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The kids are starting school, the garden is winding down, the firewood is stacked, and the animals are going to butcher. It’s almost time to settle in for winter and this year I have created a reading list for myself. There are a few homesteading things I am very excited to learn over the winter and expand next growing season. I am also very excited to do more cooking and baking. Today I am sharing my reading list that has me very excited for cold days by the wood cookstove.
The thing that has me most excited about winter is cooking with our wood cookstove. I love cooking with the cookstove but it is much to warm to get it started in the winter. Somewhere around October we will start using it for heat, but to get it warm enough for baking I will have to wait even longer. In the meantime I plan to research and read these books:
- Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish: recipes and techniques for artisan bread and pizza, this was a gift from my husband and I am excited to make fresh bread for him
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: while I prefer the Ball Blue Book for beginners, this book will help expand into more canning recipes, studying recipes before buying seeds can help you choose what to grow
- The Prairie Homestead Cookbook by Jill Winger: my all-time favorite cookbook, we use this book weekly but I hope to try even more recipes this winter
I spend a good amount of time paging through seed catalogs in the winter and planning my garden. This year I am especially excited to read a book written by my favorite Youtuber Roots and Refuge. This year I started a tea garden because I received a tea garden set of seeds from a friend. I have loved growing a tea garden and want to expand next year. I didn’t really know where to start, so I picked a book with great reviews and I will give it a try!
- The First Time Gardener – Growing Vegetables by Jessica Sowards: the book has the very best encouragement and gardening advice, highly recommended no matter where you are in your gardening journey
- Growing Your Own Tea Garden by Jodi Helmer: how to grow, harvest, store, and brew tea
Next up, new hobbies. As I expanded into growing more herbs, I have become interested in soap making and infusions. This year I made calendula salve and I would love to expand to more healing products. I was skeptical at first, but the salve really did make a difference for my husband who struggles with dry, cracked hands.
- Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich: learning the homestead lifestyle without the homestead, self-sufficiency in a city setting
- Healing Herbal Infusions by Colleen Codekas: home remedies for the entire family using herbs
- Simple and Natural Soapmaking by Jan Berry: making botanical soaps using an herb garden, farm, and forest
Lastly, if you are looking for something to share with your kids with beautiful illustrations, this last book is for you. This might be my favorite book on the list.
- Farm Anatomy – The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life by Julia Rothman: Learn all about life on the farm through beautiful illustrations and diagrams
Life on a homestead with 3 little homeschooled boys isn’t always relaxing, but I’m going to picture myself rocking my the wood stove with one of these books in my hand. Maybe if I imagine it enough, it will become my reality. What is on your reading list this winter? Share in the comments below or share with me on Facebook and Instagram. Happy reading!
