Knowledge is rarely passed on through lectures. Most often, it happens around a kitchen table, a garden bed, or a wood stove, while supper is being prepared and everyday life unfolds.
From the garden to the kitchen
It may begin with a few berries from the garden, herbs that need to be gathered before autumn arrives or a harvest that turned out larger than expected. Sometimes it’s simply about making something good from what’s available. Other times it’s about preserving, fermenting, drying or finding another way to save a small part of the year for later.
Making the most of what we have
Some of it has its roots in older ways of cookin’ and preserving food. Other parts come from my own curiosity and from things I’m still learning along the way. I enjoy the meeting between old knowledge and new ideas, but perhaps even more than that, I enjoy the simple things: tryin’ to make a little better use of what I already have around me.
It doesn’t always have to be anything remarkable.
A jar of jam.
Somethin’ quietly fermenting on the kitchen counter.
Bread that’s given all the time it needs.
A stew where some of the ingredients just happen to come from the garden.
That’s homesteading too.
In the followin’ blog posts, you’ll find a whole mess of entries coverin’ everything from harvestin’ to cookin’ with a focus on sustainability. I’ll be sharin’ tips and tricks to hopefully make your journey to self-sufficiency a mite easier and more enjoyable in your homestead kitchen or urban settlement.
A kitchen that follows the seasons
What finds its way here will naturally change throughout the year.
Spring brings its first tender flavors. Summer fills the kitchen with thing’s that are best taken care of while they’re at their peak. Autumn is often about harvestin’ and storin’, while winter offers time to open the jars again – cook from what was saved and think ahead to the next season.
Not everything comes from Alhaga, and I have no intention of pretending otherwise.
To me, homesteadin’ doesn’t mean producing every single thing yourself. It is just as much about understanding food better, learning what you can realistically do on your own and makin’ good use of what you have whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Welcome into the kitchen
This will never be a perfect homestead kitchen where everything is homegrown and every old skill has already been mastered. It’s a kitchen in the middle of the process. A place for recipes that have stayed with me, things I want to learn, old methods worth keepin’ alive and new experiments that sometimes work better than others.
And perhaps that’s exactly where I want the homestead kitchen to be. Somewhere between the garden and the dinner table, between what I already know and everything I still have left to learn.
Not everything has to come from my own kitchen, either. I’d love for Alhaga to be a place where experience, recipes, and knowledge can continue to travel from one person to another. If you have somethin’ of your own you’d like to share, there’s a place right here for you as well, and you’re always welcome to contribute a guest post on Alhaga homestead.
As Alhaga Homestead continues to grow, some articles may include products from trusted partners whose tools we use in our kitchen and around the homestead. Any partnership will always come second to honest experiences and practical knowledge.
As Alhaga homestead continues to grow, some articles may include products from trusted partners whose tools we use in our kitchen and around the homestead. Any partnership will always come second to honest experiences and practical knowledge.
