5 Gifts for Your Favorite Homesteading Bride
Being a bride had many, many, many challenges and for us, the registry was one of them. The number of people who told me they didn’t like anything on my registry was actually astounding. Aside from the fact that I generally detest colors and much of it was very white, tan, and black, I believe a good deal of it had to do with the fact that many of the items on it were wildly practical for us and our lives.
When making our registry, we were incredibly conscious of the fact that we really didn’t want things just for the sake of wanting things. We focused entirely on need–which mostly included linens for our neglected guest beds. Then we decided to include a number of things for our homesteading lifestyle, which we knew we would need one way or another. And boy did our friends show up. Here–a collection of the best homesteading gifts we received as a bride and groom–most of which were not really on our registry at all!
Canning Jars
We actually had several canning jar sizes on our registry and our friends did not disappoint–we received all of them plus more (and have used most of them since). This is a gift that is 100% sure to be used–and used often.
Bonus tip: canning jar lids are an amazing stocking stuffer or gift basket addition!
Really, Insanely Good Cooking Knives
We did not put this on our registry simply because we had told so many friends about this need, that we were afraid we would end up with triple what we needed. In retrospect, this may have not been that bad! But seriously–a high quality cooking knife–like…cut your arm off on accident sharp high-quality–is among the single best things I have ever received. Enowo’s 8-inch Damascus Steel blade is one of my true loves, though I’ve seen so many indie knife makers come on the scene that I also want to try!
Heavy Duty Kitchen Shears
Similarly to the knives, we didn’t add these to our registry but our blade needs were clear–and that included shears. Cutco Kitchen Super Shears are insanely high quality, heavy duty shears that cut through literally anything (including the tip of my left pointer finger). In the few months since our wedding, I’ve used these to cut veggies, meat, and even frozen lard. Fortunately, they come apart for washing purposes. These are worth the cost over other lower cost kitchen shears.
Six Seasons Cookbook
I generally love cookbooks anyway, but for your homesteading friends specifically, Six Seasons takes the cake as the most useful in that it tells you how to use all of those weird-ass veggies that you don’t really hear about until you start getting a CSA. Fully focused on seasonality, it still also shares a ton of new cooking methods and flavor combos that have amped up our (usually boring) fall and winter meals. Buy from an independent bookstore if you can!
Instant Pot
This addition to the homesteader list may surprise those of you who know me really well. If you don’t, the TL;DR is that I don’t typically love a lot of extra kitchen appliances. So when I got the Pampered Chef Quick Cooker for my bridal shower I was skeptical that I could make good use of it, and even more skeptical that it would make good food. (Sorry, but food cooked on a gas stove is just superior to everything.) So when I made my first full chicken…and then hardboiled eggs…and then grain…and then dried beans…I realized that I had tapped into a tool that could greatly reduce my cooking time on some of the most basic things that I make everyday. I haven’t even tried tapping into the instant pot recipes out there; just having help on these basics has been worth it for me!
Buy any of the above? Tag me on Insta and PROVE IT. #picsoritdidnthappen