Making fermented food is one skill. Knowing how to bring those jars back into your everyday cooking is another. Today we're taking the fermented cherry tomatoes we made earlier in the series and turning them into a beautiful first course with crisp garlic crostini, warm torched feta, honey, fresh herbs and a spooned fermented tomato dressing. But this lesson is about more than one recipe. I'm showing you how I think about building a plate: balancing salt, acid, fat, sweetness, temperature and texture, and using a few simple techniques to turn something very rustic into a dish I would happily serve to company. The printable includes the complete dish, the spooned fermented tomato dressing, additional ways to use your fermented tomatoes, and ideas for using the leftover brine. The jar should never become something that simply sits in the refrigerator because you don't know what to do with it. ➡️ For the printable click here :https://www.homesteadwifelife.com/post/how-to-use-fermented-cherry-tomatoes-from-the-jar-to-a-first-course In this lesson We make crisp baguette crostini rubbed with fresh garlic after toasting, so the garlic stays fragrant rather than becoming burned and bitter. Then we build the first course using honey, warm feta, cold fermented tomatoes, fresh herbs and cracked pepper. The contrast between the warm feta and cool ferment is an intentional part of the dish. I'll also show you how I turn the fermented tomatoes, garlic and shallot into a spooned dressing and explain why I use less oil here than I would in a traditional vinaigrette. The feta and oiled toast already bring richness to the plate, so the dressing's job is to cut through that richness rather than add more. And please don't pour out your fermentation brine. It can become part of vinaigrettes, marinades, soups, beans, greens, dips and even your next batch of fermented vegetables. This is the part of preserving food that I love most: not simply putting food by, but knowing how to bring it back to the table. From seed to larder. ♥️ ➡️THE TOMATOES If you missed the jar going in, that episode is here: https://youtu.be/IUN8PInvX74 ➡️ TOOLS FROM THIS VIDEO: These are affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but do help support the channel. Thank you for your support! GreenPan Reserve bakeware (the sheet pans on the counter): https://www.greenpan.us Code HWL50 takes $50 off orders of $275 or more on full-price items. Fermenting Kit - https://amzn.to/4qSrOrf Asian Fermented Jar - https://amzn.to/4qNQDV2 2 QT Mason Jar - Fermenting Jars with Airlock- https://amzn.to/4gvRGWm Pickle Pipes - https://amzn.to/4gL3qTQ Mason Tops Fermenting Kit - https://amzn.to/4xwo29l Fermenting Lids - https://amzn.to/4h5TyoW Digital Scale - https://amzn.to/4ia1lTM Canning Funnel - https://amzn.to/4iHHdZc RUBBER SPATULA SET - https://link.amazon/B05w22u2Q VITAMIX BLENDER - https://link.amazon/B05wwtSt9 TORCH - https://link.amazon/B07QDzFES FINE STRAINER - https://link.amazon/B0g0Xvnke BUTTER MUSLIN - https://link.amazon/B0f8grsHQ ➡️ HWL Mail: HWL Media LLC, PO Box 112, Smithfield, VA 23430 Some links above are affiliate links. If you buy through them the channel earns a small commission at no cost to you, and it helps keep the jars full. Some products in this video were provided by our partners. My opinions are my own and are not for sale. #fermentation #fermentedtomatoes #plating #firstcourse #homesteadkitchen #homesteadwifelife

Can freshly milled whole grain flour make a truly soft, bakery-style cinnamon roll? Yes, it can. In this final lesson of my Freshly Milled Flour series, I am making six jumbo cinnamon rolls using our homemade fresh-milled all-purpose flour blend. These are big, soft, pull-apart rolls with a generous cinnamon filling and cream cheese frosting that melts down into every spiral. Whole grain sweet dough behaves differently from dough made with commercial white flour. It is wetter, the bran needs time to soften, and adding more flour is usually not the answer. In this video, I will show you the three things that make this recipe work: • A tangzhong to help the crumb hold more moisture • A 25-minute rest so the bran can absorb the milk before kneading • A thick cinnamon filling that stays inside the rolls instead of leaking into the pan I will also show you what the dough should look and feel like, how to know when it has been kneaded enough, how to shape six bakery-size rolls, and why I pour warm cream around them before baking. These cinnamon rolls can also be prepared ahead and frozen, so you can bake a fresh pan without getting up at five in the morning. ➡️PRINT THE COMPLETE RECIPE: https://www.homesteadwifelife.com/post/jumbo-fresh-milled-cinnamon-rolls ➡️FRESH-MILLED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR BLEND: https://youtu.be/h2fAbZH5YsY ➡️WATCH THE FRESHLY MILLED FLOUR SERIES: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTHgvX5toubIJmLpvwafCYsh7Q5DncWZW ➡️SHOP THE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT I USE: These are affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but do helpo support the channel. Thank you for your support! ♥️ Sifting Machine - https://amzn.to/4bO1A2P #40 Sieve for machine - https://amzn.to/4gfaebU #60 Sieve for machine - https://amzn.to/4zkkVm9 #80 Sieve for Machine - https://amzn.to/4qtJAkj #40 & #60 sieve by hand set - https://amzn.to/4bMGAtm Scale - https://amzn.to/3U1OmJJ Hard White Wheat - https://amzn.to/4zmjmUK Soft White Wheat - https://amzn.to/4wVRHsi PARCHMENT PAPER - https://amzn.to/4qnEwxL RUBBER SPATULAS - https://amzn.to/4bXT41c 8 PC MEASURING CUPS AND SPOONS - https://amzn.to/4gITwTQ FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS WITH LIDS - https://amzn.to/4dnljXF BOWL SCRAPERS - https://amzn.to/46hqBjF OFF-SET SPATULA SET - https://amzn.to/4gWaflj MY FAVORITE GIANT CERAMIC BOWL - https://amzn.to/4yosQ0t Thank you for spending time with me in the kitchen. I do not teach here, I share what I am learning as I bring practical, old-fashioned skills into an ordinary modern life. #FreshMilledFlour #CinnamonRolls #WholeGrainBaking #BreadBaking #HomesteadWifeLife

The Summer crops are coming out and the cabbages and lots of other Fall crops are going in, but not before the soil gets put back together. This one is all bed prep. Clearing, grub hunting, loosening, and feeding, with the reasoning behind every step so you can do it in your own beds instead of copying mine. Here is what I cover: Why I pull the old plants before the soil work instead of after What I am looking for when I dig through for grubs, and what I do with the ones I find. Loosening to six inches and why that depth and not more. The compost, slow release organic fertilizer, and blood meal I mix in, and what each one is actually doing for a fall crop. Why I mix it all evenly through the soil rather than layering it on top Watering in deeply, and the thing most people miss: after a long season the soil stops absorbing evenly. If the water pools in some spots and runs off in others, you have not watered the bed, you have watered the surface. I show what to watch for. Why the VEGO bed frame and cover earn their keep with brassicas, and how the same frame swaps to a frost cover if a cold snap comes early A reminder of what grows best in a fall garden here. The sky went black on me before I could get a single cabbage in the ground, so the planting is its own video. This is the part that makes that one work. TOOLS USED IN THIS VIDEO: These are affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but do help support the channel. Thanks for your support! https://get.aspr.app/SH1qvZ HOMESTEADWIFELIFE30OFF for orders over $400.00 https://get.aspr.app/SH1qgk HOMESTEADWIFELIFE10OFF Sitewide Link- https://get.aspr.app/SH1qw9 VEGO GARDEN RAISED BED VEGO BED FRAME VEGO FRAME MESH COVER VEGO FRAME FROST COVER Hugs, Tamatha ❤️

Today we are putting the late-summer garden to work with two completely different vegetable ferments: fermented cherry tomatoes with garlic and shallots and a 3% fermented hot sauce mash made with fresh peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Both recipes use a 3% calculation, but the important difference is what goes on the scale. For the tomato brine: water weight × 0.03 = salt For the hot sauce mash: prepared vegetable weight × 0.03 = salt In this video I walk through both methods from an empty jar to a finished ferment ready to sit on the counter. We talk about weighing instead of guessing, keeping vegetables beneath the brine, fermentation weights and airlocks, what normal fermentation looks like, and the signs that tell me a batch should be discarded. The free printable includes: • Fermented Cherry Tomatoes with Garlic and Shallots • 3% Fermented Hot Sauce Mash • Brine and mash calculation charts • Fermentation notes • Batch-record pages • A complete Ways to Use Fermented Cherry Tomatoes guide • Ideas for using the tomato brine too These are refrigerator ferments, not shelf-stable canned foods. 🖨️FREE PRINTABLE: https://www.homesteadwifelife.com/post/two-jars-one-number-fermented-cherry-tomatoes-and-3-hot-sauce-mash The tomatoes will finish first. When they're ready, I'll bring you back into the kitchen for the fizz, the tasting and exactly how I use them. The pepper mash will take longer, and we'll finish that one together too by blending, adjusting and bottling the hot sauce. Two jars. Same three-percent calculation. Different thing on the scale. Homestead Wife Life 🛒TOOLS USED USED IN THIS VIDEO: These are affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but help support the channel. Fermenting Kit - https://amzn.to/4qSrOrf Asian Fermented Jar - https://amzn.to/4qNQDV2 2 QT Mason Jar - Fermenting Jars with Airlock- https://amzn.to/4gvRGWm Pickle Pipes - https://amzn.to/4gL3qTQ Mason Tops Fermenting Kit - https://amzn.to/4xwo29l Fermenting Lids - https://amzn.to/4h5TyoW Digital Scale - https://amzn.to/4ia1lTM Canning Funnel - https://amzn.to/4iHHdZc Practical things done beautifully. 0:00 Two jars, one number 0:29 A late harvest and mixed varieties 1:20 Hot sauce that's balanced, not just hot 2:18 The 3% rule and why it works for both 3:38 Fermentation vessels and lids compared 5:46 No fermentation lid? Burp the jar 6:34 Fermentation weights 7:45 Bay leaves, shallots, peppers, garlic, salt 9:17 Why every tomato gets poked 10:26 Building the tomato jar 11:10 The brine math 14:18 Weighing the water and salt 15:13 Salt goes in the water, not the jar 16:08 The tomato jar is done 16:46 When to check the tomatoes and the pH test 17:41 Choosing peppers for the mash 18:28 Gloves and the habanero lesson 19:33 Never ferment imperfect produce 20:33 Weighing the vegetables and the salt math 21:43 Pepper scraps for the chickens 22:16 Stopping the food processor at salsa 22:48 Salting by hand to keep texture 23:23 Packing the crock and leaving headspace 24:22 Brine or mash, the whole lesson 26:04 Fill the water dam 26:49 The printable and part two

It is fig season, which means it is time to add a new vinegar to our Luxury Vinegars collection. Today we are making homemade fig vinegar from scratch, but we are also checking in on the vinegars we have already started and talking about how to build them from a quart, to a half gallon, to a gallon, and eventually into an oak cask. One of the most important things to understand about homemade vinegar is that you do not move it into a larger vessel simply because a certain number of weeks have passed. You move it when the vinegar is strong enough to carry the additional volume. In this lesson we are covering: • How to make fig vinegar from very ripe figs • Why seasonal fruit may call for a larger batch • How to feed and build an established vinegar • What happens to the mother when you move to a larger vessel • Why headspace matters during acetification • Why I use butter muslin instead of ordinary cheesecloth • How fruit flies can get into a fermenting vinegar • When a vinegar is ready to move toward a cask • What oak contributes to finished vinegar • Toasted versus untoasted oak • How to prepare a new vinegar cask • Why small casks need to be watched carefully • How the cask becomes a continuously fed vinegar system over time For the fig vinegar, we are using very ripe figs and building the batch according to what the season gives us. If you have only enough figs for a quart, make a quart. If you have a strong mother and a tree giving you more figs than you know what to do with, you can make more. Vinegar Series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTHgvX5toubK65zk7vVVfGkKqMGB0ejf8 🖨️ FOR THE PRINTABLE CLICK HERE: https://www.homesteadwifelife.com/post/homemade-fig-vinegar-prepping-casks A quart of excellent vinegar is always better than a gallon of spoiled fruit. The free companion printable for this lesson includes the fig vinegar method, the vinegar-building ladder, oak cask information, terminology, and a cask log so you can follow your own batch as it develops. IMPORTANT: Homemade vinegar varies in acidity. Do not use homemade vinegar for shelf-stable canning unless you are following a tested recipe that specifically allows it and you have verified the acidity required for that recipe. This is part of our ongoing Luxury Vinegars series here at Homestead Wife Life, where we are building real, living vinegars slowly and learning what happens at every stage rather than simply following a recipe and hoping for the best. 🛒TOOLS USED IN THIS VIDEO: These may be affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but do help support the channel. Thank you for your support! Oak Barrels - https://oakbarrelsltd.com Gallon jars - https://amzn.to/4h0yvEc Half gallon jars - https://amzn.to/4zMSnSu 2 Quart Jars - https://amzn.to/4cgOT0F 1 Quart Jars - https://amzn.to/3SImdXE Butter Muslin - https://amzn.to/3V1pbr0 Rubber Bands - https://amzn.to/3V1pbr0 Thanks for joining me in the kitchen. ❤️

A home apothecary should not be a beautiful shelf of jars that no one ever uses. It should be a practical household system filled with things that earn their place by being useful. Welcome to **The Homestead Apothecary**, a free step-by-step class series where we will build a home apothecary together, one useful skill at a time. I have been building and using my own home apothecary for fifteen years. Some things became household staples, while others were never worth making again. In this introductory class, I’m sharing what a home apothecary really is, what it is not, what has earned a permanent place in mine, and how to begin without buying fifty unfamiliar herbs or spending a fortune. Throughout this series, we will learn how to make and use: • Pleasant herbal teas your family will actually drink • Infused oils, salves, lip balms, and everyday body care • Practical first aid and household comfort kits • Soap and honest homemade cleaners • Unscented beeswax candles • Thoughtful handmade gifts • A well-organized apothecary binder and labeling system We will also talk honestly about safety, storage, shelf life, allergies, medication interactions, and when homemade comfort care is not appropriate. Your first assignment does not require buying a single herb. We are beginning with the information and supplies every household should be able to find quickly, including emergency numbers, allergies, tetanus dates, saline, and clean dressings. 🌿 **DOWNLOAD THE FREE CLASS PRINTABLE:** https://www.homesteadwifelife.com/post/how-to-build-a-home-apothecary-you-ll-actually-use 📚 **THE HOMESTEAD APOTHECARY PLAYLIST:** https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTHgvX5toubK-EiMRXifhDjBpwzQcLa7E GARDEN TOUR LINK** https://youtu.be/JRoT33dszX0 🛒 **APOTHECARY SUPPLIES I OWN AND USE:** These are affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but do help support the channel. Thank you for your support! TOOLS: Dropper Bottles - https://amzn.to/48ivs4H Hang Tags - https://amzn.to/4odmGuF Small Funnel - https://amzn.to/4irm7fF Flasks and Beakers - https://amzn.to/40pye4u Herb Air Drying Rack - https://amzn.to/40BJrQf Jar Vacuum Sealer - https://amzn.to/452vBaL Glass Jars that seal - https://amzn.to/4gtyAPm OILS: Coconut Oil - https://amzn.to/4qN28fG Olive Oil - https://amzn.to/4ixH4aF Jojoba Oil - https://amzn.to/4xiegYk Sweet Almond Oil - https://amzn.to/4qBGU48 Shea Butter - https://amzn.to/4iwa4zE Beeswax - https://amzn.to/46vpNHT HERBS: Tulsi (Holy Basil) - https://amzn.to/48JFqOA Comfrey Leaves - https://amzn.to/4hmduTb Comfrey Root - https://amzn.to/42V8Fdv Echinacea - https://amzn.to/4nnjV9U Plantain Leaves - https://amzn.to/4oc1dU0 calendula - https://amzn.to/4o3Ny0Z Lemon Balm - https://amzn.to/3WWObgN Yarrow - https://amzn.to/4qpdNjZ Catnip - https://amzn.to/4ovYEM7 Chamomile - https://amzn.to/4oxc4Y8 A warm cup of tea should never be asked to carry the weight of a medical diagnosis. This series is intended for household education, comfort, organization, and readiness. It does not replace doctors, prescriptions, professional diagnosis, urgent care, or emergency care. Always consider allergies, age, pregnancy, health conditions, and possible medication interactions before using herbs or sharing preparations with others. Subscribe and join me as we build a home apothecary that actually gets used. #HomeApothecary #HomesteadSkills #HomesteadWifeLife

The late-summer garden is BUSY, and this week there is so much to see, harvest, preserve, and talk about. Come walk the garden with me for a late-summer tour packed with practical tips and a look at what is thriving, what needs attention, and what we're harvesting right now. We're gathering elderberries and taking them all the way from the garden through the dehydrator so you can see the finished dried berries. I'm also harvesting beautiful garlic chive blossoms and turning them into a simple garlic chive blossom-infused white wine vinegar, one more way to preserve something wonderful from the garden and put it to work in the kitchen. And apparently, Maggie had plans of her own. She disappeared, quietly handled the entire situation without consulting anyone, and emerged with **11 baby chicks!** You'll meet the newest members of the homestead while we're out there. ❤️ This is one of those videos that really shows what I love about this time of year. The garden isn't just something to look at. We're harvesting from it, learning from it, preserving what it gives us, and finding ways to carry those flavors into the months ahead. I hope you'll grab a cup of something good and come walk around the homestead with me. TOOLS USED IN THIS VIDEO: USE MY CODE FOR ADDITIONAL SAVINGS WITH QUALIFIED PURCHASE GREENSTALK VERTICAL GARDEN - https://rstr.co/greenstalkgarden/hwl10 VEGO GARDEN Link - https://get.aspr.app/SH1qvZ $10 Evergreen Sitewide Discount Code: HOMESTEADWIFELIFE10OFF Special Offer: $30 Off Orders Over $400: HOMESTEADWIFELIFE30OFF ❤️ Tamatha #GardenTour #Homesteading #Elderberry #PreservingFood #HomesteadGarden #GardenHarvest #HomesteadWifeLife

What happens when “from scratch” doesn’t stop at the cookie dough? For these cookies, I decided to take homemade a little further. I made my own all-purpose flour blend, made the brown sugar myself, browned the butter with added milk powder for even more toasted, nutty flavor, and used two of my own homemade extracts. Then I turned all of it into one seriously good batch of chocolate chip cookies. This isn’t about making life unnecessarily complicated or insisting that everything has to be homemade. You know that’s never my rule. I want to know **when making something yourself actually makes a difference**. Does it taste better? Do we learn something useful? Is the extra effort worth it? So today, we’re taking the humble chocolate chip cookie about as far “from scratch” as I reasonably can, and then we’re going to see whether all that effort actually shows up in the finished cookie. Because around here, making it ourselves is only half the experiment. **The other half is finding out if it’s worth it.** ❤️ 🖨️For the recipe click here - https://www.homesteadwifelife.com/post/homemade-chocolate-chip-cookies-made-with-mostly-homemade-ingredients Part one video - MAKING HOMEMADE ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR: https://youtu.be/h2fAbZH5YsY 🛒Tool Used in this video: These are affiliate links that come at ZERO cost to you but do help support the channel. Thank you for your support! PARCHMENT PAPER - https://amzn.to/4qnEwxL 1/2 SHEET PANS - https://amzn.to/4xO6i9h RUBBER SPATULAS - https://amzn.to/4bXT41c SCALE - https://amzn.to/3RYMBMT #40 COOKIE SCOOP - https://amzn.to/4x9SNRd Sifting Machine - https://amzn.to/4bO1A2P #40 Sieve for machine - https://amzn.to/4gfaebU #60 Sieve for machine - https://amzn.to/4zkkVm9 #80 Sieve for Machine - https://amzn.to/4qtJAkj #40 & #60 sieve by hand set - https://amzn.to/4bMGAtm Hard White Wheat - https://amzn.to/4zmjmUK Soft White Wheat - https://amzn.to/4wVRHsi #chocolatechipcookies #FromScratch #Homemade #BakingFromScratch #HomesteadWifeLife