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Merchant Homestead
Merchant Homestead

Category: Kitchen

A key part of a successful Homestead is the kitchen. Where we are fed and sustained, through whole foods and home cooking. Where our bountiful harvests are preserved for the future, and transformed into delicious fresh meals for today.

Even if you are not growing or producing your own food, you can still practice your homesteading skills in the kitchen! Buying harvests from local farmers, markets, or fruit and vege stores when crops are in season is a great way to fill your larder. Plus we all know eating fresh produce in season always tastes the best!

This also means you can practice the joys of jam making, dehydrating fruits, pickling, baking, brewing and preparing delicious meals – even if you haven’t got a backyard garden to supply you. You can make the most of abundance when it is here and establish food security for when things are either more scarce or more expensive.

In this area I hope to share with you some of the great recipes and ideas cooking in my kitchen. Some great ideas I’ve picked up from skilled homesteaders, homecooks and other kitchen dwellers. Where I use fresh food harvested from our Homestead, foraged locally or purchased in season to cook up delicious bites. If you come across something new or interesting, I encourage you to try it! Cooking is a skill learned through practice so the sooner you start, and the more you try, the faster you will learn.

Plus everyone loves the result, eating whole delicious and nourishing meals, which fuel our bodies and soothes our souls. A homegrown, home cooked meal is one of the most wholesome and warming gifts we can give ourselves, our families and our friends. As you would have heard, the kitchen really is the heart of the home.

Kitchen Seeded sourdough bread

Seeded Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Debbie,
August 19, 2024August 19, 2024

I’ve lived most of my life as a plain white sourdough bread enthusiast. The classic….

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Kitchen Roasted white beans and tomatoes on toast

Roasted White Beans and Tomatoes

Debbie,
May 26, 2024May 26, 2024

This recipe for Roasted White Beans and Tomatoes is a highly nutritious, delicious and vegetarian…

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Garden

Salad in all Seasons

Debbie,
March 21, 2024March 21, 2024

Salad greens are a staple in many diets, offering a burst of freshness and nutrients…

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Kitchen harvest of lemons and tangelos

Tangelo Spritzer Cocktail

Debbie,
October 27, 2023October 27, 2023

It’s Spring cocktail time! This is my go-to sunny evening sip for this time of…

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Kitchen cornbread

Cornbread Recipe

Debbie,
July 12, 2023July 12, 2023

Let’s be honest here, when I was a child the only good thing about Soup…

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Garden

Winter Herbs

Debbie,
June 28, 2023June 28, 2023

As the winter season settles in, many gardeners might think it’s time to bid farewell…

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Kitchen

French Onion Soup

Debbie,
June 8, 2023May 22, 2023

Let me tell you a little story about French Onion Soup… first off, I’m not…

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Kitchen Patatas bravas

Patatas Bravas Recipe

Debbie,
June 1, 2023May 12, 2023

Patatas Bravas is my go to, whether it be at home or out with friends…

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Kitchen tromboncino

Tromboncino Soup Recipe

Debbie,
May 18, 2023May 18, 2023

One of the most fun vegetables to grow in the summer garden is Tromboncino. A…

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Kitchen Sourdough sandwich loaf

Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

Debbie,
May 8, 2023May 10, 2023

If you know me, you know I love a good sourdough. But I am also…

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Welcome to Merchant Homestead

Gardener Debbie
This is me, Debbie, in my natural habitat. Messy hair, natural face, wearing Dan’s borrowed jersey. This is the happy face of a girl in the sunshine, snacking on peas and picking spinach. It’s a good time and I’m glad you can enjoy it too. Thanks for following along my garden journey.
Hello Spring! Hello plum blossoms! 😍 Hello Spring! Hello plum blossoms! 😍
Shout out to this lil champ of a spinach, making t Shout out to this lil champ of a spinach, making the best of a bad situation and just thriving in it's tiny brick wall abode. 😅🌱
Well that's a nice view. 😍🐓🥚 Well that's a nice view. 😍🐓🥚
The peach tree is in full bloom, and what a beauty The peach tree is in full bloom, and what a beauty she is! I really missed the boat on my copper spray this year though so I'm sure, very soon, I'm going to be battling against leaf curl. 

If you're further south and spring hasn't started sneaking in for you yet, let this be your reminder to copper spray your stone fruit trees before bud burst! Once the flowers are open it's too late as copper will knock off your friendly pollinators alongside those fungus spores. 

For the rest of us who have missed the boat, it'll be curly leaves or diligently picking them off as they appear and tossing them in the bin. 😅🍑
The update you've all been waiting for! If you've The update you've all been waiting for! If you've been around a few weeks you'll know I harvested a beautiful big head of broccoli from this plant not long ago, and lookie here now. I've got just about a whole extra broccoli worth of florets just shooting up from the sides. So folks, unless you're desperate for the space, don't be quick to pull out your broccoli plants! 🥦🤩

#thegoodlife #urbanhomestead #homegrown #myprideofplace #nzgardening
Got out in the garden today for the first time in Got out in the garden today for the first time in ages. It was soooo refreshing. Gardens are kind of magic, in the way that you go to sit and drink tea and listen to birdsong and then an hour later you've fed the fruit trees, harvested a load of fruit, collected eggs, weeded a garden bed, done a cheeky prune and had some great banter with the local flock. And somehow you end up more relaxed than when you started, though, with a bit more dirt under the nails. 

So anyway, it was that kind of day and I'm just here to tell you if you have citrus trees, now is the time to get them some @tuigardenandhome citrus feed. Their little new season buds will be starting to form and if you want them to get big and juicy and lovely like this pick from today, a feed will certainly help you along. 

And as they say, when life doesn't give you lemons, grow your own! 😆🍋🌳
A basketless forage for winter sunshine 🌞 🍊 A basketless forage for winter sunshine 🌞 🍊
Apple bircher breakfast prep for the fridge 😋🍏 #f Apple bircher breakfast prep for the fridge 😋🍏

#fromscratch #homemadefood #healthyeating #mealprep #breakfastideas
The stone fruit trees have not had their annual pr The stone fruit trees have not had their annual prune, I'm veeeeery late to that party. I popped out to have a little look at them and there are so many promising little buds. This is the plum, and on those stumpy little branches called spurs, are many many many flower buds which (all things going to plan) will turn into many many plums. The future is looking bright. 🤩
Sometimes there's just not a good spot to pop the Sometimes there's just not a good spot to pop the phone down and we improvise ok, and sometimes that doesnt work either 😅🥦 #therewasanattempt 

#thegoodlife #gardening #nzgardener #harvest
Want to know when to pick your broccoli? Next ti Want to know when to pick your broccoli? 

Next time you go out and have a squizz at your backyard broccoli, look closely at those buds, they should be dark green, firm and tightly closed. As soon as those buds start loosening up or spreading out, or even showing a little yellowy colouring, get that broccoli into your basket. 

If you leave it too long you'll see broccoli is actually a bouquet of flowers and every single one of those buds will burst into a yellow blossom! 🥦💐🌼
Need motivation to tackle your laundry mountain? S Need motivation to tackle your laundry mountain? Same! Come fold with me. 😅👕

#cleaningmotivation #homemaking #satisfying #thegoodlife #hyperlapse
Ventured out to the mandarin tree without a basket Ventured out to the mandarin tree without a basket today, came back with loaded pockets 🤣🍊
Well it's been a hot minute, but focaccia is back Well it's been a hot minute, but focaccia is back on the menu! 😋🍞

#thegoodlife #fromscratch #homemadefood #sourdough #bakingbread
A moment please for this delicate pink starburst l A moment please for this delicate pink starburst little blossom. Just sprouting up from the lawn, and sure, it's a "weed" but that doesn't mean it's not a thing of beauty. Hello flower 👋🌸
If you're anything like me, you haven't removed yo If you're anything like me, you haven't removed your dead hydrangea flowers from last season yet. Turns out it only takes like two minutes, so let's do it now. 😅🪻

#mybackyard #gardening #flowergarden #nzgarden #gardeningtips
It's porridge season! Time to stock up the oat jar It's porridge season! Time to stock up the oat jar and unleash warm creamy breakfasts on my unsuspecting family. 🤤🥄

#fromscratch #homemadefood #breakfastideas #inmykitchen #healthyeating
First broccoli harvest of the year! And what a bea First broccoli harvest of the year! And what a beautiful specimen too. 😊🥦
It's mandarin season and these are some of the swe It's mandarin season and these are some of the sweetest juiciest little balls of goodness - what a sunny winter blessing 🤩🍊

#thegoodlife #urbanhomestead #growyourownfood #urbanorchard #wintergarden
You can see why they call this dinosaur kale 🦕🦖🥬 You can see why they call this dinosaur kale 🦕🦖🥬
Curried kumara soup, coming right up! 😋 #thegoodl Curried kumara soup, coming right up! 😋

#thegoodlife #fromscratch #homemadefood #soupseason #dinnerideas
When I say we're having baked beans for dinner, th When I say we're having baked beans for dinner, this is what I mean 😋
My life now 😅 #nzmum #nzbaby #relatableparenting My life now 😅

#nzmum #nzbaby #relatableparenting #pov #funnyanimals
Hello beautiful 😍 Hello beautiful 😍
So I was unaware that it's time for the bulbs to s So I was unaware that it's time for the bulbs to start flowering. We are one day away from the shortest day of the year and already these little bulbs are up and about to blossom! Which reminds me, I have another bag of daffodils that haven't even made it to the ground yet 😅 😬 time to hustle!
Homemade tandoori paste! 🤤🤤 #fromscratch #homemad Homemade tandoori paste! 🤤🤤

#fromscratch #homemadefood #UrbanHomestead #cookinghacks #homecooking
I love these little beauties. I never planted them I love these little beauties. I never planted them, they just grow here. And every now and again I spy one of these tiny little flowers peering up at me from under the grass, and that makes me happy. 😊
Easiest way to deseed a pumpkin! Put the knives do Easiest way to deseed a pumpkin! Put the knives down folks, you only need a spoon. 😊🥄

Loving the butternut in our @wonkybox.nz this season!

#fromscratch #homemadefood #cookinghacks #inmykitchen #soupseason
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