Made From Scratch

Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life

by Jenna Woginrich

Another book about sustainable living. This one was a bit different. In the first place, it's written in a simple, friendly style that makes it a breeze to read. The author shares her experiences learning to do many things for herself and learn new homesteading skills, then at the end of each chapter gives some general advice and pointers on doing the same for yourself. In the back is a nice, comprehensive list of books and online resources to find more information. She even has a website where you can read about her doings: Cold Antler Farm.

In Made from Scratch Woginrich describes starting a vegetable garden, raising chickens, keeping bees and learning to make things like bread, noodles, pasta sauce, jam, etc. in her own kitchen. All that sounded familiar. But then she goes on to have angora rabbits to spin their fur into yarn for her own clothes (because she couldn't have sheep, but if you go look at her blog, she has them now, I think!), trains her dogs to carry packs and pull things, and learns to play music on the fiddle and dulcimer. Another aspect I found really interesting was that she made a point of hunting down antique objects to use in her home- like an old cheese grater, or a hand-cranked coffee grinder. She likes the aesthetics of old objects, plus says they're made better, and its nicer to give them a second, useful life than buy something brand-new that might break in a few months anyways. I like that. It wasn't like the guy in See You in a Hundred Years who made himself use old stuff to follow some rule he made up. Woginrich liked and wanted this stuff.

Anyhow, her book is amusing and inspiring, and I want a copy of my own if just to try out some of the recipes.

Rating: 4/5 ........ 184 pages, 2008

more opinions: You've GOTTA Read This!