Hi everyone. 

​As many of you know I have been consumed lately with launching a subscription box for herbalism.  My love of herbs, gardening, and living a more self-sufficient life is something I am obviously passionate about and would like to see more people involved in.  I found over the years that many are intimidated by herbalisim yet are drawn to plants like a moth to a flame, a woman to a chick at the feed store, or a man to a tool sale.  (Some of us are drawn to all the mentioned.) 

My best advice has always been to take one herb and explore it for no less than a month.  Find out everything you can, write it down in your materia medica which is basically a journal for herbs, make as many things with it as you can, and be an expert in that one herb.  When you feel good, pick a new herb.  People still feel overwhelmed by this.  I believe it is a result of our insitutional learning where we are fed the material to be learned, tested on it, and then given a grade to assess how well we retained and understood that information.  All of this is okay, we just need to understand the process so that we can deliver the information and transfer the knowledge in a way that is easily digested.  There are so many excellent online resources, the local library, or for those financially able and willing- a formal program through a school of herbalisim.  For many time or a lack of being able to successfully research a topic and gain confidence and proficiency in it is a daunting task.  For others, finances pose a roadblock that prevents structured learning.  And yet even more find that neither one fits their desired method of learning.  

This is where ApotheBox was born.  What if you could develop a working apothecary in your own home?  So many people desire a closer connection with plant allies but just can't seem to get to a cabinet like this...  Where does one start?  

ApotheBox sends you a monthly subscription box that sends herbs, teas, spices, lessons, materials, containers, beeswax, and inspiration all to your door each month.  The lessons will be integrated to an online learning platform and community where you can talk about the boxes, ask questions from other herbalists, and learn at a pace that works best for you.  

The ApotheBox will come in a monthly subscription with NO contracts.  You know I detest them.  Come and go as you please.  Each month is a carefully curated box with lessons and printed materials that you won't see again.  Make balm, bath soak, a nourishing herbal infusion, a tincture, an oxymel, an herbal tea, and so many more.... we aim to work through them all. 

My part I really like the best is the collaboration with some of your favorite herbalists, bloggers, and influencers on curating a box.  How great is that?  Super-duper great, that's how great!

So while I have been absent from Survival Betty for a bit, it won't be forever.  I hope to see you as part of my new adventure.  Check out ApotheBox or use the navigation bar at the top of the page to check out the pre-launch page.

Stay safe and keep prepping!

When I was a little girl I had the fortune of living on almost 50 acres we shared with my mother’s parents. The formidable years of my childhood were spent wandering up the dirt road to visit them whenever I wanted.  I could sit and enjoy freshly baked cookies while listening to my grandmother and her sister reminisce about their childhood on their farm in Battle View, North Dakota.  It sounded like a very bleak and terribly hard life growing up, even to my young ears.

It's been a busy last few months here on the homestead with packing to move, buying the homestead from my parents, then there was the honey harvest, chicken drama and then the babies... oh, all the little Littles are growing so fast I can really no longer call them babies as they toddle all over the place.  Who knew 4 hands could feel like 400 as they continually reach and grab for ALL THE THINGS! all over the house.  So after the smack in the face at the end of the year called "Christmas" I decided I needed to get an update on the blog and let you know what I have simmering on the backburner around here.

​The Trading Post has been taken offline while I put some stock into it and give her a little TLC.  I am excited to roll it out again because we have stock from so many great manufacturers on hand like UST brands, 5ive Star Gear, LifeStraw, LuminAID, Voodoo Tactical, Freemont Knives, Benchmade, Gerber, and SO much more.  I am working on so many great projects surrounding the Trading Post and we are bursting at the seams as it has spilled over into my dining room (I will spare you pictures, but it looks like the mail room from the the movie Grinch with Jim Carey).

​That's it.  Short and sweet for today.  Just a little update and I look forward to getting back to the blog with greater regularity as well.  I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and you are as excited about 2017 as I am!

​Stay safe and keep prepared,
​​

What would you say if I told you that you could enjoy coffee that is less acidic (approximately 65-70% less acidic), not bitter, and saves you MONEY?  Well I said "sign me up" when I learned about cold brew coffee.  The less acidity doesn't irritate my stomach as badly and it saves me $5 at the coffee shop for my iced caramel macchiato. 

Hi, my name is Kirsten and I have a coffee addiction. 

"Hi Kirsten". 

Technically the name cold brew is a bit of a misnomer, as it technically isn't brewed... It's more of an extraction.

Hydrosols or "Essential Waters" are more commonly known as floral waters or herbal waters.  You may already know the most well known one, rose water.  Hydrosols are the byproduct of essential oils.  As the steam distills the plant material, it rises and moves through a condenser where the essential oil in the steam collects into a separate vessel.  The remaining water is the hydrosol.  This hydrosol is perfect for skin care, using in cooking, as a fragrance, room and linen spray, and even in some of your favorite drinks.  Essential waters have all the goodness of an essential oil, only in a much milder form and they are so easy to make at home with things already in your kitchen!

Calendula salve is one of those homestead first aid staples that you want to keep on hand.  It is versatile, easy to make, and you can customize it with some essential oils and BOOM! you have a perfect gift.  This sunny and simple calendula salve recipe takes just a few minutes to make if you keep your infused oils on hand.  If you don't have any, don't sweat it... It will just take a bit longer, but it's worth the small effort.

Preparedness is about more than buying "stuff" to me.  It's about living a more self-reliant life so that you are ready to continue to live your life as routinely as possible when "stuff" is no longer available, "stuff is too expensive", or there is just too much "stuff" in your life. 

I like to forage regularly and preserve as much of my food as possible.  Summer kicks me into overdrive on the homestead with honeybee hives needing tending, a garden to plant and care for, and fresh fruit that is rolling in like a tidal wave- fast, hard and heavy.

Unaware, or unconcearned about the busy schedule during the summer Mother Nature gives us such seasonal treasures as blackberries for example and they wait for no person to clear their schedule.  So I find myself in a week where peaches are ready, apples are ripe, the honey needs to be extracted and oh, by the way all these blackberries are screaming to be plucked off the canes and made into pie filling and jams.  Instead of being overwhelmed by it though, I just freeze what I can and get to it later this fall or winter. 

Making your own infused oil is simple and so practical for making salves, balms, lotions and to keep on hand for a variety of uses like my cayenne infused oil as a liniment or muscle rub.

​You need dried herbs or flowers first.  My favorites are the ones I grow in my garden like my cayenne peppers, or herbs and flowers like calendula and comfrey, and even things I forage and dry like plantain.  If I am making it from items I source here on the homestead I make sure to dry them well in the dehydrator or hanging.  If you are short on time, space or interest in growing them you can easily purchase these for very inexpensively. 

Learn how to make this old fashion drawing salve with a few simple ingredients.

Black drawing salve is one of those handy, easy to make items that all homesteaders should keep on hand.  It is useful for splinters, minor scratches, and as a beekeeper I like to use it on the occasional self-inflicted bee sting as a result of my own carelessness at the hive.  These also make wonderful gifts...

Our giveaway for October is item number three from the "5 Basics of Survival" categories- FOOD.  I have paired up with the manufacturer (which I NEVER do, but I love this product THAT much!) The prize is a Farson Tool from Fremont Knives!

The actual item will only be shipped to those winners in the USA, outside of the USA winners will be given an Amazon.com or affiliate gift code via email that is a $25 USD value...

For September I am giving away the second item from the "5 Basics of Survival" categories- WATER.  The prize is a LifeStraw personal water filter!

The actual item will only be shipped to those winners in the USA, outside of the USA winners will be given an Amazon.com or affiliate gift code via email that is a $25 USD value...

Gardening season has us running mad through our gardens like a wild child, weeds in our frizzled post-canning hair, dust between our toes... I prattle on too much about myself perhaps.  But with most of us SQUEEZING the most out of our hard earned harvest, here is just one more way of stretching your veggies in a unique way. 

If you find yourself feeling wasteful tossing those lovely, fragrant and red tomato skins, don't fret I have the perfect fix.  It will stock your shelves, use those skins and give you countless ways to liven up your meals, snacks and drinks (Bloody Mary Anyone?)...

As a way to say "thank you", I am giving away 1 item from the 5 Basics of Survival categories for FREE each month until the end of the year.  A new drawing each month will be held.  The actual item will only be shipped to those winners in the USA, outside of the USA winners will be given an Amazon.com or affiliate gift code via email that is a $25 USD value...

I can't think of a better way to start my blogging foray than to begin with some of my absolute favorite things: homemade limoncello, fresh summer food, and great friends centered around our fire pit!  I love a great time, but I love my friends even more and if I get to feed them; well the Scandinavian in me is completely satiated (figuratively and literally... where's the antacid?).   

Since it's been two days and I am still stuffed, I thought I would share the recipes I used for this past weekend starting with a "Double Ranch Stuffed Burger" (let your pants out for this one)...