Name: Garden Fresh Minestrone
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 5 tbsp olive oil; 1 yellow onion (diced); 3 carrots (sliced); 3 celery ribs (sliced); 1/4 cup tomato paste; 2 small zucchini (chopped); 2 medium russet potatoes (diced); 2 cups green beans (in 1/2 inch pieces); 5 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tbsp fresh oregano (removed from stem and chopped); 1 tbsp fresh thyme (removed from stem and chopped); 29 oz can diced tomatoes (or two 15 oz cans); 6 cups chicken broth; rind of a parmesan wedge; 2 tsp sea salt; 3 bay leaves; 1 pinch red pepper flakes; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1 cup ditalini pasta (or substitute elbow macaroni or small shell pasta); 15 oz white beans ((navy, cannellini, or great northern)); 1 tbsp fresh basil (chiffonade (cut into small strips)); juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon; fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

How to Start an Apartment Garden

January 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

If you live in an apartment, condo, or townhouse without a yard, you might think your gardening dreams are out of reach. But everyone can grow their own food! Here’s everything you need to know on how to start an apartment garden.

Since my teenage years, I’ve been dreaming of a cottage style garden filled with flowers and homegrown produce. But during the decade and more that I spent renting, that goal seemed far out of reach. When I finally bought a condo last year and it too was yardless, I felt pretty defeated. Accordingly, I thought I was shelving my homesteading dreams for a few more years.

But I was wrong. Over the past two years, I’ve made a major step toward self-sufficiency by growing dozens of plants with only a shady balcony and a sunny concrete slab. And I’ve learned a whole lot about how to start an apartment garden along the way.

Fortunately, you don’t need a large piece of property to easily produce your own food. And you don’t even need a yard. With a sunny spot, a few supplies, and a little bit of effort, you be growing more than you can eat in no time. All year, I’ll be sharing all that I’ve learned in my Apartment Gardening for Beginners series.

Though it’s tempting to buy the first enticing plants that catch your eye in the garden center, a bit of planning will go a long way toward making your container garden as productive as possible. Today’s tips are the steps you should take before you buy a single container or seed. Then start planning as early as you can!

How to Start an Apartment Garden: Getting Started

Start Planning Early

By all means, the best time to plan your garden is the dead of winter; chase away the winter blues with dreams of homegrown produce. But don’t despair if you’re just getting started in April, May, or even June! While you might not be able to rotate out your plants for multiple crops, but there’s still plenty you’ll be able to grow.

Check your HOA Rules

Chances are that if you live in a space without a yard, you’re living in an apartment, condo, or townhouse. In all of those cases, you probably have a Home Owner’s Association dictating where and what you can plant. First, look into the community’s rules and bylaws so that you won’t be forced to get rid of something you’ve put time, effort, and money into.

How to Start an Apartment Garden: Choosing a Location

Measure Your Space

How much surface area do you have to work with? Start by measuring it out, remembering to leave space for walking and watering. Above all, remember there are planters of all different kinds to help maximize your growing space.

Think Outside the Pot

Even if you only have a small balcony, you’ll be able to grow more than you might think. Container gardening doesn’t just (or even mostly) mean round, terra cotta pots on the ground. All of the following could expand your growing space to two or three times what you’d expect.

Large, rectangular planters

Raised planters

Window boxes

Hanging planter systems

Brackets for railing planters

Strawberry planters (Great for herbs, too! Not self watering)

Tomato Planter and Trellis

Potato planters

Tiered plant stands and shelves

Plant Tables

Planters with built-in trellises

For most vegetables and some herbs, self-watering containers are preferable. For example, these large, self-watering containers from Patio Pickers are my favorite (I have nine of them!). And for smaller options, I’m a fan of the Lucca line from Bloem, which come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors.

Whichever containers you choose, make sure they have either a tube for watering and a spot for excess water to escape, like the Patio Pickers option, or a spout near the bottom, like the Lucca line from Bloem. While a lot of containers advertised as self watering have space to hold water in the bottom, they are still watered traditionally. This means you’d end up with the nutrient loss problems of a traditional planter, plus potential for root rot.

Don’t Forget About Sunlight

Is the space you’re working with covered by a roof? Shaded by a building? How much direct sunlight will it receive? Keep this in mind as you choose your plants, since it will affect which ones you’ll be able to grow.

How to Start an Apartment Garden: Choosing What to Plant

List Your Favorite Vegetables and Herbs

First, list every vegetable you can think of and use google to see what you’ve forgotten. Do the same with cooking herbs. Next, I recommend placing them in categories – ones you love, ones you like, ones that are just okay, and ones you’d never eat in any form.

After that, forget about the “nevers” and probably the “okays” altogether. The “likes” and “loves” will be your contenders for planting.

Rank Your Favorite Plants

Now, if you like veggies at all, you probably have too many “loves” and “likes” on your list at this point. So to narrow things down, we’re going to score them. First, give all the “loves” two points to start out and all the “likes” one point. Next add a point to each for any of the following questions you can answer yes about.

Is it especially tasty when fresh? Peas and tomatoes are real standouts here.
Is it expensive at the store?
Can it be preserved in a way you love (canning, dehydrating, etc.) and that you would actually do?
Is it a heavy producer? Tomato plants and cut and come again lettuce are a better choice than artichokes, for instance.
Can you easily find a bush or cut and come again variety? These will allow you to produce more in a smaller growing space.
Is it suited to the light in your growing space? Cucumbers need a lot. Leafy greens need little.

Figure Out What You Can Plant

Now that you have a ranked list, it’s a matter of figuring out the planting requirements for each plant. I highly recommend two books for figuring this out, The Vegetable Container Gardener’s Bible by Edward C. Smith and All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. While I may be biased, I think this blog is another great resource.

Seed packets and the markers that come with seedlings will make you think you need far more space than you actually do. Since you’ll be growing in nutrient dense soil with constant water availability, a square foot planting style will be best for maximizing productivity in a limited space.

How to Start an Apartment Garden: Sketch Your Design

Although it’ll take some figuring out, use all of this information to draw out the container garden you’re picturing. It doesn’t need to be fancy, but graph or even college ruled paper can help in keeping things to scale.

How to Start an Apartment Garden Pinterest Image

And with that, my gardening padawans, you’re ready to shop! May the green thumb be with you.

Cottagecore Books: Classic Reads

January 7, 2021 Leave a Comment

The best of the best cottagecore books out there to give you all the cozy, pastoral vibes you could wish for.

If you’re familiar with the term cottagecore, chances are you’re on the youngish side – maybe in your teens, twenties, or thirties. (But if not, welcome!) You dream of a sweet little cottage in the countryside where you’ll tend chickens and bees and a bountiful vegetable garden. You’ll wear sustainably sourced linen dresses and grow cheery flowers and make your own cheese. The world will take on a rosy tinge.

But unfortunately, you’re on the youngish-side, which means that owning that kind of property may currently seem impossible in this ~~dystopian, capitalist hellscape created by exploitative baby boomers~~ *ahem* stage of life.

Well, I’m here to help. If you want to dive right into the cottagecore lifestyle, housing circumstances be damned, you’re in just the right place. Each week I share guidance on apartment gardening, homestyle cooking, and old-fashioned living. You don’t need a cottage to live a cottagecore life.

But dreaming is lovely too. No matter where you are in life, these cottagecore books will transport you to that old-fashioned life you imagine.

And before we begin, just a note that enjoying these books means leaving some of their old-fashioned values behind. I want you to make an informed reading choice. So whenever there are racist or otherwise problematic parts I try to mention them. It’s been a while since I’ve read some of these books, so please remind me in the comments of any issues I’ve failed to mention. And beyond that, as a collection of classics, this is a very white reading list. If you have any diverse suggestions, I’d love to add them too. I’ll be covering more recent cottagecore books next week.

And with that, I hope you enjoy these cottagecore classics.

Classic Children’s Cottagecore Books

THE SECRET GARDEN

After the death of her parents, Mary Lennox moves into her uncle’s enormous house in England. Neglected and lonely, Mary seeks refuge outdoors. Inside the walls of a hidden garden, she finds friendship and meaning. It’s the cottagecore philosophy come to life.

The book unfortunately includes several horribly racist passages, particularly in describing India and Indian

Black Beauty

Since most cottagecore fans started out as horse girls, chances are good that you read this as a child, along with The Black Stallion and everything Marguerite Henry had to offer. It’s the “autobiographical” story of a horse, beginning with his idyllic early years on a farm, through years of abuse in London, and back once more to the English countryside. Like many 19th century bestsellers, this book helped inspire social and political change, in this case supporting animal welfare.

The Wind in the Willows

This children’s novel, first published in 1908, tells the story of friends Mole, Mr. Toad, Rat, and Badger. The animals have adventures rowing boats on the River Thames, exploring the Wild Wood, and driving motorcars in the English countryside. It’s an idyllic, pastoral, anthropomorphized version of England, and it’s utterly charming.

* There’s no outright racism in these stories, but there is some arguably racist coded language.

Heidi

Published by Swiss author Johanna Spyri in 1881, Heidi tells the story of a young girl who lives with her kindly but reclusive grandfather in the Swiss Alps. It was one of my earliest introductions to cottagecore books. It also convinced me as a child that goat’s milk must be the most delicious drink imaginable.

The Little House Series

I read several of the Little House books at random as a child, and my most vivid memories of them are the descriptions of traditional work – boiling lye soap over a fire, making molasses candy in the snow, and putting every part of a butchered animal to use. I’ve been rereading them this year, and those descriptions are still the most fascinating part.

* The Little House has received scrutiny in recent years for its overtly racist language. Many characters, especially Ma, express racism, both casual and violent, toward Native Americans. And Little House on the Prairie even includes the line “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

It’s worth noting too that later in the series with Alonzo and Laura start courting, he’s 25 and she’s 15, which weirds me out even in a historical context.

Classic Young Adult Cottagecore Books

Anne of Green Gables

An absolute classic that I’m sure appears on every list of cottagecore books. The Cuthbert siblings, stern Marilla and shy Matthew, accidentally adopt 12-year-old orphan Anne Shirley. Anne’s vivid imagination and her passionate love for nature’s beauties quickly win over the Cuthberts. And they’ll win you over too. There are eight lovely books in this series, so don’t stop after number 3!

I’ve been rereading the entire series this year, and it’s been such a refuge from the darkness of 2020.

An Old-Fashioned Girl

Little Women gets a lot of love, as it should – it’s my favorite book, after all! But I’ve made it my personal mission to introduce more people to this lesser-known Alcott classic. Polly Milton visits her wealthy friends in the city, who tease her for her old-fashioned country ways. Polly stands her ground, though, making cottagecore cool long before anyone had heard of it.

Better yet, this book as the perfect love story for anyone who thinks Jo should have married Laurie.

A Girl of the Limberlost

It’s the early 1900s, and Elnora Comstock is about to start her freshman year of high school. Her wealthy classmates tease her; her coldhearted mother rejects her; but Elnora keeps working, learning, and collecting rare insects in the Limberlost wilds around her home. Gene Stratton-Porter wrote the series partly in protest of the logging, oil extraction, and swamp draining that were permanently altering Indiana’s natural landscape at the time. Her descriptions of nature are wonderful.

Though I don’t find the writing in this series as strong as the Green Gables series, anyone who loves Anne is likely to enjoy The Girl of the Limberlost, along with its companions, Freckles and Laddie.

I Capture the Castle

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, lives with her family in a crumbling English castle in the 1930s. Her father is a formerly acclaimed novelist dealing with his twelfth year of writer’s block, while Cassandra dreams of writing a novel of her own. She fills notebooks with funny and insightful journal entries, which are a delight to read.

Little Women

Little Women has been my favorite book since I first read it at age 12. It’s funny in some ways that this feels like a cottagecore novel, since it’s set in the city of Concord Massachusetts, just 20 miles from Boston. But Little Women preaches cottagecore values of hard work, feminism, simple living, kindness, and always having kittens around. And the 2020 film adaptation perfectly captures cottagecore aesthetics. The knitwear! The flower crowns! The candlesticks!

Adult Classic Cottagecore Books

Far from the Madding Crowd

Life is looking up for Gabriel Oak, who has just leased a farm when beautiful neighbor Bathsheba Everdene moves in. But Bathsheba’s lack of enthusiasm for Gabriel, coupled with a dog’s excessive enthusiasm for herding sheep, bring Gabriel’s hopes crashing down. Bathsheba, meanwhile, inherits an extensive farm of her own and runs it with a proficiency that shock her Victorian neighbors. There’s love, lust, broken hearts, abusive relationships, worthless men, and tragedy along the way (it’s a Thomas Hardy novel, after all), and the only thing outshining Bathsheba and Gabriel as characters is the English countryside.

Wives and Daughters

Molly Gibson is the only daughter of a widowed small town doctor in 1830s England. This is a long, but lovely book. However, you need to go into it knowing Elizabeth Gaskell died shortly before finishing it. So you’ll end up deeply unsatisfied until you watch the BBC miniseries.

The Blue Castle

Anne of Green Gables fans, if you haven’t read The Blue Castle yet, it’s probably the first cottagecore book on this list you should read. 29-nine year-old Valancy Stirling, an “old maid,” endures lifes with her cruel extended family. After a shocking medical diagnosis, she decides she’s had enough with being respectable. It’s sweet and romantic in that endearing Lucy Maud Montgomery style.

Next week I’ll be back with more great cottagecore books, focusing on more recent reads. And be on the lookout for an upcoming list on the best cottage witch novels!

Natural Laundry: How to Make the Switch

January 4, 2021 Leave a Comment

Want to start using more natural laundry supplies, but not sure where to begin? Whether you’re doing it for your health, the environment, or your pocket book, this handy guide will share everything you need to know to make the switch.

Would you like to protect your health? Avoid skin irritation? Reduce waste? Eliminate chemicals that harm the environment? What if I told you you’d even save money doing it? Making the switch to natural laundry supplies is an easy and worthwhile change to make. And I’ve found it’s better at keeping my clothes clean than the traditional products I once used!

However, there can be some confusion about which products are really natural, safe, and effective. You can’t always trust brands and labels. But I’m here to help.

Here’s everything you need to know about natural laundry.

Why make the switch to natural laundry products?

Protect your health

I first developed an interest in natural laundry products after being diagnosed with several chronic health problems. I have an autoimmune thyroid disease and polycystic ovary syndrome, both of which are worsened by inflammation. Dietary changes, quality sleep, and stress reduction are vital to reducing inflammation. Based on my reading, though, reducing the toxic load in my environment can also help.

While I haven’t struggled with rashes or other forms of skin irritation, I’ve had many friends who have. Fortunately, they’ve often found that switching to a natural detergent and cutting out fabric softener and dryer sheets has made a drastic improvement.

Now, keep in mind I’m not a doctor and am not offering official medical advice, but I’m happy to do anything that may improve my health. That’s especially true when it’s a simple change that saves me money and helps out the environment to boot.

Save Money

Now this might seem like a dubious claim if you’ve compared the price of the “natural” laundry detergents with the usual name brand alternatives at the grocery store. Those fancy detergents cost a lot!

So how can they possibly save you money? For one thing, you’ll be eliminating the cost of dryer sheets and fabric softeners altogether. In their place, you’ll make a one-time purchase of dryer balls and use plain old vinegar.

And when it comes to detergent, there are cheap alternatives that I’ll discuss below. Though I personally use a specific, safe detergent brand, it’s a highly concentrated one. Since I only need a tablespoon or so per load, it lasts far longer than the typical brands I once depended on.

Protect the Environment

Most natural laundry detergents contain synthetic chemicals that don’t break down fully in the water treatment process. These chemicals then pollute our waterways, lead to toxic algae buildup, and leave fish vulnerable to disease. And that doesn’t even get into the microplastics we release into the environment by blasting through jug after giant, plastic jug of detergent or fabric softener.

Meanwhile, the laundry products I recommend below are naturally derived. As a result, they break down readily in nature. Even better, you’ll end up using less plastic, since these items need to be replaced far less often than traditional laundry supplies.

Natural Laundry Shopping List

Detergent Options

Biokleen Concentrated Laundry Liquid

I swear by Biokleen for three reasons: First, it gets an A from the Environmental Working Group. That means it has “few/no known or suspected hazards to health or the environment.” It also means the company openly shares what ingredients it uses. Second, it’s highly concentrated, and one small bottle lasts months. And finally, it gets the job done. My laundry comes out clean and freshafter every wash.

Ecover Zero Concentrated Laundry Detergent

Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap

Other Laundry Essentials

White vinegar

Tea tree oil

Wool dryer balls

Essential oils in your favorite scents (Optional)

Lavender sachets (Optional)

Natural Laundry FAQs:

How do I sanitize laundry naturally?

Your best tool for sanitizing laundry is heat – hot water, and a hot dryer. Unfortunately, heat can also end up as your enemy if it shrinks your clothes or bleeds colors.

So for me, items that are prone to germiness and stinkiness, like linens, underwear, and socks, get washed and dried on the highest heat level. My other clothes get washed in tap cold water and air dried. To add a little antimicrobial boost, I add a few drops of tea tree oil along with my laundry detergent. Other good options include peppermint, lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and lemon.

Now, are essential oils as effective at killing bacteria and viruses as synthetic antibiotics? Absolutely not. But that’s actually a good thing much of the time. Overuse of antibiotic hand soaps and cleaners is simultaneously weakening our immune systems, destroying our microbiomes, and creating antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” that are hard for medicine to fight.

Antibiotic medications and sterilizers are absolutely lifesaving when needed, especially in hospitals and other health care settings. But we’re reducing their effectiveness by using them all the dang time in our own homes. Fortunately, plain old soap and hot water are generally plenty effective, anyway.

How do I make my clothes smell good with natural laundry products?

As I’ve shifted to natural cleaning products, my mentality about scents has shifted too. Clean doesn’t have a scent.

Let me repeat that: Clean doesn’t have a scent. It smells like nothing.

If your clothes are clean, they shouldn’t have an odor at all.

But after years of synthetic cleaner use, most of us still crave fragrance as a sign of cleanliness. To fill that wish more safely, use essential oils in your favorite scents. I always include tea tree oil for the antimicrobial purposes mentioned above, but also because it smells incredibly fresh. I also enjoy using lavender and vanilla or various citrus mixes. Experiment to find your own favorites.

Since I love the smell of lavender, my other favorite method is storing lavender sachets in my dresser drawers and linen closet. Mmmmm … that smell is the best!

How can I avoid stinky towels naturally?

Musty towels may just be my least-favorite smell in the world! But you may be surprised to learn that your laundry detergent and fabric softeners are actually CAUSING that stink, not eliminating it. As I mentioned in the environment section above, natural laundry detergents and softeners don’t break down easily in water. As a result, they’ll build up in your clothing. Since towels are so absorbent, that’s especially true for them.

So, switching to a small amount of a plant-based detergent will already do wonders for the scent of your towels. Beyond that, I recommend adding a few drops of Tea tree essential oil (make sure it’s a pure, 100% essential oil version), since it’s a natural antimicrobial product. Finally, wash and dry towels on high heat to sanitize them. And to avoid a musty odor, make sure you dry towels fully before you remove them from the dryer

How do I soften clothes naturally?

Some of the irritation and stiffness you experience from your clothing is likely from built up detergent fabric softener. As a result, switching to plant-based options will help right off the bat. But for extra fabric softening power, add ½ cup of white vinegar to your washing load.

How do I get rid of that washing machine stink?

How to Clean a Stinky Washing Machine Naturally

Once again, it’s probably from a build-up of synthetic detergent and softener. All that nasty gunk will get moldy, and thus stinky, very quickly.

Fortunately, cleaning a stinky washing machine is easy. First, wipe or scrub away any visual grime, slime, or buildup you see in the machine. The soap and fabric softener shoots are common problem areas, as is the door seal in front-loading washers.

Next pour vinegar in the soap and fabric softener shoots – a couple of cups in total. Then run the empty machine on high heat with an extra rinse cycle. One round usually does the job, but repeat those steps as needed until the machine no longer smells moldy or musty.

Most importantly, ALWAYS leave the washing machine lid or door open between washes so that it can dry out.

Do you still have questions about switching to natural laundry products? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

And if you’d like to make the switch to natural in other areas of your cleaning life, head here for tips.

Cottagecore Apartment Style

October 5, 2020 Leave a Comment

Want to add cozy, old-fashioned charm to your rented living space, but not sure how to do it? Use the following tips to create the cottagecore apartment of your dreams.

Cottagecore Apartment Style: How to Add Cozy, Old-Fashioned Charm to your living space.

More than ever before, the year has left us longing for a simpler time. Modern life brings so much anxiety and uncertainty into our lives. Moreover, bustling cities can feel downright scary in the middle of a global pandemic.

As a result, gen z and millennials are longing for a cozy life in the countryside. Now, this has been my dream for more than a decade now, but, like many of you, I’m still living in an apartment, unable to afford the land and cottage I dream of.

But the best part of simple living is that it’s available to everyone. While you may not be able to live just where and how you want, today’s the day to start your cottagecore life. If you’d like to learn more about homestyle cooking, apartment gardening, and old-fashioned living, please join me in the apartment homesteading project.

For today, though, let’s talk about cottagecore style. Though apartments and dorms can feel pretty cookie cutter, yours doesn’t have to! Incoporate the following tips to create the cozy, cottagecore apartment you’ve been dreaming of.

Cottagecore Aesthetic Essentials

Antiques and vintage items

Antiques add old-fashioned charm to your cottagecore apartment style.

Cottagecore has alternately been dubbed “grandmacore” for good reason. Visit estate sales, antique stores, and thrift stores for unique, homey, and gorgeous finds. Not only will you find items that add the perfect ambience to your space, but you’ll be embracing sustainability, a key cottagecore tenant.

Plants

You may not have a full orchard and gardens yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start developing your green thumb now. Grow a few herbs in a sunny windowsill, love on those houseplants, arrange a bouquet of flowers, and hang some drying flowers or herbs from a curtain rod or wall hooks, using a bit of twine or string.

If your cottagecore style leans farmhouse, you might like this herb planter. If you prefer a boho look, hanging planters are a great option. And if you like something a little more traditional, this trio of ceramic planters might be for you.

Mood lighting

Lamps, fairy lights, and candles all create pockets of coziness throughout your apartment, an essential for cottagecore apartment style.

If you were living in a cottage in the nineteenth century, you would have relied on candles or kerosene lamps to light your way in the darkness. Admittedly, you wouldn’t have had electricity either, but you don’t need that level of commitment to recreate a cozy, old-fashioned lighting effect in your modern home.

Though, if you’re like me, you might find beeswax candles on an old-fashioned candlestick holder appealing

Lamps, fairy lights, and candles can all create pockets of coziness throughout your apartment. So consider where you like spending time, and see if you can add a little visual warmth with accent lighting. Then turn off those bright overhead lights and enjoy the calming, sleepiness-inducing effect of reading by a single light in a dark room.

Visible kitchenware

If you're going for a cottagecore apartmnet look, bring some cooking equipment and ingredients out into the open on shelves or the countertop. Pretty jars and a cohesive color things keep things looking tidy.

Built in, wall-to-wall cabinets weren’t a standard home feature until well into the 20th century. Kitchens were designed for utility, and, while an uncluttered space might look nice, it’s pretty tedious to have to dig through overstuffed cupboards every time you need a spatula or flour.

As a result, I’d encourage you to bring your most-used kitchen supplies out into the open. Keep a jar or crock near the stove top full of the large utensils you need with most recipes – things like spatulas, mixing spoons, ladles, and tongs. Buy pretty jars for pantry staples like flour, sugar, oatmeal, and brown sugar, and then keep those jars on your countertop. It looks beautiful. Even better, I promise the ease of access will make you more likely to cook.

I’ve already started buying the anchor hocking jars linked in the last paragraph, and I love them, but if I were starting over, I’d consider these gorgeous, airtight containers instead:

Soft, cozy textures

Focus on comfort, not just cottagecore aesthetics. A variety of cozy textures, including blankets, furniture, towels, and bedding, will make your apartment more welcoming.

While cottagecore is heavily visual aesthetics driven, it’s also known as “cozycore” for a reason. Make your apartment comfortable, not just cute.

While you may not have a lot of control over the furniture in your apartment as a renter, a few added details can make all the difference. Cozy things up with a downy comforter, soft pillows, plush throws, and fluffy towels.

Cottagecore Apartment Design

Farm and woodland animal motifs

Bring the woodlands indoors with forest and farm animal motifs in your cottagecore apartment.

Along with plants, animal motifs can add a little woodland charm to any cottagecore apartment. The cottagecore aesthetic is heavily influenced by French Country and especially English Country style. As a result the animals most seen in cottagecore decor include western European forest and farm animals like foxes, owls, rabbits, sheep, horses, and honeybees (my personal favorite). Feel free to experiment with animals that feel familiar to you, though!

Here are a few favorites:

I have these adorable honeybee magnets on my fridge, and they make me smile every time I grab a snack.

Natural, muted colors

Now, if you love bold colors, go for it, but many cottagecore apartments and houses feature softer hues – chambray blues, sage greens, dusty rose pinks, and faded yellows. These colors are both commonly found in nature and easily created from natural dyes. As a result, people of all income levels have decorated their homes in these shades throughout history, so they’re a natural fit for a timeless interior.

Timeless patterns

Since you’re going for a timeless, cozy style in your cottagecore apartment, consider the types of patterns and prints you’d see in a wide variety of time periods. Stripes, gingham (though I think we’re all a little over the black and white buffalo check variant), eyelet, toile, and especially calico prints all come to mind. Incorporate them in bedding, decorative pillows and throws, curtains, and knickknacks throughout your apartment.

Cottagecore Apartment Accessories

Vintage (or vintage style) books

Vintage books add a friendly lived-in appeal to your cottagecore apartment style

For me, books are one of the very best decorative items. They add warmth and a lived in charm to any apartment or home. I’m a sucker for leatherbound books, like those from Easton press or even Barnes and Noble.

But you don’t need to spend a fortune here. I have an ever-growing collection of leatherbound classics, but I’ve never paid more than $15 for any of them. As is the case for so many items on this list, thrift stores are a cottagecore lover’s best friend.

And be sure to hit up any used book stores in your area too.

Handcrafted items

Developing your cottagecore apartment style means its time to get crafting! Or at least purchasing handmade items from local artisans. Look online or to local craft fairs to find beautiful, one-of-a-kind old-fashioned items.

Framed embroidery, hand-knitted blankets, homemade quilts, and original paintings or prints all have a place in the cottagecore apartment. To find these items, check facebook for local art and craft fairs in your area. In Utah County, where I live, I make sure to visit the Beehive Bazaar each time it happens, and I always come home with a much-loved item or two. My most recent finds include a birdfeeder made from a mason jar and vintage china, and a gorgeous painting from Lovetta Reyes Cairo. Doesn’t it remind you of Renaissance art, especially something DaVinci would create?

If you don’t have frequent art fairs in your area, Etsy is a great alternative. Though handmade items tend to cost a little more than the mass-produced alternatives you’d find in a big box store, you’ll love the handmade items more. And it feels great to know that your money goes directly to an artist’s livelihood, rather than to a faceless and potentially exploitative corporation.

Quality over quantity should be our goal.

Artwork and photograph gallery walls

As a young adult living in an apartment, art, especially original art, can prove WAY too expensive. And the same goes for custom frames. One way I’ve found around this is in creating gallery walls. Instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars for a big piece of art and a frame to go with it, invest in a variety of smaller items that you really love. In particular, look for these items at thrift stores, and you’ll find it’s easy to build up a collection inexpensively.

Better yet, you’ll come away with something far more unique and personal than those mass-produced Hobby Lobby items (though I’ve got a few of those items in my home too – no judgement here!).

Vintage prints and original artwork add class and interest to your cottagecore apartment style. A collage-style gallery wall adds vintage flair.

Currently, I have an art and photo gallery wall in the works in my bedroom, and I’m excited to share the results. Ultimately, It will feature paintings and prints, a few antiques, and photographs of my ancestors. The items and their frames don’t necessarily match perfectly, but that’s the fun of a gallery wall! As long as you incorporate a few repeating colors and materials, a wide variety of items can go together

In the end, cottagecore is country style for a new generation, and inclusiveness is a major part of its appeal. If any of these tips don’t speak to you, throw them out! Making a space you love is the number one rule of cottagecore design.

Remember, vintage style, not vintage values!

Enjoy that cozy, cottagecore life!

Cottagecore Apartment Style: How to add cozy, old-fashioned charm to your rental or condo.

Garden Fresh Minestrone

September 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

The ideal recipe for using up late summer and early fall garden harvests, this minestrone is loaded with perfectly in-season vegetables and herbs.

Garden fresh minestrone with zucchini and green beans.

After making variations on Kathryne Taylor’s fantastic recipe over at Cookie and Kate about a dozen times since February, I’ve finally discovered my dream minestrone. I’ve tweaked it quite a bit since then, but full credit to Kate for the aspects of this recipe that are similar. Be sure to check out her recipe blog (it’s one of the best out there!) and her cookbook, Love Real Food.

But I’ve ended up adapting a few ingredients and techniques in this recipe to my specific tastes and wanted to share this garden fresh version. Most importantly, I wanted this recipe to use fresh vegetables and herbs, straight from the summer and early fall garden.

Since many gardeners end up swimming in green beans and zucchini from July through September, minestrone is designed to use those up in the most delicious way possible. Unfortunately, I’m not lucky enough to have an overload of zucchini right now, since squash bugs have decimated my zucchini and winter squash plants this summer (though I’ve learned to tips to get rid of squash bugs organically next summer!). But I do have plenty of green beans straight from the garden).

I’ve also adjusted cooking times to preserve more of the original texture and color of the garden vegetables. In addition, I’ve amped up the flavor in a few spots, increased the quantity of vegetables (I like a hearty soup!), and included a special ingredient to add richness and depth to the minestrone. The result is absolutely luscious.

Storing Minestrone

Savory, bright, filling, and full of flavor, this minestrone is a meatless meal that even carnivores will love. Even better, it’s one of those magical dishes that tastes amazing as leftovers. In fact, I rarely eat it fresh! Instead I’ll make a big batch, divide it into individual servings in mason jars, let the flavors meld in the fridge overnight, and then eat it for lunch throughout the week.

Fortunately, minestrone also freezes well with a couple of tweaks. The pasta and potatoes will get mushy after freezing and reheating, so I recommend leaving them out, at least initially. You can either replace them with more beans and freezer friendly veggies, or you can make the soup without them and add in boiled potatoes and pasta after you’ve thawed the soup.

Essential Supplies

Minestrone soup with zucchini and green beans summer vegetables from the garden

Helpful supplies

An herb stripper
Kitchen shears
A garlic peeler

Minestrone Prep

Before starting the recipe, do the following:

Gather all ingredients and supplies.
Dice the following:
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Potatoes
Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Then slice it into bite-sized pieces.
Snap the green beans into 1/2 inch pieces.
Mince the garlic
Open the tomato paste and diced tomatoes, but don’t drain them.
Remove the stems from the rosemary, thyme, and basil.
- An herb stripper can make that easier.
- Chiffonade the basil by bedding the leaves on top of each other, rolling them up, and then chopping them into thin strips with kitchen shears.
Open, drain, and rinse the beans.
Cut the rind off the parmesan.
Juice the lemon half.

Minestrone making tips

Minestrone with zucchini and green beans

Slice the carrots and celery and dice the potato into small piece to ensure that they cook thoroughly.
Leave the zucchini and green beans in large, but still bite-sized pieces. You’ll want these to be larger pieces than the other vegetables so that they don’t get too soft.
You can substitute other vegetables as desired in this recipe, depending on the season, but you’ll want to add different types of vegetables at different times in the cooking process.
- Most veggies can be added when the instructions say to add the zucchini and green beans.
- Hard root vegetables, like parsnips or rutabagas, should be added along with the carrot and celery.
- Greens should only be added in the final few minutes of cooking
Pay attention to the color and texture of the vegetables and pasta as you near the recipe’s end. Take the soup off the heat if the veggies start to turn dull or overly mushy or the pasta gets too soft.
If you’d like to substitute dried herbs, use 1 teaspoon of each herb instead.
You can substitute vegetable or turkey broth for the chicken broth, but I don’t recommend beef broth unless you like a very meaty flavor.
Don’t be afraid to experiment! Minestrone’s one of the most flexible dishes out there.

Garden Fresh Minestrone

The ideal recipe for using up late summer and early fall garden harvests, this minestrone is loaded with perfectly in-season vegetables and herbs.

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

5 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion diced
3 carrots sliced
3 celery ribs sliced
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 small zucchini chopped
2 medium russet potatoes diced
2 cups green beans in 1/2 inch pieces
5 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp fresh oregano removed from stem and chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme removed from stem and chopped
29 oz can diced tomatoes or two 15 oz cans
6 cups chicken broth
rind of a parmesan wedge
2 tsp sea salt
3 bay leaves
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup ditalini pasta or substitute elbow macaroni or small shell pasta
15 oz white beans (navy, cannellini, or great northern)
1 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade (cut into small strips)
juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

5 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion diced
3 carrots sliced
3 celery ribs sliced
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 small zucchini chopped
2 medium russet potatoes diced
2 cups green beans in 1/2 inch pieces
5 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp fresh oregano removed from stem and chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme removed from stem and chopped
29 oz can diced tomatoes or two 15 oz cans
6 cups chicken broth
rind of a parmesan wedge
2 tsp sea salt
3 bay leaves
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup ditalini pasta or substitute elbow macaroni or small shell pasta
15 oz white beans (navy, cannellini, or great northern)
1 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade (cut into small strips)
juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven. Add in the onion, carrots, celery, and tomato paste and stir until the onion is translucent and the vegetables have begun to soften, about ten minutes.
Add the zucchini, potatoes, green beans, garlic, oregano, and thyme. Stir the ingredients together for about three minutes.
Add the broth, parmesan rind, salt, bay leaves, red pepper, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce heat to medium low. If the lid doesn’t have a vent for steam, leave a small portion of the pan uncovered. Simmer for over medium low heat for 20 minutes.
Add the pasta and beans, and simmer for 10 more minutes until the vegetables are fork tender and the pasta is al dente.
Remove from heat. Stir in the basil, lemon juice, and as much fresh ground black pepper as you'd like.
Remove the parmesan rind and bay leaves and serve.

How to Choose a Blog Name in 2021

September 17, 2020 Leave a Comment

It can feel daunting to choose a blog name, especially in the crowded digital landscape of 2021, but this brainstorming guide will help you find a title that’s just right for you and your audience.

So you want to start a blog. Chances are you’re eager to jump into purchasing a domain, setting up a site, and publishing posts. But before you do, you’ll need to think carefully about the title of your website. You’ll want to be sure your blog title accurately represents you as a blogger, appeals to your intended audience, and encapsulates the purpose and goals of your site. That’s a tall order!

Next week we’ll be talking about choosing and setting up a domain name, but for now I hope you’ll answer the following questions, which are sure to help you choose a blog name that’s right for you.

Grab some three sheets of paper and a pencil or pen, because it’s time to brainstorm! Turn a sheet of paper sideways, and divide it into five columns. Your second sheet will be used for question six.

Now, let’s begin!

Five questions to ask yourself as you choose a blog name

1. What topics will your blog cover?

Hopefully you’ve already narrowed this down using last week’s post on choosing a primary topic for your blog, and now you’re going to play with words a bit. What words, phrases, images, and concepts do you associate with your blog topic? Pull up a thesaurus to find related words (but make sure you understand what the synonyms really mean).

In the first column of your paper, create a list of as many relevant words as you can. Don’t edit yourself as these words come to you. Write down anything that pops into your head.

2. Who is your ideal reader?

Though it might sound repetitive, since this is something we covered in last’s weeks post, this question bears repeating. You can expect me to ask it in some form in almost every blogging advice post.

So, who are you writing for? Given their age, income level, family status, stage of living, and interests, what titles would and would not appeal to them?

What words relate to who your target reader is? Add these words in a second column of your list.

3. What problem are you solving for your ideal reader?

This is another repeat question from my post about choosing a blog topic, but it’s just as important as the last one. Readers will invest their time and eventually their money into your blog, products, and services only if you can convince them you’re solving a problem in their life.

With that in mind, what’s the primary obstacle your reader faces that you’re trying to solve with your blog? Is there a way to state that in the title of the blog itself?

Are there words that express what problems they’re facing? Even more important, what words relate to the solutions you’re offering? Add these to the third column in your word bank.

This question factored directly into my chosen blog title. The Apartment Homestead makes it clear who I’m writing for (apartment dwellers) and what I’m helping them do (homestead even though they live in apartments).

4.What end result do you want for your ideal reader?

Picture your ideal reader having overcome their obstacles with the help of your blog. How would their life look different than it does currently? How would they ultimately be able describe themselves in ways they can’t yet?

List out some words of what that looks like in a fourth column.

5. What is your writing tone like?

What kind of writer are you? Are you business-like? Heartfelt? Informative? Warm? Snarky? Goofy? You’ll want your blog title to reflect (or at least not be at odds with) your overall tone.

Now expand to include what you want the general feel of your blog to be. What aesthetic or ambience do you want the blog to have? Does is match with your natural writing tone?

Cross off any words in your word bank that don’t fit well with your writing tone. Circle any that seem like a particularly good fit.

How to choose a blog name: Narrowing it down

Consider your ultimate blog and brand goals

Now it’s time for a second sheet of paper. On that sheet, make a bullet point list of every product, service, or content you dream of developing as a result of your blog. It’s okay to reach for the moon here.

An example list

My list would include the following practical and pie in the sky items:

Weekly blog posts on apartment homesteading topics (homestyle recipes, container gardening, and old-fashioned living).
Weekly blog posts on starting and maintaining a successful blog.
A at-a-glance chart on caring for herbs in containers.
An ebook on container herb gardening.
A digital course on growing food in containers.
An ebook or course on how to save up for and purchase a homesteading property.
One-on-one blogging mentorships.
Group blogging mentorships.
Selling fresh-cut flowers, produce, or homemade goods from my own homestead.
Offering paid photography time in my flower fields
Renting out an Airbnb cottage on my homestead property.
Holding weddings and events in a rental barn on my property.

That’s a lot, isn’t it! Fortunately, most of it all relates back to my target audience of apartment homesteaders, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first glance. If I achieve my goals someday and buy a homesteading property, which would allow me to accomplish the final four bullet points, it doesn’t invalidate the blog title. In fact, it could act as inspiration for apartment homesteaders with the same dream!

Now, my guides to blogging might seem even less obviously related to homesteading, but I’m okay with that. Given how expensive land is, I know a lot of apartment homesteaders in my target demographic are interested in developing websites, side hustles, and multiple income streams. I want to help them achieve that side of their homesteading ambitions too.

What to do with your list of dreams

Once you’ve made your list, consider each bullet point in relation to your word bank on the first page. Are there words that are especially good umbrellas for all you dream of your blog and brand becoming? Cross out any words that feel like a bad fit with these goals.

Next, you’ll want to take the words you like best and write them out on your third sheet of paper. Set the first two pages aside.

Finally, use the fourth page to play around with the words, placing them in various configurations with each other. Are potential titles coming forward? Circle any that you like.

Practical considerations when you choose a blog name

At this point, you should have at least a handful of potential blog titles you like pretty well. They should appeal to your reader, offer them solutions, express your style and writing tone, and give readers an idea of what your content and brand are all about.

First, write out the titles as a single word

ie. theapartmenthomestead. Eliminate any title from your list that:

Could be misread as something else
Is hard to pronounce
Is hard to spell
Might be hard to remember

Second, check which titles are available for purchase as domain names.

Don’t despair if it doesn’t immediately seem available. Try different forms of the words you’ve chosen. Turn nouns into verbs or vice versa. Use abbreviations. Try adding an article like “the.” I don’t recommend, however, using anything other than a .com domain.

Third, check if the title is already owned by another brand.

Fortunately, the government has a handy (if clunky) website where you can search if a brand name has been trademarked. This step can save you serious heartache and money down the line. The last thing you want would be ending up in a legal battle over your blog name and brand.

Fourth, see if social media handles that match the titles are available on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter.

Try to avoid using underscores, dots, or other symbols in your social media handles if possible. @yourblogname looks most professional, authoritative, and trustworthy.

How to choose a blog name in 2021 - 5 questions to ask before you start.

After all that, I hope you’ve chosen a blog name that feels good to you. I’d love to hear what you’ve come up with, so please share a bit about your blog in the comments below.

And be sure to check out next week’s post too, where we’ll be talking through all the logistics of buying a domain.

How to Get Rid of Squash Bugs Organically

September 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

Few pests can take out a healthy plant faster than a squash bug. But how do you get rid of squash bugs, especially if you’re trying to garden organically? With the following 10 tips, you’ll be armed for battle against these ruthless garden invaders.

How to get rid of squash bugs organically

One day, your squash plants are lush and thriving. The next, several leaves are yellowing and crisping up around the edges. Within a week or two, the plant has died completely, with nothing but dry, withered, brown vines and leaves and a wrinkled, immature squash or two to show for your hard work and care.

So what happened?

More often than not, squash bugs are the culprit.

Squash bugs are my sworn enemies, and I wish suffering upon them all. For the past two summers, I’ve been gardening in a small plot in my community garden, as well as in containers on my front porch.

Community gardening presents some unique challenges, but squash bug infestations have proved the most frustrating. In the past two years, I’ve lost watermelon, honeydew, and all manner of summer and winter squash plants to those pesky insects. My cucumbers have remained unscathed, but only because I grow them in containers at home.

In the process, though, I’ve learned a lot about how to prevent and get rid of squash bugs to keep my plants healthy.

Why are squash bugs a problem?

Squash bugs are fairly large, beetle-like insects who live their entire lives on or near squash plants. Where I live (Utah), they usually emerge in May and then wreak havoc through the remainder of the gardening season.

These pesky bugs pierce the vines and fruits of cucurbit plants, sucking out their juices and ultimately weakening or even killing the plant. The holes interfere with water and nutrient absorption and provide a way for infections to enter the plant. In addition, their saliva can carry bacteria that further harms your squash plants.

The leaves of cucurbit plants affected by squash bugs will quickly wilt and turn brown. Gradually, entire sections of the plant, and ultimately the entire plant may die.

How to identify squash bugs

It’s better to find squash bugs before they start damaging your plants, so keep an eye out for them. Adult squash bugs are between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch long. They have brownish gray bodies that can be striped around the edges. They are roughly teardrop shaped, with a triangular area leading to their heads. When you squish them, you’ll discover that their innards are bright turquoise and unpleasantly smelly.

Immature squash bugs have white to pale green bodies that are oval shaped. They have black heads, black, spindly legs and are about a 1/4 of an inch long.

Newborn squash bugs have small green bodies with black heads and are most identifiable by their spidery black legs. You’ll generally find them on the underside of leaves, newly emerged from their eggs.

No matter their age, squash bugs are absolute jerks, and you should kill them if you value your squash, cucumber, and melon plants.

So how do you get rid of them? Unfortunately, a full-blown squash bug infestation can prove difficult to contain. As a result, prevention and vigilance are your best tools in keeping the squash bug population in your garden under control.

10 Ways to Get Rid of Squash Bugs Organically

1. Rotate planting locations

Squash bug eggs and nymphs won’t survive a hard freeze, but adult squash bugs overwinter in brush, wood piles, and any mulch, woody compost, or plant debris leftover in the garden after autumn.

Since you can’t expect the cold to kill them, instead rotate your plantings each year so that the previous year’s squash, melon, or cucumber beds house something from a different plant family. Move those cucurbits to an entirely different part of the garden. Then cross your fingers that the squash bugs don’t find them.

2. Grow vine varieties up a trellis.

Squash bugs love to hide in the soil and plant debris right around the root of cucurbit plants. Getting your squash leaves away from the ground can make the area less appealing for these destructive insects. Vine varieties grown up trellises are a great option for making your garden less appealing to squash bugs.

3. Plant decoys and repellants

Like many insects, squash bugs dislike the scents of particular flowers and herbs. Interplanting marigolds, nasturtiums, mint, and beebalm with your squash, pumpkin, cucumber, and melon plants can make those cucurbits less appealing to squash bugs.

Another trick is planting a decoy squash plant – blue hubbard squash works especially well because squash bugs love it – on the perimeter of your squash bed early in the season. This plant acts as a trap and egg-laying sight for the squash bugs in the garden.

Once the plant is established and squash bugs have laid eggs on it (but before the eggs have a chance to hatch) remove the trap plant and dispose of it. Then treat the ground with one of the natural insect repellents listed in steps 8 and 9. You can then follow this up with a new planting of your main cucurbit crops.

4. Clean up garden debris

Clear out garden dead leaves and other garden debris to help prevent a squash bug infestation.

As mentioned above, squash bugs love to hide under mulch, dead leaves, and other garden debris. So keep those garden beds tidy! Clear out garden debris any time you spot it, and throw it straight into your compost pile.

5. Check for eggs daily

Tedious though it may be, this is one of the single most effective methods of preventing a full-fledged squash bug invasion. A single female squash bug can lay 250 eggs, and each of those eggs quickly mature into adulthood, so just imagine how fast things get out of control.

To keep that from happening, head out to your squash plants every day and, with garden gloves on, turn over each individual leaf. If you find a patch of small yellowish-brown eggs sticking in the crevasses of the leaves, cut off the leaf altogether and throw it away.

Alternatively, you can press duct tape to the eggs and then peel the eggs away from the leaf. Be careful not to damage the leaves in the process, but even if you do, you’ll still do less harm than a clan of squash bugs.

6. Get rid of squash bugs daily

This is the other finicky step that’s necessary to prevent a squash bug infestation, but you really do need to go on a squash bug hunt and kill mission every day, or at least several times each week. My preferred method involves wearing gloves, catching squash bugs by hand, and dropping them in a combination of water, neem oil, and dawn dish soap. Squishing is also an option.

Not seeing any squash bugs? They hide in the heat of the day, so I’ve found more of them early in the morning or near sunset. Watering deeply also drives them out of their hiding places.

7. Set a squash bug trap

Want to make the process of finding squash bugs easier? Set a trap for them.

Lay out an old board, large rock, or piece of heavy cardboard near the base of your squash plants and leave it there for a day or two. Leave it overnight for squash bugs to congregate underneath. The next morning, turn the trap over and quickly squish or drown all of the squash bugs you find underneath.

8. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth

Though not an insect poison in the traditional sense, diatomaceous earth’s rough surface slices up the bodies of squash bugs. You can sprinkle a small amount right around the base of your pumpkin, squash, cucumber and melon plants to kill or deter any squash bugs in the area.

However, I recommend avoiding wide-spread diatomaceous earth use, because it can harm beneficial insects too.

9. Create an organic spray

Neem oil is a food safe, organic product that you can use on a wide variety of insects (don’t let the smell put you off!). Mix it up with hot water and a bit of mild dish soap (I like to use peppermint castile soap), and then spray it on any squash bugs that are too quick to catch or squish.

Unfortunately, a neem oil spray will only work if you get it directly on squash bugs bodies. As a result, I try to spray it in the soil near the root of the plant, where I know squash bugs tend to hide. Avoid using it early in the day or in full sunlight, though, since it can scorch your plants. Using it late in the evening works best.

10. If you can’t seem to get rid of squash bugs, take a break from planting squash

If all else fails, it’s may be best to avoid planting cucurbits for one year so that the squash bugs that overwintered in your garden don’t have anything to survive on. Sometimes a break is essential for long-term success.

To be honest, this is where I’m at. I’m throwing in the squash towel for the year, at least in my community garden! I’ll still grow cucumbers and maybe a summer squash or zucchini in containers at home. Hopefully in another year, the worst of my community garden’s invasion will be under control.

Armed with these tips for getting rid of squash bugs, I’ll be ready for squash and pumpkins and melons galore!

10 Ways to Get Rid of Squash Bugs Organically

How to Choose a Blog Topic in 2021

September 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

Not sure how to choose a topic for your blog in 2021? Ask yourself these 15 questions to know what blogging niche is right for you and right for this year‘s consumers.

So, you want to start a blog. Maybe you’ve always enjoyed writing, and blogging seems like a great way to bring in a side income. You’re not wrong! Blogging can be a fun and relatively easy way to express yourself, share your story, and make some extra cash along the way.

But in 2021, it’s not enough to choose a cutesy title and share your random musings with the world. We all remember 2009, when suddenly your sister-in-law, your mom, and all of your friends had blogspot pages, spruced up with scrapbook-style templates from The Cutest Blog on the Block. And some major early bloggers did make it big with general slice of life content! But as the internet grows more crowded and more sophisticated, you’ll need to want to put more thought and planning into your blog topic and title before you get started.

Why? Because the right niche will help connect your blog with readers and will help those readers become customers!

So how do you choose a blog topic?

And that’s why I’m here to help. Spend a little time reading through and carefully answering the following questions, and you’ll go a long way toward understanding how to choose a blog topic that’s right for you.

Choose a blog topic you’re passionate about

How to choose a blog topic: choose a topic you're passionate about

If you had a whole day to yourself with all of your responsibilities fulfilled, what would you do with your time?

The laundry is done, meals for the week are prepped, the house is clean, the dog is walked, you’re all caught up at work, and you’ve already exercised and showered. What would you do with the rest of that mythical day?

One of the ways that I knew homesteading was the right blogging niche for me was that I was always searching for free time to garden and experiment with old-fashioned cooking techniques.

What subjects do you speak enthusiastically and at least somewhat knowledgeably about?

Before you get too intimidated here, know that I’m NOT asking what you’re an expert in. One of the most effective blogging techniques is to present yourself as an enthusiast who is sharing what they learn along the way.

If there’s a topic you can’t help but bring up in conversations, you’ll probably enjoy blogging about it too.

What subjects do your friends come to you with questions about?

Again, you don’t need to be an expert! But if your friends always ask you for money advice, maybe you could blog on personal finance. If they’re always using your recipes, maybe food blogging is for you. Are you the one who always knows about the best local hikes or festivals or restaurants, maybe you’ve found your niche!

Even if you don’t feel especially confident, friends perceiving you as a source of information on a specific topic is a pretty good sign that you’re knowledgeable enough to blog about it.

What topics do you research often?

Look at your recent google search history and Pinterest search history to get an idea of what you often have questions about. What books have you purchased or checked out from the library in the past year? Which podcasts do you listen to? What websites and blogs do you frequent?

Pay attention to themes in what you’re always learning more about.

What types of products do you buy more often than the average person?

Now this is where your Amazon purchase and search histories can come in handy. Take a look at types of items you buy that the average person might not. If you can define your buying niche, chances are that a focused blog will bring in buyers in that same niche.

Since I’m always buying organic pest control products, kitchen appliances and utensils, and do-it-yourself gear, homesteading’s a good blogging fit for me!

Once you find a niche, make sure you mean it

Is this a topic or activity I’m consistently interested in and committed to?

Be brutally honest with yourself here. Choose a blog topic that has consistently held your interest for a long time. And if it’s hobby, activity, or lifestyle related, make sure it’s already well-integrated in your life.

Why? Because it’s hard to upend your life AND start a blog at the same time. Some bloggers can do it, but I’m not one of them.

When I first started blogging, I planned to write about clean eating and overhauling my health. Now, those are topics I care about, but I struggled to keep momentum with blogging and overhauling my diet and lifestyle at the same time. I also struggled with creating recipes, because it was a whole new way of cooking for me.

When I switched my focus to homesteading broadly, it was an enormous relief, because old-fashioned skills, homestyle cooking, and gardening were already a major part of my life.

What makes my take on this topic unique?

As I mentioned before, it’s harder to get eyes on your blog in 2021 than it was in 2009. No matter your niche, you’ll be competing with other blogs and websites for attention, so it’s important to find a way to set yourself apart.

And sometimes the thing that sets you apart can be a specific obstacle that you’re overcoming in relation to that niche.

For years, I thought that homesteading was a distant dream because I lived in an apartment. It was a real aha moment when I realized that other people had the same problem and wanted to overcome it (see more on this below). There are a lot of homesteading blogs out there, and there are quite a few urban homesteading blogs. I’m unique in writing specifically to apartment homesteaders, though, and that focus provides clarity in how I structure my blog.

Can I come up with 52 blog posts within this specific niche?

Now, grab a piece of paper, and brainstorm! Write down as many blog post ideas as you can think of.

If you struggle to come up with posts, ask yourself what you’d like to learn about your topic. Make a bullet point list of the answers you come up with, and consider each point a potential post.

If you can come up with 52 posts, you’ve got an entire year’s worth of content – 2021 planned out in one step!

Consider your target audience

Focus on your target blogging audience. Who is your ideal blog reader and customer?

Who is your ideal reader and customer?

This might seem like an odd or limiting question – after all, why would you want to limit your audience? But the truth is that your blog can’t be for everyone, and it inevitably won’t be. You’ll have a much easier time writing posts and developing products if you know precisely who you’re writing for.

So, as you choose a blog topic, get specific about who you’re writing to. What is your ideal readers’ age, gender, family status, income level, and housing situation?

Don’t be surprised if your target reader looks a lot like you.

My ideal reader is a 20-30 something single woman with no children. She’s probably college educated and makes $25000-$50000/year, but she can’t afford a house with a yard right now. She either rents an apartment or owns a condo, but she dreams of owning land big enough for chickens, bees, an orchard, and a huge vegetable garden. She might have roommates. My ideal reader is basically myself.

What are your ideal readers’ problems?

Want to make money as a blogger? Solve a problem for your reader.

Spend some extra time on this question, because it’s the crux of what you’ll be writing about. People spend money when they think spending will solve their problems. So what obstacles are your readers facing in relation to your niche topic? How can your blog posts, products and services solve their problems? Figuring this out should be your number one priority.

For me, the fundamental problem that my ideal reader faces is feeling like she can’t homestead because she’s not being able to afford land. She might think she doesn’t have the kitchen space, equipment, or garden required for old-fashioned living. I solve that problem through blog posts, ebooks, and online courses that teach homesteading skills that work in an apartment setting.

Decide how you can earn money within that niche

Choosing a blog topic in 2021: Consider potential income streams

Before we jump into talking about making that $$$, here’s an essential reminder: you’ll never gain your readers’ trust if you’re only in it for the money.

And if you never gain your readers’ trust, they’re unlikely to actually give you their money anyway.

So prioritize the previous section over this one. Ask yourself again and again – who is your target audience? What problems are you solving for them? Sometimes you can help them solve their problems by selling things to them, but make sure the solutions you offer are real ones. Give them quality content and services.

What kinds of affiliate products fit in with this niche?

Affiliate programs pay you a percentage of sales whenever a person purchases an item you’ve linked to.

Once you’ve signed up for an affiliate program, you can link to a product within your posts and receive a percentage of the sales any time a reader follows the link and makes a purchase.

Above all, focus on linking to products that solve your ideal reader’s problems. If your focus is on meeting your reader’s needs, your blog content will remain natural.

What kinds of brands do I associate with this topic?

Are there brands that you love and would like to work with someday? Would their products help solve your ideal reader’s problems?

If so, carefully consider the types of posts and other content you can create that would naturally involve promoting those brands

Alternatively, many bloggers, myself included, prefer to use a more general advertising program, like Google Adsense. This program shows ads to readers based on their recent search history. Since the ads are already tailored to their interests, they’re more likely to generate a profit. Programs like Google Adsense offer you payment based on your blog’s general traffic.

Do I have an ethical multi-level marketing brand I’d like to partner with?

Some highly profitable lifestyle bloggers bring in money through multilevel marketing programs like Doterra or Beauty Counter. As you gain the trust of your readers, they’ll be more likely to buy through you. They’ll also be more likely to work under you if they decide to sell the product themselves. Keep in mind, though, that MLMs leave a bad taste in some readers’ mouths, and that many MLMs are predatory. Only participate in a multi-level program if you believe whole-heartedly in the product and feel completely comfortable with the profit structure.

If you already participate in this sort of program or are interested in joining one, consider carefully how your blog topic could relate to it. Are there ways you could incorporate the products into your posts in natural ways that don’t feel spammy?

Do I have a physical product of my own I could sell?

If you answer no to this question, no problem! Not everyone needs to sell a physical product. But if you have a physical product you love to create, your blog can be a great way to promote it.

Brainstorm some ways to naturally discuss your merchandise in blog posts. Are there blog post topics that lend themselves to product promotion? What problems does your merchandise solve for your reader?

Could I sell my expertise on this topic directly, through ebooks, courses, or mentorships?

Again, don’t be scared off by the idea of yourself as an expert! If there’s a topic you love enough to blog about it, then I guarantee you’re capable of writing short ebooks or teaching others directly through courses and one-on-one memberships.

Courses and mentorships in particular are one of the biggest money-makers in the blogging world. They involve a large amount of work up front, but can then provide a constant source of easy income going forward.

As you commit to a blogging niche, I recommend also choosing a subtopic you’d like to create an ebook, course, or mentorship within a year. That might seem premature, but you can then tailor your blogging work throughout that time to make creating your first big seller more easily. The research, photography, outlining, and writing you do for your posts can be adapted and expanded upon into a more in-depth digital product for sale.

Recap: How to choose a blog topic in 2021

Now that you know how to choose

Jam Making Tips for Beginners

September 7, 2020 2 Comments

Does the idea of home canning intimidate you? Fruit preserves are a great place to start, and with these jam making tips for beginners, you can feel confident that your creations will be safe, delicious, and just the right consistency.

How to can with confidence

If you’re new to jam-making and canning in general, I’m going to guess that you have two big concerns:

That the jam won’t be safe and shelf-stable.
That the jam won’t set correctly and you’ll end up with runny, crystalized, or overly thick jam.

Those are totally valid worries! But jam-making doesn’t need to be scary or overly complicated. Getting the set just right can take a little practice, but as long as you follow instructions and don’t burn the jam, you’re sure to get a tasty treat.

As far as canning safety goes – it is an issue to take seriously, since botulism is incredibly dangerous and impossible to detect with your senses alone. But if you adhere to the following jam making tips for beginners and follow your chosen, tested jam recipe carefully, you don’t need to be afraid. It’s easier than you think to can safely!

And just imagine the results! Homemade jam is far more delicious than the store-bought stuff – with complex flavors that melt on your tongue. Whether you eat it on toast or biscuits, in a PB&J sandwiches, as an ice cream topping, as the fruit on the bottom in homemade Greek yogurt (my personal favorite), or even as the glaze for pork chops, ham, or other meat, it’s a delectable treat and the perfect homemade gift any time of the year.

So let’s preserve the harvest, in the sweetest way possible!

Jam making tips for beginners

1. Use only safe, tested recipes

If you take only one thing away from this post, make sure it’s this one. If you want to store jam on the shelf, only use ph-tested recipes from reputable sources.

And don’t rely on your senses to tell you whether your canned goods are safe. Botulism can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted, but it can be deadly or debilitating nonetheless.

So I’ll repeat myself in caps: USE ONLY SAFE, TESTED RECIPES! My go-to is the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preser ving. Don’t let the magazine format and dated cover mislead you – it has a wide variety of classic and creative recipes, clear instructions, and a guide to canning safety that I refer to often.

Still want to use Grandma’s famous jam recipe? Either contact your local extension office about having it tested, or just use it as a freezer jam, rather than storing it on the shelf.

2. Dress smart

So, this might seem like the silliest of my jam making tips for beginners, but if I know I’ll be making jam, I’ll dress accordingly. Jam is cooked at high, boiling temperatures, and sometimes that hot jam splatters. An old, long sleeved t-shirt that you don’t mind getting sticky, and an oven mitt go a long way (I especially like grill mitts that are designed for better dexterity than traditional oven mitts). Your hands and forearms will thank you.

3. Gather and sanitize all your supplies

Canning jars and bands (I think quilted jars are especially pretty)
New lids
Boiling water bath canner
- Pot and lid
- Canning rack
Canning lifter tongs
Potato masher
Candy thermometer
A large pot or dutch oven
Oven or grill mitts
Measuring cups and spoons
A heat safe ladle
A heat safe Funnel
Headspace measuring tool

4. Use new inner lids every time

This might seem like a pain, but if you’ve used your canning jars before, you’ll want to purchase new inner lids before making jam to ensure a proper seal. There’s a shortage on them this year, but normally they’re inexpensive and relatively easy to find. I stock up whenever I find them for a good price.

5. Choose good quality fruit

Use good quality, fresh, ripe, and in season fruit for your jam.

Jam and other canned goods will always turn out best if you use fresh, ripe, in-season produce. The better the fruit, the better the jam will be. Underripe or overripe fruit will throw off the texture, set, sweetness, and potentially even the shelf-stability of the finished product.

6. Make sure you’re using the right kind of pectin

A quality recipe will tell you exactly which kind of pectin to use. Classic pectin and liquid pectin can often be substituted for each other with some recipe instruction changes.

Low sugar or natural sweetener (fruit juice, honey, maple syrup, etc.) recipes will generally call for Pomona’s Universal Pectin or Ball Low or No Sugar Needed Pectin and I definitely wouldn’t recommend trying to substitute regular pectin – your jam won’t set properly.

7. Use a large pot

This is a personal preference thing for me that goes along with tip number 2. I hate having my arms burned by splatters of hot jam, and I’ve found that happens less when I use a larger pot.

8. Stir, stir, stir!

When the recipe tells you to stir, it means it! Stir continuously while heating the jam to avoid inconsistent texture and set or burned jam.

9. After letting the jam set, skim any foam off the surface

The white-ish foam that forms on top of your jam isn’t a problem; it’s just a result of the boiling process. If you stir thoroughly right after turning off the heat, you can often incorporate it into the rest of the jam.

But if you still end up with foam after the jam has set, just skim it off before pouring the jam into jars (and then immediately eat the foamy jam on toast, if you’re anything like me). It won’t hurt anything if you pour it into the jars, but it can ruin the pretty visual effect of rows of jewel-like jam. It’s mostly a preference thing.

10. Follow headspace instructions

Now, this is another instruction that can be tempting to ignore, but don’t do it! Different recipes have different headspace requirements, and the appropriate headspace is essential for creating a proper vacuum seal of the lid and jar.

The grids of the jar rim are in quarter inch increments, but if you’d like to be extra sure, you can use a headspace measuring tool.

11. Clean off the jar rim before placing the lids

Adjust water bath canning times according to altitude.

After pouring in the hot jam, but before placing the lids, use a clean, damp rag to wipe off any jam on the jar rim or in the headspace area. This too will help ensure a proper seal.

12. Adjust water bath times according to your altitude

This is an easy, but dangerous, step to skip if you jump straight into a recipe without understanding safe canning practices. Always double check this before making jam!

Canning recipes are written for sea-level altitudes, but water boils at different temperatures depending on the altitude. Given that I live in the Mountain West, those recipes won’t work for me as written.

Every time I make jam, I double check my altitude (generally by googling or asking Siri), and then consult a canning altitude chart. Since I’m at about 4500 feet, I adjust my water bath boiling times by 10 minutes.

13. Keep the jars upright after water processing

You might be tempted to tilt the jars as you take them out of the water bath to get water off of the lids, but resist that impulse. Doing so can break the seal you’ve just worked so hard to make. And the water will evaporate off the hot lids on its own anyway.

You also may have been taught inversion canning – where you turn the jars upside down right after putting the lids on – at some point in the past. This is no longer considered a safe practice, and it creates a faulty seal. It also skips the crucial water bath step needed to prevent botulism. Don’t risk it!

14. Seeing a white powder on the outside of the jars? Don’t be alarmed

This happens every time I water-bath can anything, and at first I worried it meant I had done something wrong. It turns out it’s just mineral deposits from hard water – nothing to worry about!

So how do you get rid of it? Just wipe the jars down with a bit of water and white vinegar. And you can even add white vinegar to your canning water before boiling to prevent the powder from forming in the first place, a handy hint I learned from Food In Jars.

15. After the jars have cooled for several hours, test the lids

Let the jars sit and cool for 12-24 hours, then gently unscrew the band and see if you can lift the inner lid off. Hopefully it will hold tight, and you can put the jam away.

But if it’s loose or pulls off, all is not lost! Just repeat the waterbath process.

And that’s all there is to it! That doesn’t seem too hard, does it?

Do you have any other jam making tips for beginners? Please share them in the comments!

Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt

August 31, 2020 Leave a Comment

All the tips and tricks you need to know to make smooth and creamy homemade Instant Pot yogurt.

Making your own yogurt might seem like a daunting task, but with an Instant Pot, it’s incredibly easy! It’s taken me a little research and a few rounds of practice, but I’ve finally found a method for making yogurt at home that matches the flavor and texture of my favorite Greek yogurt brands at the store.

And with eight servings coming from a single half-gallon of milk, it costs pennies in comparison with the store-bought stuff!

Looking to learn more about homestyle cooking, growing your own food, or old-fashioned skills? Join me in becoming a homesteader, no matter where you live, with The Apartment Homesteading Project!

Essential Instant Pot Yogurt supplies

An Instant Pot with a yogurt setting

A digital food thermometer

A whisk

A large spoon

Helpful Supplies

Glass Instant Pot lid

A tea towel

Something to strain the yogurt into (a tall bowl or Tupperware works well)

Individual storage containers (I like these glass anchor containers, regular half pint mason jars, and especially these wide mouth half pint jars)

Prep

Clean the bowl of your instant pot and then rinse thoroughly with hot water, even if it looks clean. Since yogurt is made at a medium temperature to encourage probiotic growth, that also means it’s an ideal growing environment for less-desirable bacteria. Any food residue or left from previous recipes can result in off-tasting yogurt. For great tips on cleaning your Instant Pot, check out these instructions from the company.

If you don’t have a glass lid for your Instant Pot, you can use the regular lid, but be sure to remove the rubber inner seal first. It can collect odors and flavors from things you’ve previously cooked. You don’t want your homemade Instant Pot yogurt tasting like pork tenderloin!

Tips

Use whole fat milk, especially if you prefer Greek yogurt! Skim milk will result in runny yogurt.
Don’t be tempted to add more yogurt as a starter than is called for in the recipe. Too much will throw off the consistency of the final product and make it too tangy. I learned this the hard way by initially throwing a whole serving of chobani into my Instant Pot, thinking I didn’t want to waste the extra. Trust me, it tastes much better with just a couple of spoonfuls.
For your starter, choose a yogurt brand you really like. Your homemade yogurt will taste like whatever you use as a starter.
NEVER USE FLAVORED YOGURT AS A STARTER! It will not work.
Check the expiration date on the yogurt you’re using as a starter. Older yogurt may result in lumpy yogurt that is too tart.
Start with eight hour yogurt. If after trying it you think you’d like something more tangy, you can leave it on the yogurt setting for a longer period of time.
I recommend dividing the yogurt into individual servings in small pyrex containers right away. You’ll be more likely to eat it if you have grab and go servings ready in the refrigerator.
Want a simple way to flavor your yogurt? Mix in a tablespoon or two of jam or other preserves to add a little sweetness. You can also add fresh fruit (below, I combined lemon curd and fresh raspberries – yum!). If you’re prepping all your individual servings, add the jam before the yogurt, and you’ll get a “fruit on the bottom” look.

Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe

Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt

For the cost of a 1/2 gallon of milk, enjoy a week's worth of smooth and creamy yogurt, straight from your Instant Pot!

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

8 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1/2 gallon whole fat milk
3 tablespoons plain, whole fat yogurt

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

8 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1/2 gallon whole fat milk
3 tablespoons plain, whole fat yogurt

Instructions

Pour the milk into the bowl of your Instant Pot. Put the lid back on and twist it to lock. Press the yogurt button until the screen reads BOIL. It does not matter if the vent is sealed or unsealed.
While the Instant Pot is heating, fill the sink with a few inches of cold water.
The Instant Pot will beep when it reaches 180 degrees. Let it sit at this temperature for five minutes or so.
Move the Instant Pot bowl to the water, making sure not to let the water spill into the bowl. Allow the milk to cool to between 108 and 112 degrees, stirring continuously.
As soon as the milk has cooled to under 112 degrees, remove the Instant Pot bowl from the sink, dry the outside, and place it back in the Instant Pot. Skim the milk with a spoon to remove the "skin" that forms on the surface. Add the starter yogurt, and whisk it in thoroughly.
Secure the lid on the instant pot, and hit the Yogurt button until it gives a time reading. Adjust the time to 8 hours (or longer, if desired), if it isn't already set to that.
Once the 8 hours or desired incubation time has been reached, turn off the Instant Pot. If the yogurt is lumpy, whisk it until all lumps disappear. For thicker, Greek style yogurt, strain some or all of the yogurt through a tea-towel into another container, but remember that the yogurt will thicken more in the fridge. (I strain about half and then mix it back into the rest of the yogurt.)
Finally, move the strained yogurt into sealed storage containers. Store in the fridge overnight, and then enjoy!