Chelsea Green Blog
Food & Drink
Recipe: Ginger-Apricot Mead
When Jereme was in North Carolina for the 2016 Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville, he picked up a local honey made from summer wildflowers. Why? He was inspired after visiting Fox Hill and sampling their Special Reserve Mead, which has hints of ginger and a unique blend of buckwheat honey and some lighter varietals.…
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RECIPE: Grilled Nopalitos with Herbs and Cotija
Native to Mexico and prevalent throughout the Southwest and California, the prickly pear or nopal cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica, is a stunning drought-hearty landscaping plant, natural barbed-wire fence, and a source of nutritious food – both pads and fruit are edible. Inside the prickly pads lies a cooling, mucilaginous flesh with flavor akin to green beans.…
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Tracing the History of Cheddar with Cheesemonger Gordon Edgar
Cheddar is the world’s most ubiquitous and beloved cheese. You can find it nearly everywhere from macaroni and mousetraps to McDonald’s and mansions. Any cheese with so many fans has a story to tell, and Gordon Edgar is just the cheesemonger to tell it. In his book, Cheddar, Edgar traces the unexplored history of America’s most iconic cheese.…
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Fruit Explorers, Guerrilla Grafters, and Other Useful People
The editors here at Chelsea Green are constantly seeking out what’s new and important in the world of sustainable living. As part of an occasional blog series, our editors are sharing what they’ve been reading, researching, or just plain pondering. Below Senior Editor Ben Watson talks about “guerrilla grafters” and why the world could use a lot more of…
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Brew Outside the Box: Making Mushroom-Infused Beer
When thinking about drinking a nice cold beer, the flavor of mushrooms doesn’t exactly spring to mind. But for the adventurous brewer – and drinker – infusing mushrooms into brews is a great way to combine the medicinal benefits of fungi with one of the world’s most consumed beverages. The best part? You can grow…
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Why You Need to Drink Wet-Hopped Beer Right Now
Wet-hopped beer is the ultimate in seasonal and local brews. It is made from fresh hops picked right off the bine in order to capture the aromatic hop flavor when it is most potent. The tricky part is fresh hops have virtually no shelf life, so brewers must spring into action as soon as the hops…
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Cheesemaking: An All-Natural, Traditional Approach
Get ready to change the way you look at cheese. David Asher, author of The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, practices and preaches a traditional, but increasingly countercultural, way of cheesemaking —one that is natural and intuitive, grounded in ecological principles and biological science. Most DIY cheesemaking books are hard to follow and call for the…
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Recipe: Barbecued Eggplant Stacks with Coyote Mint Sauce and Chèvre
With summer in full swing, many are making good use of their outdoor grills. Tender grass fed steaks or free range chicken are often the go-to options, but the possibilities for a grilled meal are endless. At the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, a summer favorite is Barbecued Eggplant Stacks with Coyote Mint sauce and…
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Permaculture Q&A: Perennial Plants for Temperate Climates
Our award winning author Eric Toensmeier (Perennial Vegetables, Paradise Lot), and two authors from our UK publishing partner Permanent Publications, Anni Kelsey (Edible Perennial Gardening) and Stephen Barstow (Around the World in 80 Plants), unanimously agree that perennial plants are perfect for cold weather climates. Perennials require less maintenance than typical annual crops and are…
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Solar Cooker & Dehydrator: How to Design Your Own
In today’s world, nearly everything we use, from phones and computers to cars and kitchen appliances, requires energy derived from fossil fuels. Wouldn’t it be nice to offset some of that energy use by harnessing the renewable power of the sun? Josh Trought, founder of D Acres—an educational center in New Hampshire that researches, applies,…
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A Mini-Festo for Earth Day – Rebuild the Foodshed
For the days leading up to Earth Day in years past, author Philip Ackerman-Leist runs a Twitter MiniFesto campaign – each day sending out a new tweet designed to spark conversation and pass along some lessons he learned whilst working on his book, Rebuilding the Foodshed. You might also know Philip as the author of…
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Winter Reads: 10 Books to Curl Up With This Winter
William Wordsworth was right when he said, “Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.” Nevertheless, the cold, dark days of winter can still get the best of even Nature’s most tenderhearted admirer. What’s one to do? We here at Chelsea Green have concocted the perfect cabin fever remedy with our suggested winter reading…
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Make Your Own Fruit Wine
Have an excess harvest of a favorite fruit that you don’t know what to do with? Look no further—making your own fruit wine is easy, safe, and it’s as delicious as homemade pie or jam without the expiration date! All you need is an abundance of the fruit of your choosing, orange juice, wine yeast,…
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"Marijuana is Safer” Authors Influence The New York Times
The New York Times has launched a seven-part editorial campaign urging a repeal of the nation’s prohibition on marijuana, making the case that “marijuana is safer” than alcohol. In fact, the bold quote at the center of their editorial stated even more bluntly: “Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol.” Chelsea Green authors, and nationally…
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Grilled Asparagus & Scallions
Switch up your side dishes this grilling season! Next time you fire up your grill, whip up a wonderfully fresh (and easy-to-make) plate of grilled asparagus and scallions. The following excerpt is from The Permaculture Kitchen by Carl Legge. It has been adapted for the web. RECIPE: Grilled Asparagus and Scallions This dish is wonderfully fresh, takes…
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RECIPE: Back to Basics Tomato Sauce
Knowing how to make a few simple and basic recipes is key to staying flexible in the kitchen. You can easily prepare tasty meals with just the seasonal ingredients you have on hand. This hearty tomato sauce recipe (excerpted below) is perfect for pizza, pastas, soup stocks, and more, whether you use tomatoes from the…
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RECIPE: Maple Mushroom Martini
Permaculture designer and author Michael Judd gets really excited about mushrooms. So when he found this recipe for a mushroom infused cocktail, he was barely able to contain himself. It may sound strange, but Judd swears this sweet mushroomy cocktail is magically delicious. The following is an excerpt from Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist by…
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Growing Your Own Herbs in 6 Easy Steps
Author Didi Emmons understands it’s intimidating to work with unfamiliar herbs. In her book, Wild Flavors: One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking From Eva’s Farm, she takes the simple approach that herbs, like any other plant, need good soil, water, sun, and air to thrive. Just vary the amounts of these four life-giving resources for each…
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Butchery: Reclaiming the Lost Culinary Art
Do you know a butcher? Chances are, the answer is “no.” True butchery has become a lost art, and many people have no idea how an animal gets from the pasture to their plate. In The Gourmet Butcher’s Guide to Meat, master butcher Cole Ward aims to revive this traditional culinary art that is an…
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RECIPE: The Simplest Pot Roast Ever
Beat winter’s chill with this warm and hearty pot roast recipe from Shannon Hayes’ book Long Way on a Little: An Earth Lover’s Companion for Enjoying Meats, Pinching Pennies, and Living Deliciously. The simple secret to this recipe is a good sear, followed by time in the slow cooker with very little liquid, resulting in…
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Red Delicious: Ester’s Apple Strips
Need the perfect companion to your afternoon cup of joe? Hanne Risgaard’s Home Baked: Nordic Recipes and Techniques for Organic Bread and Pastry has just the thing. Cozy up and use your fall apple harvest to make Ester’s Apple Strips! These strips use sweet-tart apples as the filling for a delicious baked treat.
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Recipe: Squash Ravioli
The following is an excerpt from In Late Winter We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love by Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber. It has been adapted for the Web. Tortelli di Zucca Squash Ravioli Around the elegant northern city of Mantova these ravioli are called Tortelli alla Mantovana, “in the style of Mantova.”…
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Making Yogurt or Kefir Cheese: A Simple How-To
Making your own yogurt is an easy, healthy, and affordable way to experiment with fermentation, make milk last longer, and replace an industrial food product filled with mysterious chemical ingredients with one you know all about. Yogurt itself is a wonderful, versatile food, but you can also turn it into a spread or dip by…
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Make Your Own Root Beer: Celebrate the Wort Moon!
Much of what we know about the moon consists of when it’s waning, when it’s waxing, and that a full moon makes people do strange things. And while it’s common knowledge (and not just on cheesy astrology websites) we have a connection to the moon, it’s hard to know exactly what it is, without sounding…
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Traditional Italian Sponge Cake Soaked in Liqueur
Is your happy hour missing something? You’re sitting there, enjoying a glass of wine, a pint of beer, or a snifter of scotch — depending upon your tastes. The cares of the week are melting away as you slip under the spell of alcohol, one of the human race’s most ancient and most reliable methods…
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