6 Food Stories To Inspire you

Late winter to early spring can be such a frustrating transition for a gardener/food crafter.

As we look at the calendar, we are chomping at the bit to:

• Plant the garden
• Harvest the garden
• Preserve from the garden
• Eat watermelon again!

But it is not quite time yet.

We are in flux.

That is why this is the perfect time to dive into a book…perhaps between seed catalog browsing.

But instead of offering you a list of gardening books or cookbooks, I want to suggest a different genre of reading.

I’d like to suggest that you look into the genre of farmer or homesteader memoirs – true stories of how other people have jumped into this crazy, organic lifestyle with both feet Wellie Boots. And how they persevered, despite some bumps in the road.

Like most of us, the writers in these books start without a clue what they are doing.

(You gotta love that!)

They make mistakes, gain knowledge and share their lessons.

I don’t normally read memoirs.

But when it comes to these farm and food stories, I find inspiration, grit and humor – all of which is important in life. As I finish the book, I usually feel as if I have made a new friendship with someone who “gets” it.

Here are a few of my favorites – in no particular order.

Hopefully one of these will keep you satisfied until we can really dig into spring.

It’s so close!

Growing A Farmer – How I Learned to Live Off the Land

By Kurt Timmermeister

What I love about Kurt’s story is that he came to farming by way of food. He describes homegrown flavors so well that you can almost taste it. While working as a successful chef and restaurateur, (owning several esteemed café’s in Seattle) he bought 4 acres on Vashon Island just so he could start farming on the weekends…for fun. Before he know it, he had bees, a cow and a complete life overhaul. This is the story of his transformation (bit-by-bit) from restaurant owner to a food-conscious, fulltime farmer.

Growing a Feast – The Chronicle of a Farm-to-Table Meal

By Kurt Timmermeister

This book picks up where the first book left off and describes how Kurt expanded his thriving farm and artesian cheese business to include legendary farm-to-table dinners. He takes us along as he creates a truly local, seasonal food business. Once again I found myself enthralled with his descriptions of the harvests, meal preps and heirloom produce.

Made From Scratch

By Jenna Woginrich

Today, Jenna is a very well known-homesteading blogger (Cold Antler Farm blog) and has written several books. But this particular book came out in the beginning and is about her journey into homesteading while still working a full-time job. If you love it, then you have to move on to Cold Antler Farm.

The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food and Love

By Kristin Kimball

I have to admit – I initially picked up this book because of the title. Ha! But it turned out to be a great story about how a piece of land transformed the author. Kristin started as a writer from the city (high heels and all) and stumbled into this lifestyle when she fell in love with a farmer. Her writing ability shines through on this one.

The Feast Nearby

By Robin Mather

The subtitle to this book is: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on forty dollars a week). After 25 years as a lucrative food writer, Robin’s life changed drastically as she moved away from the city and figured out how to eat good food on a tight budget. This book is not about farming. It is about local food and the challenges and rewards that come from eating locally year round. Plus there are some drool-worthy recipes included.

Greenhorns – The Next Generation of American Farmers

This book is a collection of 50 essays by newbie farmers and comes from the grassroots Greenhorns Organization that supports new farmers. Each story is different and has a different personality – just like the farmers who wrote them. Some are funny; others are inspirational. All are hopeful. Even though I have no plans to go into farming like this, I enjoyed reading about others who have.

Do you know of other memoirs related to homesteading, farming, or food?

Please share in the comments! 

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