Your guide to from scratch, homemade, old fashioned living

Hello there! I’m Stephanie, the heart and hands behind this blog. My journey into from scratch cooking has taught me lots of traditional skills, and I’m thrilled to share that knowledge with you too. Join me as we learn to cultivate joy in everyday life by cooking from scratch, gardening and keeping a cozy home.

Freshly Made on the Blog

More RECIPES
house logo with G in the middle
Start Here
jar of peaches on a white towel
Preserving
fork crimping the edge of poptart dough
From Scratch
sourdough boule
Sourdough
sliced zucchini bread on a white plate on a wooden counter
Breadmaking
Breakfast
a white plate of lobster ravioli with butter sauce, chives and parmesan
Main Dishes
pumpkin pie bar with whipped cream being cut into by a fork on a white plate
Desserts
stock pot with water, orange slices, cloves, cranberries and allspice berries
Simmer Pots
drawing of a green jar with ribbon

Preserve Your Own Food

Preserving food is an age-old skill that allows us to savor the bounty of each season all year long. Discover the techniques and joy of canning, fermenting, and drying to put up the harvest.

Learn More

Grow Your Own Food

Learning how to grow your own food is a freeing experience. Learn how to grow your favorite foods and explore the growing options available to every gardener, regardless of how little space you have.

Learn More
soup bowl drawing in green

Cook from Scratch

Explore simple recipes that celebrate fresh ingredients and the satisfaction of homemade meals. Rediscover the lost art of creating meals for your family that are both nourishing and delicious.

Learn More
drawing of bread in green

Bake Your Own Bread

From sourdough to yeast bread, bread making is an old fashioned skill that is worth learning! Discover a whole new world of possibilities and bake your own bread with ingredients you trust.

Learn More

Is video more your style ?

picture of an iphone and ear buds

You can watch me on Youtube for more cooking, gardening and homemaking inspiration!

Watch now

Learn how to bake perfect bread every time with my FREE EBOOK.

Picture of the author of Garden of Mirth

Hi! I’m Stephanie!

My journey to becoming a from scratch cook, gardener and homemaker has taught me so many traditional skills along the way. I’m honored to partner with you and share what i’ve learned. It is my hope that this blog will help you cultivate joy in your own home.

Learn More About Stephanie
woman holding a chicken
drawing of a pea pod in green

Grow Your Own Food

Learn how to plan your garden and grow your own food from seed to save money and boost nutrition.

Start Gardening
drawing of a green jar with ribbon

Preserve Your Food

Learn how to preserve the harvest through canning, dehydrating and more!

Start Preserving

Grab a copy of my free

Seed Inventory Tracker

This free printable helps you track which seeds you have bought, which seeds you have saved, quantities of each, as well as notes for the next year.

soup bowl drawing in green

Cook from Scratch

Learn how to cook with whole food ingredients. Ditch packaged mixes and premade foods and discover the joy in cooking homemade food with love.

Cook from Scratch
drawing of bread in green

Bread Making

Learn how to make delicious homemade sourdough and yeast bread using simple pantry ingredients.

Learn more about Bread Making
Bread
Breakfast
Main Dishes
Desserts

Let’s get to Learnin’

Learn All About Traditional Skills

How to Bake Bread How to Grow your own Food How to Cook from Scratch