Pay It Forward Book Exchange & IDC Update

A couple of IDC updates ago, I mentioned that my summer read is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver.  Benita (Basically Benita)  was the first person to suggest this book to me, and in fact she provided me with a copy to read. Thank you Benita!

Have any of you read this book? If not, and you have any interest in homesteading, farming, gardening, or food, it will be of great interest to you. It's the account of a family who vows to eat only locally produced food, for a year. This includes not only what they can grow and raise for themselves, and but also whatever they can find produced in their part of the country.

This book isn't simply a narrative however. Each chapter focuses on at least one food related topic: how to grow asparagus or potatoes for example, what to do with overly productive squash, poultry processing, cheesemaking, turkey sex, farming in Italy (how is that local? Read the book to find out), the hidden cost of industrialized food production, recipes, and more.

When I asked Benita how quickly she needed the book back, she suggested that I do a "Pay It Forward," either with this book, or with another. Well, since I'm still reading this one and DH wants to read it next, I decided to offer another book to pay it forward with,

Saving Seeds: The Gardener's Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds by Marc Rogers. I mentioned this book last year, when I showed you how it taught me to save cucumber seeds (that post here).  For some reason I have two copies.  It's too good not share, so it's the perfect candidate for my Pay It Forward book exchange offering.

If you're interested in participating and possibly winning Saving Seeds, here's what to do. Leave a comment telling me that you want to join in the fun, making sure I have a way to contact you. Next Saturday (Aug. 21st), I'll randomly select one comment as the winner.  On Sunday, the 22nd, I'll announce the winner. That person receives this book from me, but in turn must host their own book giveaway, offering either this or another book to "pay it forward" to someone else. Since this is a homesteading blog, I suggest we keep the books within that area of interest.

And of course, my Independence Days Challenge update for the past week:

1. Plant Something

• broccoli (Waltham 29 - a new variety for me)
• carrots (Scarlet Nantes - another new variety)

2.  Harvest Something

• okra
• eggs
• blueberries
• figs
• dill weed
• dill seed
• cucumbers
• strawberries
• rosemary
• dried black turtle beans
• watermelon
• buttercup winter squash
• yellow summer squash
• sage
• thyme
• onions (just a few while preparing the carrot bed)

3. Preserve Something

• froze okra
• canned figs
• made & canned dill pickles
• dehydrated watermelon
• froze pizza sauce
• froze chopped, leftover baked potatoes for hash browns
• drying herbs
• froze corn cut from cob

4.  Waste Not - the usual

5.  Want Not

• started planting the fall garden
• seed saving

6.  Build Community Food Systems

• blogging about it
• giving away extra watermelons
• offering a "Pay It Forward" book giveway!

7.  Eat The Food - Proudly announcing our first 100% homestead raised meal:

• Chicken - cooked in slo-cooker
• Roasted potatoes, turnips, and okra
• Tomato and cucumber salad
• Dessert was fig cake, not 100% homestead raised but we did use our own figs and eggs.  

For more Independence Days, click here.

Pay It Forward Book Exchange & IDC Update ©
August 2010 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/