Growing your own food is only half the story.
The other half is what you do with it.
This page is dedicated to cooking, preserving, and making things with your garden harvest.
If you’re new here, welcome. I’m Karen and I garden on a small suburban lot in zone 6 Indiana. I love growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
Even on our small lot, we sometimes end up with more produce than my family can eat fresh, which means I’ve had to learn how to preserve and feature what comes out of the garden in our everyday meals.
You’ll find garden-centric recipes that are doable on a weeknight. You’ll find small batch preservation recipes as well.
I’m still figuring out the best ways to cook and preserve food from my garden, and I hope you’ll stick around and learn with me.
01
Using Your Garden Harvest in the Kitchen
Because you’re growing ingredients, not full meals.
This section is for everyday cooking. My go-to recipes and ideas that make the most of seasonal vegetables, herbs, and fruit.
I’m not a chef, but I cook from scratch everyday, and I’m learning more and more creative ways to cook from what I grow. Enjoy your harvest with one of these simple, seasonal recipes.
In the Kitchen
How to Use What You Grow in the Kitchen
Not sure how to use a tiny harvest or an unexpectedly abundant one? This is a great starting point for gardeners wanting to expend their culinary repertoire. Find practical ways to cook from the garden whether you have a little or a lot.
In the Kitchen
Cucumber Salad with Herby Avocado Dressing
A go-to summer salad using fresh cucumbers and herbs straight from the garden.
In the Kitchen
Creamy Smoked Zucchini Garlic Dip
An easy, savory way to use an abundance of zucchini. Like hummus or baba ganoush, but better. Pair with freshly harvested cucumbers and peppers and you’ve got a great, healthy snack or side!
In the Kitchen
Easy Stuffed Jalapeño Recipe
A simpler way to make jalapeño poppers without deep frying. My favorite way to use a hot pepper harvest.
In the Kitchen
Quick & Easy Herb Butter Recipe
One of the simplest and most satisfying things you can make with a surplus of fresh herbs.
02
Seasonal Garden Drinks
Make refreshing mocktails, juices, lattes, and more from seasonal garden produce.
Sometimes the best thing you can do with fresh herbs, berries, and flowers is turn them into something to drink. You’ll also find warm seasonal drink recipes like pumpkin chai here. Sip on one of these as you stroll or relax in your garden.
Garden drinks
Homemade Lavender Lemonade
This is the perfect summer drink. Light, floral, and made with fresh or dried lavender from the herb garden.
Favorite Supplies, Tools, & Resources
Browse my favorite kitchen and preservation supplies, tools, and recipe books in this all-in-one resource page.
03
Preserving the Harvest
Preservation is the skill that links summer abundance with winter comfort food.
If you grow a productive garden, you’ll eventually have more than you can eat fresh. Learning to preserve is one of the best skills to have as a gardener.
I’m still learning this skill. I’m not an expert, but a home gardener learning to can, ferment, freeze, and dehydrate on the job. That’s the spirit of these posts. You’ll find easy, approachable methods for preserving what you grow.
PReserving the Harvest
Quick Pickled Onions
Always a hit with my husband and kids. Quick, easy, and elevates everyday meals like sandwiches, salads, tacos, and burgers. One jar is never enough.
PReserving the Harvest
An Easy Way to Preserve Homegrown Cherry Tomatoes
The simplest possible method for preserving cherry tomatoes with no canning required. A great first preservation project.
PReserving the Harvest
How to Preserve Peppers: 6 Easy Methods to Save Your Harvest
Dehydrating, fermenting, pickling, freezing, and more. Read this first if you have a pepper surplus.
PReserving the Harvest
A Complete Guide to Drying Fresh Herbs
The simplest possible method for preserving cherry tomatoes with no canning required. A great first preservation project.
PReserving the Harvest
How to Make and Preserve Candied Jalapeno Relish
Dehydrating, fermenting, pickling, freezing, and more. Read this first if you have a pepper surplus.
04
Made from Scratch
Welcome to the homestead-adjacent side of NQH where we make staples from scratch.
What would bread be without butter? Or soup without homemade bone broth? These recipes and DIYs feature some of the simple things you can make from scratch.
From Scratch
How to Make Butter with Heavy Cream
Homemade butter takes about 10 minutes and is genuinely better than anything from the store. Start here if you’ve never made it.
From Scratch
3 Simple Methods to Make Beeswax Wraps
A beginner-friendly project that reduces plastic wrap in your kitchen and is the best way to keep homemade bread fresh for longer.
From Scratch
Easy Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth
It’s not glamorous, but it is rich, nourishing, and hands-off. A kitchen staple that makes everything better and I never want to run out of.
05
Garden Projects & DIYs
A productive garden gives you more than just food.
It gives you materials: flowers to arrange, herbs to dry, and bits and bobs to create with. This section is a collection of projects that start in the garden and end up in your home or as a gift for someone you love.
Garden Projects & DIYs
DIY Floral Resin Charms with Pressed Flowers from the Garden
Learn to press flowers from your garden and turn them into beautiful, lasting resin charms. A satisfying way to preserve the beauty of a season.
Garden Projects & DIYs
Easy Mason Jar Bouquets Straight from the Garden
Just garden flowers and a jar. Includes recipes for different color combinations and materials.
Garden Projects & DIYs
Tips and Tricks for DIY Fall Flower Arrangements
Make beautiful fall cut flower arrangements that make the most of the textural stems in the garden.
Garden Projects & DIYs
Making a Lavender Wreath: A Simple Summer Project
Bundle fresh lavender in late spring or early summer and make a wreath that will dry beautifully and perfume a room for months.
Garden Projects & DIYs
5 Seasonal Infused Vinegar Recipes for DIY Cleaning Sprays
Seasonal variations for herb-infused vinegar cleaners, so you can make something new each time the garden gives you different ingredients.
What Will You Create with Your Harvest?
Grow, cook, preserve, or make something new. I hope you found something inspiring to do with your garden harvest.
Happy harvesting!
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