Book picks similar to
Jackie French's Chook Book by Jackie French


non-fiction
gardening
enviro-sustainability-alternacultur
childrens

Life & Love: Creating The Dream


Lisa Messenger - 2015
    But, while it can look perfect on paper, Lisa admits her life hasn’t always been that way. Blending advice from mentors and role models, together with lessons she’s learned the hard way, Lisa’s personal journey is proof that no mistake is undoable, no relationship is unfixable and no failure is in vain if you have the right attitude and an abundance of gratitude.“In the short time I have known Lisa, she’s had an infectious spark, and a crazy, fun, anything’s possible, entrepreneurial attitude. She’s a woman to watch.”- SIR RICHARD BRANSON

Black Caviar


Gerard Whateley - 2012
    This is greatness the likes of which is rarely seen. This is a tale that will not weary. This is the authorised story of the horse that couldn't be beaten, by acclaimed journalist and broadcaster Gerard Whateley.Black Caviar is the biography of the Australian champion, written by acclaimed journalist and broadcaster Gerard Whateley, with a foreword by Peter Moody, BLACK CAVIAR this book documents the career of the racehorse who transcended the track to become an Australian icon. It begins with the entrancing story of champion trainer Peter Moody, a self-made man bred in the remote outback of Queensland, who came to select and guide the fastest horse the world had ever seen. Under Moody's patient and masterful guidance, the hulking injury-prone filly matured into a champion, idolized by a devoted following more akin to a rock band than a racehorse. Her gift is to defy the very nature of sport, making victory look both certain and effortless. But would her customary speed be enough to prevail at the most famous race track of all? At the climax of the tale, half a world away from her devoted nation and in front of the Queen, Black Caviar set out to conquer the world. With her invincible run and marauding dominance, Black Caviar has returned racing to the glory days of more than half a century past and secured a reputation that will echo for as long as horses are sent out to race.

What Is My Cat Thinking?


Gwen Bailey - 2002
    Understand why your cat behaves the way it does so you can respond to their changing needs - Detailed descriptions of all aspects of behaviour, from scratching furniture to rubbing against people's legs - Specially commissioned colour photography - Question and answer tip boxes - Written by leading animal behaviourist for The Blue Cross

Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family


Cameron Bloom - 2016
    People the world over have fallen in love with the stunning and deeply personal images of this rescued bird and her human family. But there is far more to Penguin's story than meets the eye. It begins with a shocking accident, in which Cameron's wife, Sam, suffers a near fatal fall that leaves her paralysed and deeply depressed.Into their lives comes Penguin, an injured magpie chick abandoned after she fell from her nest. Penguin's rescue and the incredible joy and strength she gives Sam and all those who helped her survive demonstrates that, however bleak things seem, compassion, friendship and support can come from unexpected quarters, ensuring there are always better days ahead. This plucky little magpie reminds us all that, no matter how lost, fragile or damaged we feel, accepting the love of others and loving them in return will help to make us whole.

The Mindful Kind


Rachael Kable - 2020
    Discover effective and practical mindfulness and meditation strategies and learn to apply them in all life areas, including work, relationships and self-care. Learn skills to increase resilience and improve wellbeing throughout their lives. Be encouraged and inspired to create an ongoing mindfulness practice.

Possum Magic


Mem Fox - 1983
    But when Hush longs to be able to see herself again, the two possums must make their way across Australia to find the magic food that will make Hush visible once more. “Another treat from Mem Fox that is sure to be treasured. The whimsical illustrations are a wonderful complement.”--Children’s Book Review Service

The Amateur Naturalist


Gerald Durrell - 1982
    First published in 1982.

Homegrown and Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living


Deborah Niemann - 2011
    The incidence of diet-related diseases, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease, has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Whether you have forty acres and a mule or a condo with a balcony, you can do more than you think to safeguard your health, your money, and the planet.Homegrown and Handmade shows how making things from scratch and growing at least some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life. Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, it's packed with answers and solutions to help you:Take control of your food supply from seed to plate Raise small and medium livestock for fun, food, and fiber Rediscover traditional skills to meet more of your family's needs than you ever thought possibleThis comprehensive guide to food and fiber from scratch proves that attitude and knowledge is more important than acreage. Written from the perspective of a successful self-taught modern homesteader, this well illustrated, practical, and accessible manual will appeal to anyone who dreams of a simpler life.Deborah Niemann is a homesteader, writer, and self-sufficiency expert who presents extensively on topics including soapmaking, bread baking, cheesemaking, composting, and homeschooling. She and her family raise sheep, pigs, cattle, goats, chickens, and turkeys for meat, eggs, and dairy products, while an organic garden and orchard provides fruit and vegetables.

The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks


Amy Stewart - 2013
    Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley. Gin was born from a conifer shrub when a Dutch physician added oil of juniper to a clear spirit, believing that juniper berries would cure kidney disorders. "The Drunken Botanist" uncovers the enlightening botanical history and the fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even one fungus).Some of the most extraordinary and obscure plants have been fermented and distilled, and they each represent a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history. Molasses was an essential ingredient in American independence: when the British forced the colonies to buy British (not French) molasses for their New World rum-making, the settlers outrage kindled the American Revolution. Rye, which turns up in countless spirits, is vulnerable to ergot, which contains a precursor to LSD, and some historians have speculated that the Salem witch trials occurred because girls poisoned by ergot had seizures that made townspeople think they d been bewitched. Then there's the tale of the thirty-year court battle that took place over the trademarking of Angostura bitters, which may or may not actually contain bark from the Angostura tree.With a delightful two-color vintage-style interior, over fifty drink recipes, growing tips for gardeners, and advice that carries Stewart's trademark wit, this is the perfect gift for gardeners and cocktail aficionados alike.

Whole Larder Love: Grow Gather Hunt Cook


Rohan Anderson - 2012
    Going beyond farm-to-table to encompass garden, forest, field, stream, and storeroom-to-table, author Rohan Anderson vividly illustrates the benefits of a lifestyle geared towards providing for yourself from the natural world. Whole Larder Love  author and ultimate DIY-er Rohan Anderson is a family man and a modern-day hunter-gatherer living just outside the historical town of Ballarat, an 1800s gold rush town in Australia. Within this rural landscape Anderson has capitalized on the opportunities for many a culinary adventure. Primarily concerned with how to live off of the land and provide himself and his family with fresh, local food, Anderson has become a passionate hunter, fisher, forager, gardener, pickler, and sometimes barterer. Anderson now wants to share his secrets and experiences in order to help move people away from unhealthy eating habits and people away from unhealthy eating habits and towards a more environmentally sustainable food industry.Food is an integral part of our lives. And in recent years, more and more people have been asking questions about the food they eat: How does that food get to our plates? How was it grown? What chemicals were used? How was the animal treated? What are the impacts on the environment? In Whole Larder Love, Anderson gives us easy to follow tips and instructions for setting up a home garden, the best practices for hunting and fishing, how to identify and collect edible food growing in the wild, and the proper tools, gear, and resources to use. Additionally, he gives us a slew of exciting recipes and preparation methods for our ingredients once they've been collected. This combination how-to manual and cookbook is beautifully illustrated in full-color with Anderson's own photographs, capturing his ingredients, gear, rural surroundings, and exquisite dishes in rich and vivid detail. And with suggestions for possible substitutions and tips on bartering and selecting food from farmer's markets, Whole Larder Love is perfect for foodies, farmers, hunters, gardeners—even urbanites looking to inject their lives with a little rural romance—and anyone else interested in getting more involved with the origins of the food they eat.Mouthwatering recipes include: Kale Fusilli Tris, Potimarron & Gorgonzola Soup, Vindaloo Hare, Quail Ragu with Polenta, Wild Duck Risotto, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Venison Ossobuco, Eel Cake with White Beans, Chili-Pickled Wild Mushrooms, Spud & Nettle Soup, Arrabiata Fish & Chips, Pork Rack Roast with Honey-roasted Wild Pear and many, many more!

Perfect Pierogi Recipes


Rose wysocki - 2013
    Some are recipes from her Polish Mother and Grandmother. Others are recipes she's collected or developed over the years. You’ll find a total of 51 recipes. There are an additional 26 toppings listed without recipes. They are very easy to make. That includes recipes for: 10 different pierogi doughs (traditional and contemporary), 15 savory fillings, 6 sweet fillings, 3 traditional pierogi toppings, 2 contemporary toppings, 9 compound butters and 6 sauces. I also included a list of 16 additional traditional toppings and 10 contemporary toppings (without recipes.) Finally you’ll find a lot of information about the history of pierogi, how to make pierogi dough, different methods to cut, stuff and seal the pierogi, how to best boil, saute, deep fry or bake pierogi, how to freeze pierogi and more. She also provides links to a couple of pierogi cutting and sealing tools that will save you a lot of time preparing pierogi.Making pierogi at home is really easy if you have the right directions. This book will give you a head start on making perfect pierogi.

The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet


Dave Goulson - 2019
    Wherever you are right now, the chances are that there are worms, woodlice, centipedes, flies, silverfish, wasps, beetles, mice, shrews and much, much more, quietly living within just a few paces of you.Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under the lawn and diving into the garden pond. He explains how our lives and ultimately the fate of humankind are inextricably intertwined with that of earwigs, bees, lacewings and hoverflies, unappreciated heroes of the natural world.The Garden Jungle is at times an immensely serious book, exploring the environmental harm inadvertently done by gardeners who buy intensively reared plants in disposable plastic pots, sprayed with pesticides and grown in peat cut from the ground. Goulson argues that gardens could become places where we can reconnect with nature and rediscover where food comes from. With just a few small changes, our gardens could become a vast network of tiny nature reserves, where humans and wildlife can thrive together in harmony rather than conflict.For anyone who has a garden, and cares about our planet, this book is essential reading.

The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen: With More than 150 Inspirational Low-Carb, High-Fat Recipes to Maximize Your Health


Carolyn Ketchum - 2017
    She delivers a delectable array of recipes from easy family favorites to more gourmet, "date night" fare. Each recipe is made from fresh, accessible, whole-food ingredients and is free of grains, gluten, and sugar. From breakfast to dessert and everything in between, these recipes will inspire readers to get into the kitchen and enjoy cooking, every day. With more and more people turning to the ketogenic diet to regain health, lose weight, or simply feel their best, low-carb, high-fat diets have established their place in the mainstream and have become an everyday way of life. With the diet's rising popularity comes a greater demand for recipes that entice the palate, excite the senses, and deliver satisfaction without starvation. The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen answers that demand and shows people how to go beyond eggs, meat, and cheese and love the way they eat! The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen will enable readers to break free from the constraints of modern dieting and put them on a path to lifelong heath with a keto-adapted lifestyle. Ketchum teaches how to create keto-friendly recipes that taste just as good, if not better than, their unhealthy counterparts. Her recipes allow people to enjoy the taste, freedom, and sustainability of the keto way--without the restriction of typical fad diets. The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen includes 150 step-by-step recipes with full-color photos, a simple guide to getting started, tips and tricks on mastering keto cooking and baking, shopping lists, and much more! Sample recipes include: Cream Cheese Waffles Red Wine Braised Short Ribs Sautéed Green Beans with Crispy Prosciutto Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup Brown Butter Ice Cream Easy Peanut Butter Cups For aspiring home cooks, kitchen warriors, and anyone else looking for new and delicious low-carb dishes, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen is a must-have!

The Coffin Confessor


William Edgar - 2021
    That the man in the coffin had a few things to say.’Imagine you are dying with a secret. Something you’ve never had the courage to tell your friends and family. Or a last wish – a task you need carried out before you can rest in peace. Now imagine there’s a man who can take care of all that, who has no respect for the living, who will do anything for the dead.Bill Edgar is the Coffin Confessor – a one-of-a-kind professional, a man on a mission to make good on these last requests on behalf of his soon-to-be-deceased clients. And this is the extraordinary story of how he became that man.Bill has been many things in this life: son of one of Australia’s most notorious gangsters, homeless street-kid, maximum-security prisoner, hard man, family man, car thief, professional punching bag, philosopher, inventor, private investigator, victim of horrific childhood sexual abuse and an activist fighting to bring down the institutions that let it happen. A survivor.As a little boy, he learned the hard way that society is full of people who fall through the cracks – who die without their stories being told. Now his life’s work is to make sure his clients’ voices are heard, and their last wishes delivered: the small-town grandfather who needs his tastefully decorated sex dungeon destroyed before the kids find it. The woman who endured an abusive marriage for decades before finding freedom. The outlaw biker who is afraid of nothing . . . except telling the world he is in love with another man. The dad who desperately needs to track down his estranged daughter so he can find a way to say he's sorry, with one final gift.Confronting and confounding, heartwarming and heartbreaking, The Coffin Confessor is a compelling story of survival and redemption, of a life lived on the fringes of society, on both sides of the law – and what that can teach you about living your best life . . . and death.

The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2019


Lia Leendertz - 2018
    It gives you the tools and inspiration you need to celebrate, mark and appreciate each month of the year in your own particular way. Divided into the 12 months, a set of tables each month gives it the feel and weight of a traditional almanac, providing practical information that gives access to the outdoors and the seasons, perfect for expeditions, meteor-spotting nights and beach holidays. There are also features on each month's unique nature, such as the meteor shower of the month, beehive behaviour, folklore and stories, seasonal recipes and charts tracking moon phases and tides. Why not try identifying trees by their bare buds in January; Enjoy a broad bean, pea shoot & pecorino salad in June; Discover the story of gourmet garlics and how to plant them in October.You will find yourself referring to the almanac all year long, revisiting it again and again, and looking forward to the next edition as the year draws to a close.Praise for The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2018:'The perfect companion to the seasons' - India Knight'A richly layered book of events, celebrations and everyday information that together create a beautiful, fascinating resource . . . In the single month I've had my hands on it, the book has quietly "worked".' - Telegraph'Beautifully written, this pocket-sized guide is a labour of love and will remind you to appreciate little moments throughout the year.' - Gardens Illustrated'Elegant . . . an ideal stocking filler.' - The English Garden