In this episode, Elaine Acker interviews Chelsea Nicole of Little Mountain Ranch in British Columbia, Canada. They discuss the concept of homesteading and Chelsea’s experiences growing food, stocking the pantry, and cooking from scratch. They also touch on Chelsea’s recently published cookbook and her advice for aspiring cookbook authors. Throughout the conversation, Chelsea emphasizes the importance of self-sufficiency, simplicity in cooking, and the joy of preserving family recipes.

Guest

· Chelsea Nicole: Owner of Little Mountain Ranch and author of a cookbook

Links

· Little Mountain Ranch Website

· Little Mountain Ranch YouTube Channel

· Postcards from the Kitchen blog article featuring Chelsea Nicole

Topics discussed

· Definition of homesteading

· Growing food and self-sufficiency

· Stocking the pantry and food preservation methods

· Cooking from scratch and simple recipes

· Challenges of living in the north with a short growing season

· Chelsea’s recently published cookbook and its reception

· Advice for aspiring cookbook authors

Key takeaways

· Homesteading is about being self-sufficient and having independence from food systems.

· Chelsea grows about 50% of her family’s vegetables, 100% of their meat, 75% of their dairy, and all of their eggs.

· She preserves food through canning, root cellaring, freeze drying, and cold storage.

· Cooking from scratch is less difficult and less expensive than people think, and it allows for more control over ingredients and flavors.

· Chelsea’s cookbook has received positive feedback for its old-fashioned recipes, simplicity, and large font.

· Working with professionals like Elaine Acker at The Cookbook Creative can help make the cookbook publishing process smoother and more successful.

· Chelsea finds joy in passing down family recipes and seeing them become part of other families’ traditions.

Notable quotes

· “Homesteading is about being as self-sufficient as you can be, having some independence from food systems, and being able to source what you need for your day-to-day life from your own land as much as possible.” - Chelsea Nicole

· “Cooking from food that you can either get at a farmer’s market or you can grow in your own backyard has reinstilled in me… a sense of roots that I didn’t really have before.” - Chelsea Nicole

· “Cooking from scratch and eating at home… has moved out of our culture in a lot of ways, and people are coming back to that in droves now, especially with inflation and all of that. Food is very expensive, and it’s a lot less expensive to cook from scratch.” - Chelsea Nicole

· “Every recipe has a story. There’s somebody behind it, and they were bringing family and friends together around food and making memories.” - Elaine Acker

· “It thrills me that somebody might take one of these recipes and it might become part of their family, and then it would get passed down in their family.” - Chelsea Nicole

Entities mentioned

· Little Mountain Ranch

· The Cookbook Creative

Keywords

homesteading, self-sufficiency, growing food, stocking the pantry, cooking from scratch, food preservation, cookbook, family recipes, simplicity, roots, publishing, advice

Do you want to publish a cookbook? Visit The Cookbook Creative and find out how to publish your own cookbook. We can take you from the idea to Amazon in as little as 90 days!