DIY Projects, Recipes and Modern Pioneering

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by Blogging for Books for my review.  I was not required to write a positive review, all thoughts and opinions below are my own.




I have a different book to review and share with you all today.  It's called Modern Pioneering by Georgia Pellegrini.

Why did I choose this book?  Well the title intrigued me alone, but with as pricey as life is getting, I was looking forward to learning a few tricks of self-sufficiency that I may not have know before that could save me money!

This book was pretty great, it's not one I sat and read cover to cover.  But instead flipped through it, stopping at the different projects of interest using a note card to come back to it when I was ready to give it a try.
I haven't tried everything in the book and probably never will.  But I do have a couple dozen note cards for DIY projects I plan to work on when I have time.

The book has over 100 recipes.  A lot of them, using things in your cupboards, or things in your garden that you may not have thought of using before to cook.

I do love the small space gardening tips in the book, and there are quite a few of these.  Which I highly recommend for anyone who has anything from a larger garden, to a porch or balcony only garden.

There are also lots of DIY projects, using household items to make fun crafts.  Additionally she has what she calls a "Superwoman Skills" section, which was really fun.  In fact I am seriously learning how to pick a lock because of it!

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites of the different types of projects:

Gardening section; which was one of my favorites.  Teaches you what kind of seeds to save so you won't have to buy seeds next year.  The shelf live of many popular seeds.

Tricks for using cardboard in your garden, yup I loved these tips to get rid of weeds for good!
My favorite section in gardening was the Edible Flower section.  Yes, I never realized you could eat flowers.
In fact if you use the correct flowers in certain sections of your garden, you not only won't have to use pesticides because certain flowers keep bugs away.  But those same flowers can serve two purposes, you can actually eat them.  Yes I tried it with a few, and I was pleasantly surprised!

I also loved learning how I could make a potato garden out of a black garbage bag, yes you read that right!  Although I have space in my yard, I was shocked to learn how you can grow a couple dozen potatoes right in a bag on your porch!

The recipe section; there were so many goodies in this section, several of which I tried.
My favorites were the Watermelon salad, pea pancakes, Melon Agua Fresca, Cauliflower Steaks, Ice Cream without an ice cream maker, Apple butter (yum), Sugared Flowers, Flower Lollipops and loved the section on how to eat a rose!  Yes, you read that right, who knew huh!

Like I mentioned above there are over a 100 of them, and they are using things in your garden, everything from weeds to fruits and veggies that you can grow.  The recipes are using things that you already have, so you can improvise and avoid going to the store!

There are recipe's to make all the essentials that you normally would buy in a store, everything from spices to oils.  Tips on how to become as self-sufficient as possible each year with your garden and save yourself lots of money.

A few "Superwoman trick" are also included, I mentioned picking locks above, yes it does teach you that!  I am still working on honing that skill!
But there are also other useful tips, like how to find water and clean it for drinking.  How to turn yourself into a human compass, making fire without matches (yup, so you will do awesome if you ever get on Survivor.)

There is also a weekend warrior section.  DIY projects like making your own cheese, making your own butter (I've tried that one), making your own tea's, sparkling cider's.  Turning your old mason jars into lanterns, chalk paint for you or your kids, how to turn your glass bottles into cute kitchen drinking jars., wreaths and candle making.  Birdhouses to Antiquing this book has lots of fun weekend projects to try as you have time.

If you enjoy cooking, gardening and projects, this is a fun and unique book that you will likely enjoy!  I am really enjoying trying them myself.  I also have been taking notes, so next year when I plant my garden's, I will be able to get much more out of them, and save myself in the long run!

You can CLICK HERE if you'd like more information on this book or to purchase it.

You can also learn more about GEORGIA PELLEGRINI by visiting he Author page.