Preparing food

One of the encouraging things about homesteading is that it is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Homestead life has many different aspects, each of which can be tackled incrementally, and even the smallest amount of effort at some aspect will lead to healthier and more satisfying living.

This is certainly clear when it comes to preserving and preparing food. The satisfaction will be even greater when the food you prepare and preserve is food that you've raised yourself, but much goodness can be found in taking fresh, clean food from any source and using it to feed your family.

Most cookbooks focus on creating something new (and presumably exciting) out of the ingredients at hand. But one of the joys of food on the homestead is that the basic ingredients are themselves endlessly satisfying; rather than enhancing or even disguising the flavors of meats and vegetables, one does well to focus on those flavors. We've collected together some cookbooks that recognize this, ones that concentrate on the preparation of basic ingredients so that their own flavors are the centerpiece of the dish.

 

• The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook. Shannon Hayes presents 125 recipes spotlighting the unique flavors and distinct characteristics of foods that come from animals raised on pasture. It discusses the nutritional, environmental, social, and animal-welfare benefits of pasture-based farming as well as simple strategies for finding and preparing grassfed and pasture-raised foods.
• The Farmer and the Grill. Shannon Hayes returns to explore the world of grilling, barbecuing and spit-roasting grassfed and pastured meats. Packed with fool-proof techniques, tasty and easy-to-cook recipes, witty anecdotes and insightful essays
• Great Sausage Recipes. This is the most comprehensive book available on sausage making and meat curing and has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. It is easily understood, contains a wide variety of recipes, and is very effective in helping solve common problems.
• The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery. More than simply a cookbook, it combines more than 500 unpretentious, delectable recipes with the wit and wisdom of those who have prepared and eaten such foods for generations. Drawn from the wealth of material gathered by Foxfire students, this engaging volume evokes the foodways of a southern Appalachian community.
• Roadfood offers an extended tour of the most affordable, most enjoyable dining options along America's highways and back roads. Filled with enticing alternatives for chain-weary travelers, Roadfood provides descriptions of and directions to (complete with regional maps) the best lobster shacks on the East Coast; the ultimate barbecue joints down South; the most indulgent steak houses in the Midwest; and dozens of top-notch diners, hotdog stands, ice-cream parlors, and uniquely regional finds in between.