some that do very well before the temperatures heat up.

Will I still plant lettuce? Of course....I have to have some recognizable greens to hide the more exotic ones in salads for the kids! Spinach and arugula are definitely going to be part of the staples.....but there are so many more options! What about Mizuna, Mache, Mustard greens, Claytonia, or Minutina? Are some of those new for you? They were for me so I had fun doing a bit of research. Let's try something new!

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Yogurt Yumminess – Yes! 3

dakota pharmgirlSeptember 10, 2017September 6, 20203 Comments

Remember back when I was still an 'Instant Pot Ingenue', I mentioned the yogurt function on this magical machine but said it would have to be the subject of a later post?

Well, this is that post.

And it's made me even more fanatical about the Instant Pot now. Seriously, it's super easy to make your own fresh yogurt and it tastes amazing - I think better than the store brands. And, after making your first batch, you really only need a half gallon of milk to make repeat batches.

So while this post may be more of interest to those who've already got an Instant Pot, maybe this will spur interest if you're on the fence about getting one?

...continue reading "Yogurt Yumminess – Yes!"

Instant Pot Ingenue 4

dakota pharmgirlMarch 8, 2017September 6, 20204 Comments

How many of you out there purchased an Instant Pot® after hearing it's the hot new thing and giving in to a sale on Amazon??

How many of you have actually taken it out of the box??

Confession: I got mine over 4 months ago and it just came out of the box a few weeks ago. There was too much to do over the holidays to start experimenting with something new. And it didn't help that I'd read too many blogs about how people had suffered to overcome the initial trauma of its newness and many buttons. But I told myself it's an appliance for pete's sake and I have a graduate degree....I can DO this!

So I did. And it is awesome and simple and all things good and wonderful.
Here's my story.

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Herbs and ‘The Hugo’

dakota pharmgirlSeptember 2, 2016September 6, 2020Leave a comment

As the tops of my basil plants start to flower, I'm reminded that summer is soon over and the kids will be back to school routines and soccer games next week. I'm not ready yet, but will make the most of the last weekend of pool & play before going back to the demands of that 4-kid, color-coded, whiteboard activity calendar!

My sad basil plants need answers now so I thought it would be good to do a refresher on what you can do with all your herbs for the season. Since you can find a thousand recipes for pesto on the interwebs right now, we're going to skip that suggestion here and cover things in general.

However, as a reward for the hard work of cleaning up your summer garden, I'll share the recipe for the trendy drink of the summer from Europe (and a new way to use some of that peppermint that has spread across your garden over the summer). Hubby's cousin introduced us to this drink (thanks Gertrud!) and it was a popular new offering at his hometown's wine festival we attended while visiting family in Germany this past month.

It's called the Hugo and I am officially importing the recipe from Germany to Philly right here in this post. Serve it for your Labor Day get-together this weekend and get ready for rave reviews. You're welcome =)

...continue reading "Herbs and ‘The Hugo’"

Stirum: Summer Supper Solved 10

dakota pharmgirlJuly 1, 2016September 6, 202010 Comments

Too hot outside to be standing too long in front of the stove or grill? Maybe it's time for a Stirum dinner. Stirum is a traditional prairie supper as old as the days of the sod shanty - a meal that could fill you up to work long hours without being too heavy and one that was easy to make in times of few resources.

And now that I have more fresh lettuce than I know what to do with, it's an excellent time to make it the main meal! Stirum is basically salad with little pieces of broken-up thick pancake on top served with a light dressing - a perfect fast easy meal for days when no one wants a big dinner.

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Cheese Please!

dakota pharmgirlJune 8, 2016September 6, 2020Leave a comment

“You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”
- Anthony Bourdain.

I confess, I do hold romantic notions of owning goats and making my own cheese someday. Alas, my 'farm' at the moment consists of 2 chickens and a garden badly in need of weeding. With full time work and kids - the goat thing ain't gonna happen.

But I have found something to fill the gap. I'm having a ton of fun with my new Lékué cheese maker - this Spanish company's tupperware ensemble makes creating soft cheese fun and easy - and something the kids could do together with me to have a better understanding of what 'real' food is. (fyi, I got it from Gardener's Supply but I saw that it was on Amazon too.)

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Rhubarb Rules! 3

dakota pharmgirlMay 20, 2016September 6, 20203 Comments

Growing up in North Dakota, it seemed like everyone had patches of rhubarb in their backyards. It was one of those plants like zucchini, where for a period of time, it seemed you couldn't find enough ways to use it all up. The fact that I now go to Whole Foods to buy rhubarb still seems completely bizarre to me - it was just one of those foods that didn't come from a store!

As children, the elephant ear leaves were the perfect size to lie in the grass under a warm sun and pretend to be Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, fanned by her minions (i.e., a younger sibling you talked into playing along with your Egyptian drama).

I also have memories of sitting outside on summer days licking the end of a raw stalk and dipping it in a bowl of sugar before chomping away.....for reals people. Anyone else do that?

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Seasonal Cooking 2

dakota pharmgirlFebruary 16, 2016September 6, 20202 Comments

So remember my post a couple months back about CSA's and that I had signed up for a Fall CSA share? So the rutabaga has hit the road and that one's all done!
It's time to sign up for a Winter/Spring CSA.

This time I've signed up with Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. They deliver to my worksite so it's super convenient - will let you know how it goes after a few boxes. (Refer back to that old post if you need a refresh on who to contact for a CSA in your area.)

These pics are all from my deliveries last Fall. Everything from Wimer's Organics was fresh and delicious!

This beautiful veggie bounty required a little adjusting to work ingredients into dinner so nothing wilted or withered away on the counter or in my fridge.