Jill Winger and her family pursue a lifestyle of modern-homesteading on the wide open prairies of Wyoming. They dabble in a variety of small-scale agricultural endeavors including organic gardening, grass-fed beef cattle, home dairying, poultry, and more. Jill blogs at The Prairie Homestead where she encourages others to return to their roots, no matter where they live. In the July issue of Welcome Home, Jill shares her experience in modern-homesteading and includes a recipe from her cookbook! Along with being featured in the July issue of Welcome Home, Jill graciously answered a few questions about being a writer and what’s next for her!

1. Why did you become a writer?
I suppose you could say I came into writing through the back door. Throughout grade school and college, I had multiple teachers say I was a “good” writer, but considering my sights were set on a career in the agriculture or horse industry, I never paid much attention to their compliments. Being a writer was the last thing I ever expected to do! Fast forward to where I am today, a published author who spends a considerable amount of time each week pounding away at the keyboard, I’ve discovered writing is something I truly enjoy. It is, by far, my favorite way to express myself.

2. What inspired your current book?
Living in rural Wyoming has taught me how to cook with very simple, whole food ingredients, since natural food stores and bountiful farmers markets are few and far between. While I always enjoyed browsing the multiple of farm-to-fork cookbooks available, I always felt left out because I never had access to the unique or exotic ingredients the recipes required. I had a hunch I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, so I was determined to create a from-scratch cookbook for people like me.

3. What’s next for you?

I’m currently on the verge of launching my first podcast (Old Fashioned on Purpose) as well as continuing to create services and products that will help the online homestead tribe reach their goals. There’s never a shortage of projects!