Harvest

One of my favorite SNES games is Harvest Moon and I really like the idea of living off the land and learning to make my own things, so is it really any small wonder that I’d be interested in a book that provides inspiration for different projects using garden plants?

Someday when I grow up, I want a zoo of rescue pets, an awesome kitchen, a home gym with poles, silks and lyra, a forest of avocado trees…and my own fruit/veggie/herb garden. (Might as well dream  big, right?!)

Harvest

By Stefani Bittner & Alethea Harampolis

Genre: Cookbook
Pages: 216

Harvest goes through different plants, tips on growing them, what to harvest, how long you can store em’, and a different “project” you can create with it. Not all the projects are edible, but I feel like there’s gotta be something in here for everyone!

The book is divided into 3 different gardening seasons:

Early (late winter to early spring)

Lilac Flower Cream

This section will show you how to make pickled rhubarb, poppy seed dressing, salads, flower arrangements, edible flower-pressed cheese, tea bundles, facial masks…

Elderflower-Infused Honey

Mid (summer to early fall)

Lavender & Mint Tea

Learn how to make herbal sugar (scented geranium sugar), edible flower-infused vinegar, a salve for minor sores/wounds/bites/stings, iced teas, natural dyes, marigold bitters, a lemongrass salt scrub (definitely right up my alley since I like to make my own skin care products!), custom herb blends, lip balms…

Rosewater Facial Toner

Late (late fall to early winter)

Pineapple Guava Simple Syrup

Salads, gin & tonic, edible flower-infused water, smudge sticks to burn as incense, margaritas, flower/herb arrangements to decorate your home…

Edible Flower Garnish

Harvest is full of beautiful photographs and if you happen to have a coffee table, this would be a great choice to have hang out there! <3 There’s a part that gives you project ingredient alternatives at the end of the book! The resource page has sites listed for where to get beeswax, fermentation jars, floral accessories, seeds, herb + edible flower plants, etc.

Calendula-Infused Essential Oil

I’m not much into decorating (my bare apartment walls might have given that away), so I would’ve appreciated a few more non-decorative ideas, and there are definitely some plants in here that aren’t your common run-of-the-mill ones, but I’m still definitely looking forward into trying out the DIY skin care products and edible awesomeness. If you’re an avid DIYer or gardener, this would be an awesome book to check out!

• Do you have your own garden? What are you growing in it?
• If you don’t have a garden, what would you want to grow if you did? (Avocado forest for the win! :O )

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