Half-Assed Homestead

11/02/2026

The second installment of the “eat through our deep freezer” series. Beef liver.

I’ve always been a big “use every part of the animal you can” person when it comes to being an ethical farmer and outdoorsman, however, I kind of had a loophole for the last ten years. I am a wildlife rehabber so whatever parts I couldn’t use I would divvy up for the animals or send them to other rehabbers that could.

That chapter of my life has slowed way down, and a season of trying to be more frugal has come into focus. And with the joy I’ve found utilizing other animal parts, like making stock from chicken carcass and the adventures of rendering tallow, I feel especially inspired to tackle this cut of meat.

After being tumbled around the deep freezer for a year, the beef liver was thawed and I nearly gagged at the texture as I went on to prepare it. I soaked it in milk for 2 hours to both mellow out the iron taste and tenderize it. Then, I put a dish of flour out and mixed it with my favorite seasoning blend for frying—Andy’s Red. Which is actually a fish seasoning but this seemed like a good Hail Mary choice as a tried and true favorite flavor of mine 😂

I dried the milk off, coated in the flour, and pan seared 2 minutes on each side in butter on our cast iron. I’ll admit, it made me feel like a *real* homesteader 👩🏼‍🌾

Then, I deglazed the skillet with balsamic vinaigrette and Worcestershire sauce, and tossed some onions in there until they were caramelized. It turned out very tender and looked kind of pretty dished up!

My two year old actually loved it. And I have an unseasoned slice that I cooked to make baby food with for our 6 month old because apparently beef liver is a really good “first food” for babies and their growing brains.

I brought some to hubby in the field and I ate my serving too…it didn’t light up the reward center in my brain flavor-wise, but I feel good about making it and eating it anyway lol.

Needless to say, I have steak thawing in the fridge to grill up tomorrow as a reward for the family for participating in today’s festivities 😂🥩

11/01/2026

Enjoying this teeshirt weather while we can! 🌞
The girls🐓 are on fresh grass and enjoying it, too.
They are all molting, plus the days are getting shorter and nights colder so egg production is about 5% of what it was, but they deserve the break—and it’s better for their health too! 

We are on the hunt for a new hen house for the winter since the flock has grown. Soon these ladies will be all cooped up and cozy for the cold that is ahead of us. 🥲

10/27/2026

I’m starting a “eat through our deep freezer” series, where I work my way through the stuff in the freezer that I typically avoid, move aside, or the things that get buried under yummier cuts🤣

I told James I was making it a goal to make use of as much of the “least liked” stuff before the end of the year and to make room for incoming venison this deer season.

First up: King Salmon. 🎣

Not my favorite. I’m sorry, it’s just not. I’ll eat it but I don’t enjoy it. So, it gets shuffled back and forth in the freezer like a game of Pong.

I’ve tried making it a lot of different ways but, smoked fish dip is the only way I actually say “YUM” while eating it lol.

If you have trout laying around, just season it and smoke it. Half way through smoking it, baste it with some butter. Then shred it up, mix it with cream cheese, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, dill, and whatever other seasonings. Measure with your heart and eat up!

10/26/2026

I have a couple dozen eggs in the stand today and we still have some pay-what-you-can pumpkins. 🎃

Get your pasture-raised non-GMO eggs and your homegrown pumpkins all in one fell swoop!

📍 4265 Kidder Rd, Almont, MI 🙂

Self serve, open daily!
Cash or Venmo accepted. Eggs are in the cooler inside the stand and our Venmo QR code is posted in there too🖤

10/25/2026

The craziest thing has happened!

I’ve opened my last jar of tallow that I’ve rendered.

This past spring, I still had some that I canned over the winter but, at home with a newborn I rendered some more ahead of time “just in case.”

Between the farm stand, shows, and custom orders these past few months, I’ve opened my last jar. But don’t worry! I’m rendering more suet down as we speak.

I’m truly at a point where it would probably save me a lot of time and money to just buy big tubs of tallow from a commercial company, but I truly believe that rendering my own is what makes this whole gig special. I know I’m using true suet and not trim fat. I know how fresh it is and how the animal that provided it was raised. I know how it was handled after processing. I know it’s free of mold before it was rendered down. I know it was rendered slowly over 3-4 days in my own home and safely canned to be shelf stable.

I’m not just making stuff to follow the trends or fads. I’m making stuff for my own family and sharing it with our community that I care about, too!

Thank you guys so much for supporting my small business and farming adventures. You have kept me so busy and I am seriously grateful.  I have a mile long list of things I want to make and try yet, so continue to follow along. The problem now is every time I make something new it becomes another favorite and I’m spending most of my creative kitchen time restocking leaving little time to experiment with new potions 😅

It’s a good problem to have though and it makes this journey so much fun…like what a freaking wild ride this past year has been! I plan on spending our slower winter season making different things with an emphasis on herbal infusions.

With that being said, the farm stand is fully stocked (sans magnesium tallow which is what this last jar will be made into). Be sure to stop by and stock up on your favorites otherwise you’ll have to wait until I get this next batch of tallow is rendered. 🖤

10/21/2026

🎃PAY WHAT YOU CAN PUMPKINS!🎃

Just trying to clean out the stand and get some seed money for whatever next year brings!

Stop by whenever. The stand is self-serve, there’s a cash box but we also accept Venmo. The Venmo QR code can be found inside the enclosed part of the stand.

The farm stand is also fully stocked with my tallow products and other treasures. The only thing I’m currently out of stock on is the Magnesium Tallow Balm and eggs.

Pay what you can PUMPKINS ONLY!

Corn stalk bundles are $2 each. Straw $6 a bale. And the goodies inside the tack room are priced as marked 💛

*Almont stand only*

📍 4265 Kidder Rd, Almont, MI

10/19/2026

Another opportunity to score some of our pumpkins!
Thank you to The Humble Hen ! Go visit their stand in Attica and snag yours🎃

A little local love, and working together to bless each other 🎃

Supporting one of our absolute favorites since day one, Half-Assed Homestead to get more pumpkins out to our community, and I just love when we can help each other out like this!!!

Come grab your pay what you can pumpkins at the stand, we’ll be bringing more all week 🫶🏽 and the pantry is stocked for anyone in need!

Have a blessed week friends, do something good today!!!

10/17/2026

All set up at Dryden Elementary School for their Craft & Vendor Show! 9am to 3pm.

I have everything with me today except eggs! 🩵

Come restock your favorites or try something new! I even have more mullein tallow chest rub today…I suspect it will sell out quickly again!!!🌼

10/14/2026

I knew farming was genetic but I guess side hustlin’ is, too.

Today is my Papa, Frank Tantanella’s 83rd birthday.

I remember being a little girl and going into his barn and seeing this flyer hanging up on the wall and asking him who “Little Frank” was. I was shocked when he said “me!” Because I thought his name was papa lol.

Back in the day, my papa (like most Metro Detroit-ers) worked for General Motors. During his time at the transmission plant at 9 Mile and Mound (a building that has since been torn down), he would take orders from coworkers for apples from his small orchard at home.

His coworker, Frank Bosco (AKA Big Frank) was an artist and made him this flyer sometime in the early to mid-1980s. Idk Frank Bosco or his family but if you ever see this, you should know today I stole the dusty old flyer that has been hanging in my papa’s barn all these years and now have your artwork and a piece of my family history hanging on my wall.

Papa worked at the plant for 30 some years before retiring. He said he used his “apple money” to buy a new Carhartt coat and Carhartt pants…how freaking Michigan coded is that lol. Sold apples🍎 at GM🚗 to buy Carhartt 🧥

He said that ultimately he stopped selling his apples because the cost of spraying for bugs and fertilizing etc became too expensive. Isn’t it wild to think about how cost prohibitive small-time farming always seems to become for all types of producers? He also said that people often bi***ed about the condition of the cooking apples, not understanding the difference in that they didn’t have to be perfect to still be useful. Some things never change I guess.

Anywho, some of those same apple trees are still standing. I collected them off the ground for bait piles for deer my entire childhood and my Nani canned us chunky apple sauce year after year. Now, my daughter picks those same apples and nibbles on them while we ride around on the fourwheeler or feeds them to our critters.

I’m literally so jazzed about having this flyer framed and hanging on my wall, next to a wreath of wheat from my father-in-laws farm. Both tell a story important to our own little family’s history and I’ll treasure that forever.🍎🌾

Happy Birthday, “Little Frank”.