Bringing Life

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  • Homemade Yogurt from Scratch

    Homemade Yogurt from Scratch

    Why Make Yogurt at Home?

    Homemade yogurt isn’t just about saving money—it’s about freshness, control, and nutrition. When you make it yourself:

    • Cost savings: A single gallon of milk can yield 8 cups of yogurt for less than store-bought tubs.
    • Customization: You choose the milk type (whole, skim, goat, raw, organic, etc.), thickness (Greek-style or regular), and flavors.
    • Fewer additives: No thickeners, stabilizers, or hidden sugars—just milk and live cultures.
    • Sustainability: Making yogurt at home cuts down on packaging waste.

    How Yogurt Works: The Science Behind It

    Yogurt is created by fermenting milk with beneficial bacteria. The two classic starter strains are:

    • Lactobacillus bulgaricus
    • Streptococcus thermophilus

    Together, they convert lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid. This acid lowers the pH, thickening the milk proteins and giving yogurt its tangy flavor. Many store-bought starters also include additional strains like Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidobacterium lactis, which may aid digestion.

    The fermentation process not only preserves milk but also boosts probiotic content, supporting gut health.

    four quart jars of homemade yogurt in a dehydrator

    Ingredients

    • 1 quart (4 cups) milk – whole milk makes creamier yogurt, but any type works
    • 2 tablespoons plain yogurt with live, active cultures (store-bought or from a previous batch)

    Equipment

    • Saucepan
    • Thermometer (optional but helpful)
    • Whisk
    • Clean glass jar or container with lid
    • Towel or blanket for insulation

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    1. Heat the milk
      Pour milk into a saucepan and gently heat to 180°F (82°C). This denatures proteins so the yogurt sets thicker.
    2. Cool the milk
      Remove from heat and let it cool to 110°F–115°F (43–46°C). This is the ideal range for the cultures.
    3. Add starter
      Whisk 2 tablespoons of yogurt into a small bowl with a bit of the cooled milk. Then stir this mixture back into the pot.
    4. Incubate
      Pour into a clean jar, cover, and keep warm (around 110°F) for 6–12 hours.
      • For thinner, milder yogurt: check at 6 hours.
      • For thicker, tangier yogurt: let it go longer.
        You can wrap the jar in a towel, place it in an oven with the light on, use an Instant Pot’s yogurt setting, or a dehydrator set to 110°F.
    5. Chill and enjoy
      Once it’s set, refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The yogurt will thicken further as it cools.

    Variations

    • Greek Yogurt: Strain finished yogurt through a cheesecloth or coffee filter for 2–4 hours to remove whey.
    • Flavored Yogurt: Stir in honey, fruit purée, vanilla, or jam just before eating.

    Storage

    Homemade yogurt keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Save 2–3 tablespoons from each batch to use as the starter for the next one.

    If you would like a video on the process, check out this one on our YouTube channel!

  • Deer Bone Broth

    Deer Bone Broth

    Bone broth is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can preserve for your pantry shelves. When made with venison bones, it brings a deep flavor and is full of collagen, minerals, and marrow. Pressure canning makes it shelf-stable and ready to use anytime for soups, gravies, or sipping on its own.

    5 quart jars of home-canned deer bone broth sitting on a towel on a counter

    This is not a recipe that has to be followed exactly, but simply what we did this time. Last time was different and next time will probably be different again. We ended up with enough broth to can 7 quarts, but obviously that depends on the amount of bones you start with and how strong you want it.

    Ingredients

    • Deer bones, cut into smaller pieces (helps release marrow and collagen)
    • Water (enough to cover bones in stockpot, refill as needed)
    • 1–2 garlic cloves
    • 1 onion, quartered
    • A handful of carrot tops
    • A handful of radish tops
    • Fresh rosemary sprigs
    • Salt, to taste
    • A splash of vinegar (helps pull nutrients and minerals from the bones)

    Instructions

    Step 1: Prepare the Broth

    1. Place cut deer bones in a large stockpot.
    2. Add garlic, onion, carrot, radish tops, rosemary, salt, and vinegar.
    3. Cover with water.
    4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it cook long enough for the bones to release nutrients and flavor (at least 24 hours is ideal).

    Step 2: Strain and Fill Jars

    1. Strain broth through a fine strainer or cheesecloth to remove solids.
    2. Ladle hot broth into clean, hot quart jars, leaving 1 inch headspace.

    Step 3: Pressure Can

    1. Wipe rims, apply lids and bands.
    2. Place jars in pressure canner with 2–3 inches of simmering water. A splash of vinegar in the canner keeps hard water stains from forming.
    3. Process at 10 pounds pressure (adjust for altitude if needed):
      • Quarts: 25 minutes
      • If you don’t have enough jars of broth to fill the canner, put some jars of water in to keep everything from rattling around.

    Step 4: Cool and Store

    1. Allow canner to depressurize naturally.
    2. Remove jars and let them cool 24 hours without touching.
    3. Check seals before storing. Keep in a cool, dark place.

    Using Your Deer Bone Broth

    This broth is versatile—use it as a base for venison stew, wild rice soup, or simply heat it with a little extra seasoning, if needed, and sip it warm.

    Homestead Hilarity

    Micah, age 9 — A self proclaimed “hilly-billy”.

  • Trust And Obey

    Trust And Obey

    Lately, God has been talking to me on the theme of trust. Trust is something that doesn’t come easily for me, so this is lesson I need to learn. I’m not sure where God is leading next, but I do know I want to keep my hand in His and simply follow.

    When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
    What a glory He sheds on our way!
    While we do His good will, He abides with us still
    And with all who will trust and obey

    Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
    To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

    Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies
    But His smile quickly drives it away
    Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear
    Can abide while we trust and obey

    Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
    To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

    Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet
    Or we’ll walk by His side in the way
    What He says we will do, where He sends we will go
    Never fear, only trust and obey

    Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
    To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

  • Pumpkin Spice Streusel Muffins

    Pumpkin Spice Streusel Muffins

    A plate of pumpkin spice muffins with streusel topping with mug of coffee, three whole nutmeg, and a plaque that says "Then sings my soul".

    Maybe the cool weather is getting to me. Maybe I like pumpkin spice more than I thought. Whichever is the case, here’s a recipe I had to share. These muffins turned out so delicious I couldn’t keep them to myself.

    Pumpkin Spice Muffins (24 muffins)

    Ingredients

    Dry:

    • 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 tsp baking soda
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 2 tsp cinnamon
    • 2 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
    • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

    Wet:

    • 2 cups canned pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • 1 cup melted butter
    • 4 large eggs
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract

    Streusel Topping

    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup granulated sugar (or half brown sugar, half white for deeper flavor)
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • ½ tsp nutmeg
    • ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners (or grease).
    2. Make the streusel:
      In a bowl, whisk flour, sugar, and spices. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Chill while you prepare the batter.
    3. Mix dry ingredients:
      In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
    4. Mix wet ingredients:
      In another large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, both sugars, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
    5. Combine:
      Add dry ingredients to wet and stir just until combined (don’t overmix).
    6. Fill muffin tins:
      Divide batter evenly among 24 cups (about ⅔ full).
    7. Top:
      Sprinkle each muffin generously with streusel.
    8. Bake:
      Bake 20–24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    9. Cool slightly before serving.

    These muffins are great the next day as well.

  • Spicedoodle Cookies

    Spicedoodle Cookies

    Do you ever start out to make one thing, but the farther you go the more you realize you’re actually making something else? That’s what happened with these cookies.

    I went into the kitchen fully intending to make snickerdoodles. That’s what had been requested and that’s what I had a recipe for.

    But then, as often happens, Tim came to help. Don’t get me wrong, that wasn’t a problem. Tim is, after all, the one who taught me to cook, and I enjoy working in the kitchen with him. But… It did mean the recipe was changing cause that’s what Tim does.

    Soon, I was pulling fresh cookies from the oven and trying to convince everyone that they would survive if they waited a few minutes for the cookies to cool.

    Then, came the first taste. All it took was one bite to know these were definitely not snickerdoodles. They had the same cinnamon sugar coating, but after Tim had added ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg the cookies had morphed into… well… Spicedoodles.

    So a new favorite was created and now I’m passing it one to you!

    a plate of homemade cookies with whole nutmeg and cinnamon pieces

    Spicedoodle Cookies

    Ingredients (For approx 36 cookies)

    • 1 cup (2 cubes) Butter, softened
    • 1 cup Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • 2 Eggs
    • 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
    • 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons Nutmeg, grated
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
    • 3 1/2 cups Flour

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
    • Combine softened butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
    • Add the eggs and mix well.
    • Mix in spices and dry ingredients. We like our spices strong, but if you want a more “normal” spice level, cut the amounts for the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in half.
    • In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon to roll the cookies in. Ratios can vary depending on how strong you want the cinnamon.
    • Form cookies into ping-pong sized balls and flatten slightly. This will help them stay thicker as they bake and come out softer.
    • Roll them in the sugar/cinnamon mixture and place on a cookie sheet an inch or so apart.
    • Bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes. They will still look soft, but will be delicious and perfectly done. For my family at least. Feel free to adjust if you want, but I wouldn’t suggest going over 9 minutes.
    • Lastly, enjoy!

  • Homemade Laundry Detergent

    For Pennies A Load!

    Like maybe some of you, I used to enjoy meandering down the candle aisle in Walmart and smelling every one that sounded interesting. And I’d check every single bottle of soap or shampoo to make sure I bought the one I liked the best.

    Now, I find myself preferring, by far, natural scents over commercial ones. In fact, just one sniff of one candle or bottle of soap is often enough to bring on a headache.

    Add to that kids who break out from harsh chemicals in most laundry detergents, and we aren’t the easiest people to buy laundry soap for.

    So, the other day, I thought, why buy it?

    I started checking and soon found a recipe for laundry detergent powder with only 4 clean natural ingredients, one of them being fragrance of my choice. It sounded great to me and we even had most of the ingredients on hand.

    • Borax for odor control, stain removal, and general whitening. I used 20 Mule Team brand.
    • Fels-Naptha for cleaning and stain removal. I used Purex brand
    • Washing Soda for more cleaning power and odor control. I used Arm and Hammer brand.
    • Essential Oils for a great natural smell. I used one of Plant Therapy laundry blends.

    I didn’t have Borax or Washing soda, but a quick trip to our little local store provided Borax and we found a way to make our own Washing soda.

    It turns out, if you put regular baking soda on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour, you have Washing Soda!

    A box of Borax, a bar of Fels-Naptha, a box of essential oils, a bowl of washing soda, and a jar of laundry detergent powder.

    Homemade Laundry Detergent

    1 cup Borax Powder

    1 cup Washing Soda

    1 cup Fels-Naptha, grated (about 1 bar)

    15-20 drops of essential oil, your choice

    If you have Washing Soda, put it and the Borax in a jar or container. You will want to use a mask or something to cover your face to keep you from breathing in the fine powders. If you don’t have Washing Soda, you can make your own by putting a cup of baking soda on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for an hour. This changes the chemical formula and makes Washing Soda.

    Take the bar of Fels-Naptha and grate it. You can use the fine side of a cheese grater or your food processor shredder disc on the small side. Again, the powder is very fine and not something you want to breathe so wear something over your mouth and nose. Let it settle before you open the food processor.

    Put all three dry ingredients in a container or jar. I used a jar so I could just put a lid on and shake it to mix it.

    Let the mixture settle and then open and add 15-20 drops of essential oils for scent.

    Shake to mix in the oils and let sit overnight.

    Use 2 tablespoons for a regular load and 3 tablespoons for a heavy load.

    I also have a video showing the process on YouTube at Bringing Life Homestead.

  • Welcome Back!

    Welcome Back!

    This week started out much like normal. Tim has his photography and devotional walks every while I get the kids up and start on breakfast.

    Then, the scramble to get breakfast cleaned up, dishes done, and kids sat down to school.

    This year we have four in school. Micah and Alayna are in fifth grade and Kaitlynn and Harold have started first grade. They’re enjoying learning how to read. Soon they won’t have to ask anyone else to read to them. 🙂

    In the course of the day, the garden gets checked. Cucumbers and peppers are still growing, okra has started, and tomatoes are ripening.

    There’s laundry to do, floors to sweep, weeds to pull, and naps to take.

    Judah is growing as fast as he can and loves smiling and kicking for his siblings. And sleeping. He definitely enjoys sleeping.

    Even with trying to get the homestead side of things going better, we can’t ignore the business that pays the bills. We try to list to eBay every week day and there’s usually shipping to keep up with. These are a few of the molds we’ve listed recently.

    A frog on a garden trowel.
    A large rose and cross candleholder.
    These “people watchers” are always comical.

    And as you can see, we still have a ways to go.

    This is just a portion of what’s left to list.

    But, this is where God has lead us and we are extremely grateful for all He’s done. We know He’s going to continue to guide and there’s no place we’d rather be than right in His Will.

  • Fall Garden Plans

    Fall Garden Plans

    Lately, I’ve been seeing and reading lots of things about people’s plans for their fall garden. What seeds they’ll be planting and where they’ll be putting what starts. It’s a whole new chance to get more out of your garden, especially with how lots of gardens seemed to have struggled this year.

    Well, we have plans too, but they aren’t like those. I’m afraid that if we planted anything, we’d just be setting ourselves up for lots of the same problems we’ve been having.

    Our dirt is a stubborn mess of clay that retains water and refuses to let roots do their thing. It needs lots of amending for nutrients and something to break up the clay.

    Generated for illustrative purposes only.

    Our plan starts here. Someone gave us rabbit hutches and once they have a base to sit on to keep them off the ground, we can put them to use. We’ve looked into several different breeds of rabbits, particularly New Zealand’s and California White’s. But any breed of rabbit would work.

    Rabbit manure is one the best things you can use to fertilize your garden for several reasons.

    • It is a “cold” fertilizer as it is not high in nitrogen. This means you can put it directly into the garden without having to let it sit and age first.
    • It is nutritionally rich. It contains a fairly balanced amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as calcium, zinc, copper, magnesium, and boron.
    • It is high-fiber due to the rabbit’s plant based diet. This means it improves soil texture. It helps sandy soil hold water better, but also helps break up clay soil.
    • It is good for soil life. Earthworms and beneficial microbes love it and multiply well, creating a healthy, balanced soil ecosystem.
    • It is easy to work with. Since it comes in dry pellets it is easy to spread over the garden or work into the dirt.
    • It has a gradual nutrient release. This cuts down on the risk of rain washing away most of the benefits at once and lets the plants feed over time rather than just a nutrient dump.
    • It is a great compost booster. If you do decide to compost it, it works as a powerful nitrogen “green” to balance out carbon-heavy “browns” like leaves or straw. It also helps heat the compost pile up to destroy harmful bacteria.

    All in all, it sounds like a great addition, and we can hardly wait to see the changes it makes in our garden.

    Generated for illustrative purposes only.

    Another step in our plans is worms. While rabbit manure will encourage worm production, we also want to start a worm farm. Not only will it supply plenty of worms for the garden, but also worm castings, which are great sources of nutrients as well. A worm farm also has the added benefit of making the hunt for fishing bait a whole lot easier. 🙂

    Generated for illustrative purposes only.

    We also hope to start building our own raised beds. This would cut down on the amount of space we would need to amend, allow us to tweak certain beds for certain crops (more sand for carrots, etc.) and give plant roots more space to grow before they hit our high water table.

    The beds would be 4′ wide and a mix of 12′ and 8′ feet long. We have lots of old, punky wood that has laid around for years. We would put that in the bottom of the beds before filling with dirt. The wood pieces would break down over time continuing to add to the soil and let us use less fill dirt.

    Tim drew up these plans and I like how the finished product looks in my head. We would put a gate at the entrance and then we would be able to let the rabbits or ducks/chickens loose in the walkway without worried about them getting out. This layout also maximizes the space we have while still allowing access to both sides of the beds.

    I know it is still a ways out before we will have this all finished. But it gives us a starting point and some basic steps to get us where we want to be. I can’t wait until our garden looks somewhat like this.

    Generated for illustrative purposes only.
  • Garden Update

    Garden Update

    A basket of veggies. Cucumbers, okra, banana pepper.

    This will probably not be a long post, but I thought I’d share what we’ve been picking in the garden.

    While nothing has exploded, we have been getting harvests that are small but consistent.

    We planted two different kinds of cucumbers this year. A slicing and a pickling variety. Both are doing pretty well, and we are happy with them. The slicing kind is one of the best cucumbers I think I’ve ever eaten and definitely passed the “Will We Plant This Again” test.

    We tried several different kinds of tomatoes as well. One, called Napoli, is doing fairly well considering the struggle they had with weather this year. We’ve gotten several tomatoes off them and they are putting on green ones like crazy right now.

    A tomato hornworm got into one of my other varieties and did a good bit of damage to a couple of the plants, but thankfully, they seem to be recovering.

    We’ve been getting cayenne and hot banana peppers for a while. The plants are staying small for some reason, but they are putting on more flowers so I’m looking forward to more peppers.

    Our jalapeno plants finally have tiny peppers forming. I’d just about given up on them producing anything, but they decided to surprise me.

    We also have two melons growing. I believe they’re cantaloupe. None of us really care for melons all that much, but I also don’t remember when the last time I had a homegrown melon. We’re expecting that to make at least some difference and will see if these pass the test or not.

    Lastly, we have another plant we’re trying out. They’re called garden huckleberries and are in the same family as tomatoes. Only three plants survived to plant outside and so far only one has any berries on it. But that should be enough to try at least.

    We’re working on garden plans for fall this year, and if they work, next year should be a whole lot better. But those plans will have to wait until the next post. Thanks for dropping by and I hope to see you next time!

  • Bluegill Supper

    Some of y’all might disagree, but nothing tastes quite like fried bluegill that you caught yourself. Especially when it’s pan fried so nicely and combined with foraged Train Wrecker mushrooms and sautéed green beans.

    Tim brought in most of the fish, but Micah managed to land one too.

    I cleaned them the night we caught them while Tim made the marinade for them.

    Once all 10 were ready to go, Tim placed them in the marinade and we put them in the fridge overnight.

    Then, the next afternoon I went looking for mushrooms. We had seen a cluster of them, so I knew where to go.

    Train Wreckers, or Neolentinus lepideus, earned the name by their ability to grow on highly treated railroad ties. If they’re ignored, the tie would eventually disintegrate and could cause a train wreck. Thankfully for us, these mushrooms were growing on a pine root which meant they were safe to eat.

    They do have some look-alikes, some of which are poisonous, so a positive ID is essential before they go in the skillet.

    Fresh green beans were in the fridge just waiting to be used. And so the meal came together.

    The results were delicious and filling. We’re already planning our next fish meal. 😊