Kate Downham - Off-Grid Homesteader

Leafy green things from the garden - fresh and full of life. Parsley and green garlic for chimichurri, kale to cook in the pan after the steak comes out, and leeks for leek frittata.

Cherry tree in flower

You don’t need a toaster to make toast. Lightly spread butter or lard on one side of bread, then place it butter-side down directly on the cast iron cooking surface of the wood cookstove. Flip bread over once it’s golden-brown, cook the other side until done. #offgridliving

Homegrown pork mixed with homemade wine, garlic, black pepper, fennel and salt A 9kg batch of salami from my cookbook, ready to be put in hog casings and hung up in a cool airy place for 12 weeks. Once they’ve dried out enough, they will store without electricity for a year.

Buster showing off his winter coat. #maremma #livestockguardiandog

Typical winter sourdough loaf made in my cold off-grid kitchen: 50% pre-fermented flour, ~91% hydration, 100% home-milled biodynamic whole hard white wheat berries. Large loaf made from 900g flour, dutch oven bake in my wood stove oven. Slightly underproofed.

Red Russian kale really thrives in my garden. The leaves grow bigger than other kales, bugs seem less inclined to eat it, it is really tasty, easy to grow, an easy to cook, and one of our staple foods.

An old chair needed reupholstering, but I don’t know where to start when it comes to furniture repair. A sheepskin that I tanned with salt and brains makes this chair nice and cosy.

Pig photos taken yesterday. Butchering day is today. They're not as big as I've raised them in the past, but they are eating a lot of food and it's time to turn them into bacon.

2 different kinds of tomato relish from homegrown tomatoes. Classic tomato relish from A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen, and green tomato relish adapted from a Cornersmith recipe.

Homemade mead

Beef bone broth ready for pressure canning. The main reason I got a pressure canner was to have bone broth on hand all the time and it has not disappointed.

Purple pea seeds

Ever wondered what it is like to rely on a wood cookstove, and use homegrown firewood as your only cooking fuel? Link in comments and bio.

The bacon seedlings are growing nicely

The last of the bacon... I did not make enough bacon last year. This year's supply of bacon is currently trotting around in the forest getting fat and won't be ready for a month or two. I will need to make much more bacon this year!

Bottled pears in light honey syrup.

We planted around 400 cloves of garlic this week. I've been growing garlic for a long time, but this is the first time I've soaked them in biodynamic preps before planting - in the bucket with the garlic is CPP and BD500.

Lunch today - round steak stir fry with onions, garlic, turnip, and kale, served up with homemade kimchi and rice.

A daughter tending her vegetable garden. We made 4 foot x 4 foot raised gardens for our children and it seems like a good size to grow a variety of crops and learn.