Synopses & Reviews
Growing vegetables and raising livestock is only the beginning of a successful homestead -- that fresh food goes to waste unless you can properly prepare, cook, and preserve it. Andrea Chesman shows you how to bridge the gap between field and table, covering everything from curing meats and making sausage to canning fruits and vegetables, milling flour, working with sourdough, baking no-knead breads, making braises and stews that can be adapted to different cuts of meat, rendering lard and tallow, pickling, making butter and cheese, making yogurt, blanching vegetables for the freezer, making jams and jellies, drying produce, and much more. You’ll learn all the techniques you need to get the most from homegrown foods, along with dozens of simple and delicious recipes, most of which can be adapted to use whatever you have available.
Review
“A stunningly comprehensive guide to making the most out of every last homegrown and hand-raised edible morsel.”— Marissa McLellan, author of Food in Jars and Preserving by the Pint “Whether you grow, glean, or purchase local foods, they usually come to the kitchen with no instructions and in formidable quantities. But now expert help is at hand with this all-in-one-guide for beginning homesteaders."— Linda Ziedrich, author of The Joy of Pickling and The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves “A terrific handbook for anyone who wants to live more self-reliantly, covering everything from growing to preserving and cooking the harvest.”— Deborah Krasner, author of Good Meat
Synopsis
Homegrown Goodness for Table, Freezer, and Pantry
Your backyard homestead is a success! The vegetables and fruit are abundant and the fresh eggs are delicious, but they're more than your family can eat. Your pig is fattening up quickly; will you know how to fill out the cut sheet when it's time to call the butcher? A backyard bounty can be overwhelming.
Andrea Chesman's indispensable guide to gathering, processing, preserving, and eating the fruits of your backyard homestead ensures that nothing goes to waste. Her experience and clear instructions equip you with the skills to make the most of everything you harvest!
About the Author
Andrea Chesman has written more than 20 cookbooks, including Storey’s Pickled Pantry, Recipes from the Root Cellar, Serving Up the Harvest, and Mom’s Best Crowd-Pleasers. She has also written a number of books on grilling, including the James Beard Award nominee The Vegetarian Grill. She has contributed to many publications including the New York Times, Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, Fine Cooking, and many regional and local newspapers. She teaches and does cooking demonstrations and classes at fairs, festivals, book events, and garden shows across the United States. She lives in Ripton, Vermont.
Table of Contents
Preface
IntroductionPART 1 GETTING THE MOST FROM FRESH FOOD
- Setting Up the Homestead Kitchen
- Fresh Vegetables: Harvesting, Handling, Cooking
- Fresh Fruit: Harvesting, Handling, Cooking
- Grains and Beans
- Homemade Sweeteners:Honey, Maple Syrup, and Apple Cider Syrup
- Eggs, Birds, and Rabbits
- Fresh Milk
- Meat: Goat, Lamb, Pork, and Beef
PART 2 FOOD PRESERVATION
- Cold Storage
- Freezing
- Canning: Boiling-Water-Bath and Pressure Canning
- Drying
- Pickling
- Making Fruit Preserves
- Culturing Milk and Making Cheese
- Curing Meats and Making Sausage
PART 3 HOMESTEAD COOKING
- Breakfast and Egg Dishes
- Vegetable, Cheese, and Bean Dishes
- Poultry and Meat Dishes
- Desserts and Baked Goods
Appendix: Basic Cooking Methods
Resources
Metric Conversion Charts
Index