Rural Sprout

Gardening, Homesteading & Natural Living Inspiration

Tracey Besemer

Tracey Besemer

About Tracey Besemer

During the day I wrangle six research faculty at Penn State University here in State College, Pennsylvania. It’s my job to make sure they stay in their labs where they belong curing diseases. They are a wily bunch! But once the clock hits 5:15 I’m headed home to slip into the green, wooded state game lands where I live in search of mushrooms, wildflowers, and lost cell service.

I grew up spending my weekends at my father’s. Dad was a homesteader living off the grid. He built our rough-hewn log cabin when I was seven and I spent many hours of my childhood roaming our ten-acres. From a young age, I did everything from stacking firewood to tapping trees with dad and my cousin Ray to make maple syrup in the frosty early New York springs.

Living with my feet in two different worlds, I learned the delicate cadence of living close to the land. As an adult, I continue to live those principles; gardening, knitting, spinning, foraging, pickling anything that sits on my counter for too long and turning wild fruit and flowers into wine.

Once the sun goes down, I spend my evenings as a freelance writer using my unique voice and style to create delicious content casseroles for my sustainability and green living/B2B and B2C clients. Learn more about what I can offer you at https://besemerwrites.com/, and follow my own homesteading adventures on Instagram, @Traceyleezle.

How to Make Fresh Mozzarella in Under 30 Minutes

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Fresh mozzarella is one of the quickest and easiest cheeses to make! Try it! If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at making cheese give mozzarella a try. It’s super simple.It only takes about half an hour.And you can eat it right away. No aging, no waiting, just delicious cheese in half an hour. Homemade fresh mozzarella is unlike any mozzarella you’ve ever eaten. Forget that shredded stuff in a bag. Forget those tasteless bricks wrapped in plastic. Even the fancy … [Read more...] about How to Make Fresh Mozzarella in Under 30 Minutes

Easy Homemade Yogurt And The Secret Step To Make It Extra Creamy

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Homemade yogurt is so much better than anything you can get at the store. I’m constantly amazed at the number of foods that can be made easily at home that taste infinitely better than their store-bought counterparts. The best example is homemade yogurt. There is nothing at the store that even comes close to the creamy, sweet-tart taste of homemade yogurt.   I’m sure if you’ve tasted store-bought plain yogurt before, you’re giving me a dubious frown. Let’s be very honest … [Read more...] about Easy Homemade Yogurt And The Secret Step To Make It Extra Creamy

DIY Cultured Buttermilk In Seconds + 25 Delicious Ways to Use It

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Making cultured buttermilk is easy to do, and requires no special equipment. Did you know that the buttermilk we use today has nothing at all to do with making butter? Most of us know that when you make butter, what’s left over is buttermilk. However, the buttermilk you get in the store is not the byproduct of making butter, but rather milk that has been cultured by lacto-fermentation. This is what gives it that thick texture and slightly tart taste. The cultured buttermilk of … [Read more...] about DIY Cultured Buttermilk In Seconds + 25 Delicious Ways to Use It

15 Delightful DIY Gifts for Homesteaders and Gardeners

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Let’s face it - gift giving can be hard. How many times have you plastered on a fake smile and forced an, “Oh, this is...nice,” over a gift you weren’t super-chuffed about? Or on the other side of that coin, have you ever visited a friend and found your gift, pushed aside, unused and unappreciated? As if things weren’t hard enough already, homesteaders and gardeners tend to be practical folks. Most of them lean towards the “less is more” lifestyle. So, when holidays and birthdays … [Read more...] about 15 Delightful DIY Gifts for Homesteaders and Gardeners

No-Fuss Hard Apple Cider – An Introduction to Homebrewing

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About ten years ago I got it into my head that I was going to start making wine, mead, and hard ciders. I imagined myself opening a bubbling bottle of cider and smugly saying, “Why yes, I made it myself,” while pouring my amazed family and friends each a glass. I ordered myself a small home winemaking kit and eagerly unpacked it when it arrived in the mail. Laying out all of the different gadgets and powders and hoses I thought, “Now what the heck do I do?” I knew there had to be … [Read more...] about No-Fuss Hard Apple Cider – An Introduction to Homebrewing

How To Make Butter & Buttermilk From Cream In 20 Minutes

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Homemade butter tastes far better than anything that comes from the store. If you’ve ever tasted homemade butter, then you know it’s far superior to anything you can get in the store. Nothing beats the creamy, slightly salty taste of fresh, homemade butter on hot toast or steamed veggies. Believe it or not, if you own a stand mixer, it’s ridiculously easy to make butter. It takes about twenty minutes total from start to finish. And most of that is hands-free while your stand mixer … [Read more...] about How To Make Butter & Buttermilk From Cream In 20 Minutes