Sunday, November 20, 2011

Reading and Growing

The word "homesteading" was not really a part of my vocabulary relevant to my life here in my urban-ish Sacramento home before I had chickens, but as I read more and more books that pique my interest, I realize it's exactly what we're doing.  As you may know, homesteading has become more and more in vogue and there are quite a few newer books released on the subject.  I've been collecting and reading so much about gardening, cooking and chicken raising in the last few months and I thought I would share, compare and contrast a few of them with you.  Hopefully, some of these reads will inspire you to read them and in turn start growing your own food as well.  Becoming less dependent on the supermarket and the corporate food supply chain will improve your health, your community and I would like to believe, your karma.

Interestingly, the dictionary definition of "homestead" is "any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes its home."  There was no definition of the word as a verb, as in "homesteading" and nothing about living off the land, raising your own food, etc.  So therefore, it's contemporary use in many newer book releases as well as many from the 1970s I would have to believe are more avant guard.  This surprised me.

The first book I read was published by a magazine who I deeply respect, has a rich history and which I've seen evolve in the last few years to appeal more to my (Generation X) generation. 

Sunset magazine was originally published in 1898 for the Southern Pacific Railroad's Sunset Route as marketing on the train to come out west and reap the bounty of this great area and also to mitigate negative rumors associated with the wild west.  It is a magazine that is always on my nightstand and which, whether you live on the west coast or not, I highly recommend you read.


The One-Block Feast, An Adventure in Food from Yard to Table by Margo True and the staff of Sunset Magazine is the product of a popular blog on the magazine's website in which the staff grow the ingredients for 4 feasts, one for each season on the Menlo Park property that houses the Sunset test home and gardens.  The book authors do a beautiful job of illustrating the garden layout and what to grow in each season as well as how to make the accompaniments to go along with the homegrown fruits and vegetables, such as homemade cheese, honey, beer, wine and vinegar.  The book includes a very nice section on raising chickens and collecting eggs as well as raising bees that are perfect for beginners.  Turns out they have a chicken named Nugget also!  Do they have a 3-year-old naming their layers as well?  The recipes are wonderfully fresh and authentic and of course are accompanied by lovely photography you would expect from a magazine publisher. 



Something I really loved about the book is that they told me what they did wrong or did not turn out as they expected.  For instance, the growing of hops, barley and wheat for beer making was not what they had expected and took at lot of effort.  "As we were thinking that perhaps what we should have done was bag up the grain and whack it like a pinata, or maybe run over it with a car, we found out - wheat- that we should have put the seed head in a large, strong sack and then danced the twist on it with rubber-soled shoes."  These moments of transparency in their journey into growing their own feasts, not only present ways to get the end product in an easier, more cost-effective or efficient manner, but also they show the reader, that these people don't know much more than they do and maybe they can do it too!

Recipes such as lemon-thyme ice cream sandwiches, egg and Gouda crepes, oven-baked steak fries with green chile mayonnaise all make you want to grow and eat.  I highly recommend this book especially if you live in Northern California. 


I will be reviewing more in this series of homesteading books in the days to come, so please check back soon and also make sure you check out these books on your own!  You won't be sorry you did. 

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