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All my thoughts on real food for 2013

I never expected that I woul write so much about food on this blog! When I started Eight Acres, I didn't realise the connection between self-sufficiency and preparing food. It seems very obvious now that if you want to be able to provide your own food, you're going to have to know how to cook it and preserve it as well as grow it.

My food posts cover food that we've grown or produced ourselves, including beef, chicken, eggs, milk and vegetables, as well as preserving food that we've bought cheaply. For the past couple of years I have regularly made bread, yoghurt, kefir and cheese, and fermented drinks and pickles, stocks and sprouts. This year I learnt to make ice-cream and use a sourdough cake starter. I also reviewed a few different books about food and nutrition. Here is a selection of links from this year (and a few earlier ones) that you may find interesting. If you want to know why I eat real food, see this post: How did I get started with real food??


Food books that I've reviewed

Toxic Oil - book review

Making a meal of it - book review

Nutritionism - a book review

Whole Larder Love - book review

Cooked - Michael Pollan - Book review

Food Inc - movie review





Preparing food we grew

Organic sausage mix for home butchering

Raw milk yoghurt

Real food icecream

Handchurn real food icecream

Chicken and beef liver pate

Enjoying winter slaw


Cheese posts in particular

Quick cheese for busy people

Cheese-making interview

Maturing cheese in a cheese fridge

Waxing cheese

Dehydrating things

Dried zucchini slices

Dried garlic granules

Rosella tea


Fermenting things

Fermented lemon and barley drink

A sourdough cake starter called "Herman"

Fermented pickled cucumbers

Sourdough biscuits - adapting a recipe for sourdou...

Fermented fizzy drinks

Sourdough pancakes

Making red wine vinegar

Homemade realfood muesli bars (granola bars)


Did you learn anything new about food in 2013? What do you want to learn in 2014?
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Comments

  1. JustForDaisyDecember 6, 2013 at 1:25 PM

    Oh wow! THanks for putting all this in one place! I'm bookmarking this so I can return to it over and over!

    ReplyDelete
  2. OhiofarmgirlDecember 7, 2013 at 5:00 AM

    what a great list!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownDecember 8, 2013 at 6:35 AM

    Just fabulous Liz, thanks for putting all this together. I am on the same path but have come hardly down the track at all. There has been feta and haloumi and pecarino, breadmaking and yoghurt making, a little cow milking ( we are getting better). Lots of preserves and soon our own lamb. BUT, you have to tell me more about your cryovac thingy!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownDecember 13, 2013 at 7:24 PM

    wow that's an impressive list! Very inspirational doll. Well done. We've recently been eating more of a whole food plant based diet (from watching knives over forks and food matters). I feel very differently towards food now. Crazy how simple chances can affect your life so much! Keep up the amazing work. Your cheese making is incredible!! I've only ever been game enough to try soft fresh cheese! Mx

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownDecember 17, 2013 at 8:55 PM

    Thanks for the comments, hope you can all find something interesting in the list :)

    ReplyDelete

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Thanks, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and questions, but I don't always get time to reply right away. If you need me to reply personally to a question, please leave your email address in the comment or in your profile, or email me directly on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com

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