News From the Nest, June 8

Huge Favor To Ask

If you’ve noticed that Google search results have been feeling a little… wonky lately, you’re not imagining it. Google’s AI Overviews now answer questions directly on the search page, which means a lot of the smaller, independent blogs you’ve come to rely on for real, tested recipes and honest advice are getting lost. The sites rising to the top are often the big commercial ones, not the ones written by an actual person in an actual kitchen.

You can push back on that and help wee little blogs like mine in a small but meaningful way. By clicking the link below and marking Nourish and Nestle as a preferred source, you’re telling Google that you want to see our content when you’re searching for recipes, knitting patterns, garden tips, or anything else we cover. It takes about three seconds, it’s completely free, and it genuinely makes a difference in what shows up for you. I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to do it.

Mark Nourish and Nestle as a Preferred Google Source

When you click this link, you’ll see this image. I’ve filled it out for you, just make sure that the little box next to NourishandNestle.com is ticked and you are all set.

Mark Nourish and Nestle as a Preferred Google Source

Many, many thanks for taking a minute to help a girl out!

New on the Blog

The brand-new Knit Lace Bandana is worked in fine cotton thread from the bottom point up and is lightweight enough for a summer walk but pretty enough to dress up an evening out. The delicate eyelet motif and ruffle border look far more complicated than they are once you settle into the rhythm, and blocking is the magic step that transforms the whole thing. It’s a satisfying summer knit!

From the Knit and Crochet Studio

If there’s a baby shower coming up on your calendar, the Knit Baby Blanket with Eyelet Stitch is one of our most-loved patterns. The cloverleaf eyelet stitch body is finished with a crocheted cloverleaf border that is just the sweetest thing! Reader Teresa wrote in to say it’s become her go-to baby gift and that she knitted a matching hat to go along with it. You can easily resize it and have the pattern sent straight to your inbox.

Speaking of quick knits, the Bridget Knit Washcloth Pattern — also known as Grandma’s Favorite — uses only four techniques, knits up in an evening or two, and is perfect for anyone new to the needles. It’s knit on the diagonal for that distinctive look, and it makes a lovely hostess or teacher gift bundled up with a pretty bar of soap and one of the free printable care tags from our Care Tags post.

And for anyone who’s ever wanted to swap out a yarn in a pattern but wasn’t sure where to start, our thorough guide to Yarn Substitutions walks you through every factor to consider — weight, fiber, gauge, and yarn density — with a real example to show how it all works together. A free printable Yarn Substitution Guide is also available in the subscriber library.

From the Kitchen

With Father’s Day just around the corner and summer cookouts on repeat, we’ve got the whole spread covered. Start with our Pulled Pork Rub, a pantry-friendly blend of brown sugar, smoked paprika, chili powder, and cumin that you sprinkle and pat (never rub!) onto the meat for an even, flavorful coat. It scales up easily for a crowd and works just as well on ribs, chicken, and roasted vegetables.

From there, our recipe for Crock Pot Barbecued Pulled Pork lets the slow cooker do the heavy lifting all day while you do anything else. The trick of de-fatting the braising liquid and stirring it back into the shredded meat keeps every bite juicy, and the post specifically calls out our baked beans as the must-serve side alongside it.

No cookout spread is complete without a good sauce, and this Homemade Barbecue Sauce comes together in about twenty minutes with bacon, onion, dark brown sugar, and malt vinegar for a slightly sweet, slightly tangy finish you’ll find reasons to put on everything.

Speaking of which, these Baked Beans from Scratch layer smoky bacon, molasses, maple syrup, and smoked paprika into something canned beans simply can’t touch — and the hands-on time is only about fifteen minutes. Reader Maura Lacelle called them the best-flavored and most tender beans she and her husband have ever made, and they taste even better the next day.

For the dessert table, these Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars skip the ball-rolling entirely and bake up thick, soft, and chewy in one pan with a cinnamon sugar ribbon through the middle. Reader Pam wrote in to say she made one batch and immediately started a second to share with friends, comparing them to a really good coffee cake.

If you grow peppers, or just love a sweet-heat condiment that doubles as a gift, our Confetti Pepper Jelly made with bell peppers and jalapeños disappears fast at any gathering — especially spooned over cream cheese with crackers. You can water bath can it for shelf-stable jars or simply refrigerate or freeze it.

And if you want to make Father’s Day morning truly special, these Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls are worth the planning. The slow fermentation gives the dough a gentle complexity yeast rolls don’t have, the texture stays tender long after cooling, and the post includes a full sample schedule so you can map out exactly when to start for fresh rolls on Sunday morning.

Need Father’s Day Gift Ideas?

Father’s Day is coming up, and our roundup of *Mostly* Useful Gifts for Men is full of practical, thoughtful ideas for the dad or husband who really doesn’t need another mug. From a cocktail smoker kit and Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee to a wireless meat thermometer that will genuinely upgrade his grilling game, the list leans toward things that will actually get used. The Aura digital photo frame is one Terry and I received and genuinely love — the kids send photos directly from their phones to the frame in real time.

From the Arts + Crafts Studio

If you’re looking for a satisfying afternoon project, our Nailhead Trim Burlap Bulletin Board came together when two creative ideas collided — a friend’s charming photo Christmas card display and a container of decorative nailhead trim. The burlap costs almost nothing, the nails require a little patience to space evenly, and the finished product looks far more polished and expensive than it is.

A closed Terrarium rewards almost no maintenance with a lush, year-round little indoor garden, and this post covers exactly how to layer your materials, which plants thrive in a sealed jar, and how to avoid the one mistake most beginners make. A well-planned terrarium can grow for years with very little beyond an occasional trim and a splash of water!

In the Garden

Our comprehensive guide to Vegetables for Raised Bed Gardens covers which vegetables perform best, how to plant and rotate across seasons, how to maximize spacing, how to refresh your soil annually, and which plants deserve a second thought before you give them a permanent spot.

Feeding those beds well starts with good compost, and our post on How to Make Compost covers the whole picture — what to add, what to avoid, how to speed up the process, and how to use your finished “black gold” in the garden. The list of compostable items is longer than most people realize, and even sourdough starter discard and kefir grains made the cut!

Summer is lavender season, and Growing Lavender in Pots gives you more control over drainage and lets you bring the plant indoors when temperatures drop. The post covers the best varieties for containers, soil and watering tips, how and when to harvest, and the many ways to use your bounty — from culinary creations and bath salts to natural pest control. A few dried sprigs tucked in the closet is also one of the best natural moth deterrents around, for what it’s worth!

In the House + Home

Don’t give up on that rusted skillet or Dutch oven — our guide to Rescuing Rusted Cast Iron walks through the whole process, from running the self-cleaning oven cycle to strip things back to bare metal, to building up multiple thin seasoning layers that result in a gloriously glossy, non-stick surface. I went through this with my own griddle and it came back beautifully. Thin is everything when it comes to that oil layer — the post is emphatic on that point and so am I!

If you’ve been thinking about adding a custom, wallpaper-like look to a room without a big budget, our 8 Tips for Successful Wall Stenciling shares every lesson learned from a real project — including why keeping your roller nearly dry is the single most critical step, and why you should always measure when working around windows (learned that one the hard way).

Always looking for something to keep you company while you knit, garden, or tackle a project? Our roundup of Favorite Podcasts covers recommendations across true crime, history, cooking, books, and fiction — including some absolute can’t-stop-listening gems. Root of Evil and Hardcore History are on the list for good reason, and we’d love to hear what you’re listening to too!