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Back to Basics: Traditional Kitchen Wisdom: Techniques and Recipes for Living A Simpler, More Sustainable Life
There's something to be said for simpler times, when our way of life was wholesome and healthy. There were less pesticides and growth hormones in our food. We were self-reliant and self-sustaining. It's easy to see why, with food costs on the rise, many people are returning to their roots-and root cellars-and finding solace in simple living. With Back to Traditional Wisdom , now anyone This book has easy-to-follow step-by-step illustrated instructions and detailed information about specific fruit and vegetable preparation that will enable anyone to create a truly self-sustainable lifestyle.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2010
6 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Chesman
41 books34 followersI write cookbooks. I also edit them. I am grateful that I have found work that I enjoy.
Pickled Pantry is my newest book. I am very excited about it, and it is already generating favorable reviews.
Mostly I have written about vegetables, but I took a break from them to write 250 Treasured Country Dessertswith my co-author Fran Raboff on, which came out in 2009. The book is an update and expanded version of Mom’s Best Desserts, which was an update and expanded version of The Great American Dessert Cookbook. The collection contains everyone’s favorite home desserts—lots of cookies, brownies, layer cakes, pies, old-fashioned fruit desserts, ice cream, and more.
The New Vegetarian Grill is an updated and expanded version of an earlier book about vegetarian grilling. I’ve also written about cooking with the seasons (Recipes from the Root Cellar, Serving Up the Harvest, The Classic Zucchini Cookbook), roasting vegetables (The Roasted Vegetable), and healthy eating (366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains). Then there is also Mom’s Best Desserts, Mom’s Best One-Dish Suppers, and Mom’s Best Crowd-Pleasers, and a few more that are now out-of-print.
My work has appeared in Edible Green Mountains, Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, Organic Gardening, Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, The New York Times, Natural Health, and several other magazines and newspapers. I was a Rcontributing editor for Vermont Life for twelve years.
Over the years I have edited hundreds of cookbooks, gardening books and others too varied to classify. I also Americanize cookbooks published in England and index books as well.
I live in an old farmhouse in Ripton, Vermont, a very small town where early and late frosts make gardening challenging. The poet Robert Frost used to rent a cottage across the street and took his meals in our house, in what we now call “the Robert Frost Memorial Dining Room.” I am married to Richard Ruane, a marvelous musician and recipe taster. Our kids, Rory and Sam, are also excellent cooks and enthusiastic recipe tasters. They have served as great inspiration for me.
Pickled Pantry is my newest book. I am very excited about it, and it is already generating favorable reviews.
Mostly I have written about vegetables, but I took a break from them to write 250 Treasured Country Dessertswith my co-author Fran Raboff on, which came out in 2009. The book is an update and expanded version of Mom’s Best Desserts, which was an update and expanded version of The Great American Dessert Cookbook. The collection contains everyone’s favorite home desserts—lots of cookies, brownies, layer cakes, pies, old-fashioned fruit desserts, ice cream, and more.
The New Vegetarian Grill is an updated and expanded version of an earlier book about vegetarian grilling. I’ve also written about cooking with the seasons (Recipes from the Root Cellar, Serving Up the Harvest, The Classic Zucchini Cookbook), roasting vegetables (The Roasted Vegetable), and healthy eating (366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains). Then there is also Mom’s Best Desserts, Mom’s Best One-Dish Suppers, and Mom’s Best Crowd-Pleasers, and a few more that are now out-of-print.
My work has appeared in Edible Green Mountains, Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, Organic Gardening, Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, The New York Times, Natural Health, and several other magazines and newspapers. I was a Rcontributing editor for Vermont Life for twelve years.
Over the years I have edited hundreds of cookbooks, gardening books and others too varied to classify. I also Americanize cookbooks published in England and index books as well.
I live in an old farmhouse in Ripton, Vermont, a very small town where early and late frosts make gardening challenging. The poet Robert Frost used to rent a cottage across the street and took his meals in our house, in what we now call “the Robert Frost Memorial Dining Room.” I am married to Richard Ruane, a marvelous musician and recipe taster. Our kids, Rory and Sam, are also excellent cooks and enthusiastic recipe tasters. They have served as great inspiration for me.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 15, 2010
It's not that this book is bad--but it should have "in the Northeast and Midwest" tacked on to the title.
I don't need to know what to plant after the last frost date. There is no last frost date here (though we get frost, but not every year).
I don't have a basement to keep stuff in--the only place I can keep below 40° for storage is called "the refrigerator/freezer."
The liqueur suggestions look interesting. I will try using a cooler and hot water for my yogurt--I currently use a heating pad, and it seems so wasteful.
My husband is a homebrewer, and beer nearly came out his nose when I showed him the "how to make beer" 12-step, 3-page pictorial.
This is one to check out from the library to see if this book will work for you.
I don't need to know what to plant after the last frost date. There is no last frost date here (though we get frost, but not every year).
I don't have a basement to keep stuff in--the only place I can keep below 40° for storage is called "the refrigerator/freezer."
The liqueur suggestions look interesting. I will try using a cooler and hot water for my yogurt--I currently use a heating pad, and it seems so wasteful.
My husband is a homebrewer, and beer nearly came out his nose when I showed him the "how to make beer" 12-step, 3-page pictorial.
This is one to check out from the library to see if this book will work for you.
March 27, 2021
I liked it, just don't think I'd necessarily recommend it as a must-buy.
April 11, 2015
This is a good overview of a variety of food preservation techniques: canning, freezing, drying, cold storage, pickling, as well as turning your fruits and vegetables into other foods that can then be preserved (jams and jellies, juices, wines, fruit leather, etc.). It doesn't go into great detail about anything, and I don't think I'd want to try most of these techniques if this book was the only set of instructions I had. But it told me enough about each technique for me to decide if I'd ever want to do it and gave me a good idea about how much labor and equipment each would take.
January 6, 2017
3 stars.
Informative and accessible, this is more like an encyclopedia of basic skills. It is a shallow look at several "traditional" skills and if you have a comprehensive cook book, you'll get most of the information included elsewhere. It would be best thought of as an easy-access reference guide. Not an essential for my bookshelf.
Informative and accessible, this is more like an encyclopedia of basic skills. It is a shallow look at several "traditional" skills and if you have a comprehensive cook book, you'll get most of the information included elsewhere. It would be best thought of as an easy-access reference guide. Not an essential for my bookshelf.
June 19, 2012
This would be better as a book you own, and consult periodically. Not really a 'check out from the library and read through' sort of book. I liked the watercolor illustrations throughout. Not really anything special for me, though.
May 13, 2011
read this review and others at http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/...
December 30, 2011
2010
Pages copied:
Making and canning ketchup---pages 112-113
Making herbal teas---page 145
Pages copied:
Making and canning ketchup---pages 112-113
Making herbal teas---page 145
January 15, 2012
Great information on cold weather food storage from pickling and canning to drying and root cellars.
July 25, 2012
Lots of good tips in here! Some good recipes too. I can't wait to make my own ketchup!
May 26, 2015
Lots of good growing, preserving and storing tips!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews