Hi, my name is Kristin. I live in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley with my husband, Dave, and our three boys. We began our homesteading journey in 2010 with a modest flock of chickens (which we like to call the gateway animal). Over the years we have expanded to raise a small herd of Milking Devon Cattle, heritage breed pigs, and yes, more poultry. We consume most of the meat we produce and vegetables we grow ourselves, but we do offer pork shares.

In addition to raising animals, I love to cook, bake, and experiment in the kitchen. A few years ago, I made my first batch of caramel and found it to be not quite what I was looking for. I soon started playing around, on a quest to find my caramel ideal. It took a few tries to get there, but when I did...WOW.

Jars of caramel sauce became my signature gift, and my friends and family often requested it. After I gave some to the wonderful farmer who runs a CSA* I belong to, he suggested I sell it at the farm.

It took me a year of planning, research, and a lot of hard work to get my business, The Ardent Homesteader, off the ground. With encouragement from my friends, family, Guy & Nadine at Blooming Hill Farm, and Tom & Denise at North Plank Road Tavern, I released my first product, Cara-Sel, a luxuriously creamy caramel.

Click here to buy it online. Or look for it in a shop near you.

* Know where your food comes from - to find out more about CSAs and how to find farms and farm markets local to you, click here.