cover image Forgotten Ways for Modern Days: Kitchen Cures and Household Lore for a Natural Home and Garden

Forgotten Ways for Modern Days: Kitchen Cures and Household Lore for a Natural Home and Garden

Rachelle Blondel. Penguin/Perigree, $25 (176p) ISBN 978-0-14-311058-3

In her spare but helpful book, Blondel (Granny Chic) highlights tips and lore from “homemakers of the past.” The book includes a number of suggestions for running a home from what is available in the garden and what comes from nature or is otherwise available in a typical household (such as eggshells). It includes step-by-step help with cleaning, harvesting, preserving, sewing, and even expelling negative energy from dark corners. It also features advice on how to nourish soil naturally (using eggshells, coffee grounds, seaweed, and Epsom salts) and “cures from the kitchen” (using salt for athlete’s foot, tonic water for leg cramps, honey for treating cuts, and olive oil for itchy skin). Think of it as a recipe book for pioneer-type living. It's not for the average homemaker but will prove invaluable to those who earnestly want to reduce waste, save money, and live purely. Color photos. [em](June) [/em]