This Christmas has me longing for simple pleasures. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the crazy state of our world or the fact we're reading "The Little House on the Prairie" series for school, but I have caught myself referencing pioneer life on a daily basis since August. The immense pleasure gained from the simpler things in life has triggered something inside of me. 

Yes, this is a post about DIY ornaments! But it is also so much more to me right now. It's a call to be more intentional with our time together, more intentional with how we celebrate the holidays, and less of what doesn't matter. 

It was the end of the growing season and I was left with bowls upon bowls of green tomatoes. This is one of the frustrations of gardening in Colorado, so many tomatoes that could have been! In previous years, I would keep an eye on those bowls and pluck the lucky ones that turned red out of the bowls to eat. 

But there were quite a few more that went bad than would turn juicey red. So last season I knew I had to find a better way to handle these guys. Green tomato salsa usually comes to mind but I wasn't in love with the idea of canning a hundred pounds of green tomato salsa, so I made one batch and called that good.

Fried green tomatoes are another favorite but the San Marzano tomatoes are a little small for this dish. Rest assured, I still made a batch of those too! 

Last month Farm Husband found an awesome cast iron pan at an antique store in Wyoming. He can be so thoughtful sometimes. The flat griddle will make a great crepe pan!

​ It has some minor rust spots on the cooking surface and build-up from years of use and neglect, but I knew I could return it back to glory! With just a few simple household items, I polished off the cooking surface and got to work seasoning it. 

Pickles are one of the best items to come out of the garden in my opinion! Years ago, pickling for me was a tedious task that had somewhat unreliable results. Nothing more disappointing than a mushy pickle after you have invested several hours in a hot kitchen and waited weeks to try them! 

So when I stumbled upon fermented pickles I rejoiced! No more hot kitchen, no more hours of labor prepping and canning, and higher nutritional value. Sign me up!

Lately I have been on a fermenting kick. I have fermented everything from chicken feed to pickles and beets, and whatever in between! It's just so much fun to add veggies and salt to a jar and in a week have a totally new flavor, packed with added nutrition. 

I have posted fermented recipes in the past and I explain many of the health benefits to eating fermented foods. Some of these benefits include adding good bacteria to our digestive system, which in turn boosts our immune systems(1) and help us digest food more efficiently. 

Garlic is a well known natural germ buster! It is good to eat garlic in some broth when youre feeling under the weather. It is even better to eat garlic raw and it is best to eat fermented garlic! Researchers have found that fermented garlic contains more antioxidants than its fresh counterpart.(2) Fermented garlic has also showed several other advantages over fresh garlic including its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.(2)