About Pap Steve
Pap Steve here. My name’s Steve, but my grandkids call me “Pap Steve.” I’m a tech-savvy Gen X grandpa sharing honest reviews, home canning, and family recipes from our South Carolina homestead.
Who I Am
My roots go back to Brandowdale, my family’s dairy farm in Windham, up in the Catskills, named for the Brandow ancestors who settled there. They worked it from the early 1800s on, starting with an ancestral land grant, and as kids we spent our summers there earning our keep. When we bought our homestead in Blythewood, South Carolina, we named it Brandowdale South. The Brandow name started out as the German Brandau. Our people came over around 1710, and for generations they farmed Greene County, in Athens, Hunter, Ashland and Windham. My grandparents Elwood and Alice Brandow kept that tradition alive. I’ve been tinkering since I was 6, when I took apart my father’s Brownie Hawkeye camera and couldn’t put it back together. I’ve been cooking for decades, and I still use my mom’s handwritten recipe cards. She taught me to can, just like her mother taught her. Mimi and I raised three kids, all grown and scattered across the country, and we’ve got two grandkids, a granddaughter and a grandson. Mimi rules the kitchen, and our dog Pepper rules the house.
What You’ll Find Here
- Reviews: Kitchen gear, tech, and tools, tested in real family life.
- Canning: Pressure and water-bath canning, safety first.
- Recipes: Family classics and new experiments.
- Gardening: What’s growing in my raised beds, and what I learn along the way.
How I Review
I buy every product with my own money. Nobody sends me freebies, so nobody tells me what to say. I use it myself before I write a word, every review lists pros and cons plus a clear verdict, and I’ll tell you whether it’s worth your money, even when the answer is no.
Find Me on TikTok
Quick videos from the homestead, kitchen, and garden live at @papstevereviews. See them all on my TikTok page.
Got a question or a gadget you want me to test? Drop it in the comments.
God Bless Y’all,
Pap Steve
English