I’m going through photos today, trying to whittle down my vast collection of mostly bad shots, and I realized yet again just why we love this lifestyle! In the last few years we’ve grown/raised some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life.

The Muscovy ducks are definitely coming back this spring. They are probably my favorite meat we raise because it tastes like London Broil…

Which is funny because we watched an episode of Meat Eater with Steve Rinella the other day where he was hunting and then cooked some sandhill cranes (which we have here) and he said they are nicknamed the “Ribeye in the sky” because they taste so much like beef. When he cooked it up, it looked just like the Muscovies so I believe him.

Unbelievably tasty!

These cornish cross chickens are honestly the juiciest, most flavorful roasted chickens I’ve ever had…

We typically do a couple dozen of those a year and while the cost has went up, making us debate the merits of raising them again next spring, I do enjoy the final end product regardless of cost. Throw in some frest carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic from the garden and a handful of fresh herbs we cut on the way in and oh, my, goodness.

Heaven.

Hopefully soon I’ll have fresh herbs growing right here in the kitchen, as soon as my indoor hydroponic unit gets here. I can hardly wait for that adventure to begin.☺

Have I mentioned I’m not even really a food lover?

Well, I wasn’t one until we started raising our own and I cook mostly from scratch. I’ve developed a new love bordering on obsession with expanding our food production and using it in the most delicious recipes I can find (and that are safe for me with my weird food allergies).

I can’t remember the last time I bought a store bought pie or cookie. I’m still making pumpkin pies, bread and cookies with the harvest from last year and probably will be until spring.

The point I’m trying to make here is that you can do all this, too, and reap the rewards of growing/raising your own food.

Homesteading is a lifestyle you can do anywhere, we happen to do it here on our little acreage in Idaho but now that I know you can grow food in an apartment in New York City, I can’t see why anyone who wants to can’t join in and start eating tasty, healthy food that you’ve helped come into existence.

In order to make your existence a little better!

Gardening and raising livestock and hunting and fishing are such primal, human things and these skills are lost with each generation which is sad because now that I “get it” I see how it enriches the human experience so far beyond just feeding your body. It sounds cliche but it really does nurture your soul.