The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home ─ The Happy Luddite's Guide to Self-Sufficiency

The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home is not about extreme, off-the-grid living. It’s for city and suburban dwellers with day jobs: people who love to cook, love fresh natural ingredients, and old techniques for preservation; people who like doing things themselves with a needle and thread, garden hoe, or manual saw.

Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson spread the spirit of antiquated self-sufficiency throughout the household. They offer projects that are decidedly unplugged and a little daring, including:

* Home building projects like rooftop food dehydrators and wood-burning ovens
* Homemaking essentials, from sewing and quilting to rug braiding and soap making
* The wonders of grain: making croissants by hand, sprouting grains, and baking bread
* Adventures with meat: pickled pig’s feet, homemade liverwurst, and celery-cured salami

Intended for industrious cooks and crafters who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home will teach you the history and how-to on projects for every facet of your home, all without the electric toys that take away from the experience of making things by hand.

Ken Albala is professor of history at the University of the Pacific and author of Eating Right in the Renaissance, The Banquet, and Beans: A History.

Rosanna Nafziger Henderson spent her girlhood working in the orchard and selling pies at market. Now she writes about old-fashioned cookery.