Kitchen Witch: Natural Remedies and Crafts for Home, Health, and Beauty

by Katie Haegele, Nadine Schneider

Cast a spell to turn your kitchen into a healthy haven. Learn about traditional healing methods, gain practical DIY skills, and extricate yourself from reliance on the toxic consumer products that we have come to take for granted. Recipes and tips cover all aspects of a natural lifestyle, from home and garden to body and mind. Simple instructions and a thorough list of tools and ingredients provides you with everything you need to get started, while the annotated bibliography steers curious readers to even more information. Simple, traditional living can connect us with our ancestors, our children, and ourselves, especially during this time of political turmoil and environmental crisis. -Microcosm Publishing

256 pages, Hardcover

Published November 12, 2021

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less witchy and more a list of homecrafts. In places the formatting was terrible with little boxes inserted in weird places in the text which were about different things than the main body of the text. Also, the authors seem unaware that any countries exist outside of America.

[molls · Rating 2 out of 5]

the title is misleading. i picked it up thinking it would have info on actual kitchen witchery (you know, like cooking? the main thing kitchen witches do?). instead i got a book detailing how to make your own cleaning solutions. there was some good info on diy cleaners and things, but tbh you could just google them. for now this will stay on my shelf, but eventually it'll get donated or given away and i wouldn't buy it again

[Maddie Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because Goodreads is behind the wave (shoutout Storygraph).

Picked this up from an indie publisher in Portland, which is the most on-brand thing for a book like this. I liked the emphasis on non-plastic and reusable items and the breakdown of what an infusion vs decoction vs tincture is. However, a lot of the projects in the book are a little basic, like they feel like they’re already saved to the Pinterest board of anyone who would buy this book. Also didn’t have any illustrations, which it could really benefit from!

But I like that I own this, I like supporting indie publishers, and I want to try making the laundry soap recipe.

[Riley V. Thorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book but I rated it a 4 star instead of 5 because I think it's confused on its branding.
Being called "Kitchen Witch" I expected it to have food spells, and the general witchcraft you'd find in the kitchen, which is not really what this book offered. This book had nothing to do with the Kitchen, let alone anything magical. The authors, in the beginning, even go as far as to say that they're only talking about the mundane, it's up to you to bring the magic. To further my point, in the bibliography there are only 3 sources under the "Witchcraft and Esoterica" section, two of them being about crystals and tarot, not even witchcraft! I feel the title was very misleading and should have been called something like "Natural Living" instead. The last chapter in the book was also confusing. After an entire book about talking about cleaning methods and caring for the natural world, we get a couple of pages on tarot and crystals. It just feels like it was added as an afterthought because those things are what's popular in witchcraft right now.
That being said, I loved this book. I have been looking for a good book to get me started on living naturally by breaking away from the use of big brand chemical cleaners, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, perfume fragrances, and chemical filled skincare products, and this book gave me a stepping stone to start in that direction. There are plenty of resources in the back, including some trusted shops to get your materials from. I also appreciated the essential oils safety section, not many books have that and I find it irresponsible when they don't. The entire book is straightforward and easy to understand and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to live naturally, but not someone searching for kitchen witchcraft.

[Larra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited when I received this book as a gift, and went into it with gusto. It was perplexing in its lack of depth and I found it pretty basic. I had higher expectations simply due to the title, my own shortcoming there.

There was more value in the list of resources in the back then in reading the book. If you are a novice and interested in a top line variety pack of DIY crafts, this might be perfect for you. If you have any experience in crafting, I’d check it out of the library - maybe. If you are indeed seeking kitchen witchery specific info, consider it a hard pass.

I also agree with someone else’s review regarding the formatting. Having sections with fine serif, reversed-out type on porous paper made it a challenge that was not rewarded by its content. My favorite part of the book was it’s physical size, and friendly cover design.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Nerd Your Way Challenge 2022

I really kind of liked this book. If you studied Witches and Witchcraft, you know they have a very negative history because of fear and misunderstanding... but mostly it was fear. Kitchen Witch brings it back to the natural side of the Witch. Doing what you can for the environment by mixing your own cleaning an beauty products. Learning how to grow and harvest herbs for your pantry. Making crafts that will benefit all naturally. I really enjoyed the way this book was done and it is one that we are planning to purchase.

[Natalierose · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful primer for folks new to making natural remedies at home! I stumbled across this independent publishing house (Microcosm) quite by accident, but I'm glad I did! This modern take on kitchen witchery was perfect for a novice like me. With lists of tools and ingredients you'll need to get started, bits of history, and a robust bibliography, I think I'll be keeping this book at hand for quite a while!

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! Our house has never smelled better. Like the title says, Kitchen Witch is full of recipes and crafts for the home. I found the two authors had warm, inviting voices, and I'll look for other publications of theirs. We had fun making the things we tried, and the air freshener is now a regular around here.

[Garrison Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the subtitle implies, there isn’t any magick to be had in this book. However, it uses the knowledge of previous generations and personal experiences to help the reader become grounded (haha) in natural cleaning agents, as well as practical uses for herbs, essential oils, infusions, etc. I consider it a must-have for anyone wanted to explore methods of care without the use of commercialized products.

[SteFF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, Practical knowledge. When some hear the world "witch" they immediately become defensive. Yet, natural remedies are just things of the past that need to be brought back! Less chemicals, better health. Who wouldn't want that? This book is perfect to keep on hand for a quick reference.

[JH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind ofweak. Very short and mostly filled with recipes for DIY deodorant, and household cleansers.