Published on November 5th, 2009
My bookshelves creak with the weight of my amassed food preservation resource collection. As we grow over 70 percent of our food needs on our Wisconsin farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, the how-to behind stocking up has always been area of personal, passionate research.
But as you can see, I’m already overloaded with info. Do I need another food preservation book? Not really, until I read Sharon Astyk’s latest book: Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage & Preservation, a new release from the fine folks at New Society Publishers. Lots of books, those on my shelves included, successfully detail the “how” of food preservation, from water bath timings to prolific pickling techniques. Independence Days freshly blends “how” with “why,” serving up a modern take on stocking up and why this plays a vital role in our future survival as a planet.
Astyk’s approach, blending practical information and big picture context with a hefty dose of personal anecdotes and essays, nurtures readers into realizing they are doing more than creating a January supper when one puts up tomatoes in July. We’re collectively part of a larger, strategic, hands-on revolution in kitchens across America to change the way we approach food, sustainability and life.
Here’s a sampling of fresh, inspiring perspectives I harvested from Independence Days: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on November 3rd, 2009
“Mom, I’m tired of the same thing every day.”
My kid is in pre-school. Clearly I have hit a rut with lunch box creativity when the single-least adventurous eating demographic is griping. Must be time for some inspiration. Or just more time. Packing lunches is tough, to get specifically “lunch” items, it means adding a third more cooking to your life. That said, with what passes for the average school lunch, it’s time well spent.
Jennifer McCann’s second book, Vegan Lunch Box Around the World, may offer some creative inspiration not just for vegans, but for all of us brown bagging, or reusable, BPA-free bento-ing, these days. Kids, too. The recipes are described as menus for a different country, state or region covering places as diverse as from Kansas to Morocco. Many of the recipes sound intriguing, including Stuffed Dates, Moroccan Tagine, Palak Paneer, and a Basil Salad with Lime and Curry Dressing. These are well worth exploring, especially given the large following of McCann’s award-winning blog “Vegan Lunch Box.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 23rd, 2009
The September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition will publish a widely distributed study that contradicts previous research pointing to health benefits of organic over conventional. The release of the study findings made headlines across major news sources such as CNN and UK news outlets like The Independent and Daily Mail. So, is organic really not any better for you?
The debate continues, and there are more studies showing organic produce has more nutritional values. There is also some interesting research that shows the variety, or cultivar, makes more difference than organic versus conventional, giving heirloom and pre-industrial agriculture varieties a nutritional advantage. Additionally, buying fully-ripened local produce can also be better for you. In the end, organic is less about nutrition than it is about the absence of pesticides and chemicals and sustainable methods. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 22nd, 2009
For days, the rain hasn’t stopped tumbling out of thick woolen clouds. Slowly crawling across the monochromatic canopy, these persistent clouds wrap their heavy grey fingers tightly around the leafy crowns of the brilliant rain-soaked trees. Even when I push back the patterned curtains as far as the window frame will allow, no light comes through the glass. The sound of raindrops crashing against the rooftop is periodically punctuated by sharp jarring claps of thunder.
Outside, brave little seedlings are gasping for breath while new blossoms hold their eyes tightly closed against the rain. Shoots of bright green grass struggle to keep their slim heads above water. I see an orange cat dart across the street. He struggles to maintain aloofness, but it is clear that the weather has taken a severe toll on his dignity. The mail retrieved from the streetside box is soggy and lifeless, the adhesive on the envelopes succumbing to the humidity. Even inside, newly washed clothes hang limply, moisture stubbornly clinging to the threads and fibers.
On a day like this, what better thing to do than to curl up with a book? I just received a brand-new copy of Vegan Rustic Cooking Through the Seasons, authored by Diana White of the UK’s Vegan-Organic Network, an organization whose fascinating farming methods go a step beyond traditional organic farming. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 18th, 2009
Move over, Eat Local. Kate Heyhoe challenges us to reduce our other food-related carbon footprint — our “cookprint.” Heyhoe’s latest book, Cooking Green, is based on the idea that how we cook can make as much an environmental difference as what we cook.
The book covers many of the current issues like food choices, food miles, food labels and sustainable seafood choices. It also ventures into some new territory with information on reducing packaging waste, greenest kitchen tools, kitchen waste and how to store foods to get the longest life from them. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 9th, 2009
Just to be transparent here, I am not a vegan. This doesn’t stop me from exploring Bryant Terry’s latest book, Vegan Soul Kitchen. I like the earthy blend of soul food traditions that Terry creates so well for this book. The twist, of course, is that the collard green recipe doesn’t call for bacon — every recipe is vegan, healthy and layered with flavor.
What you won’t find in this book is a laundry list of the usual recipes. What you will find is recipes for many soul food standard ingredients that Terry has made his very own, giving each a unique spin and a soundtrack to set the mood. Both the music picks and the rhythm of the recipes vary in composition from pure, simple and soulful gospel to complex jazz arrangements a la Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. This is not your same old cookbook. And I like that. A lot.
Standouts on my list of first to try include, appropriately, the greens that in season right now: Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux, Sweet Sweetback’s Salad with Roasted Beat Vinaigrette, Wilted Swiss Chard and Spinach with Lemon-Tahini Dressing. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 27th, 2009
Be Gorgeously Green with author Sophie Uliano and learn how to go lean and green with her new book: the Gorgeously Green Diet: Save Money and the Planet.
Uliano knows that the best way to help our beautiful planet earth is to better care for our food choices. Her book offers hundreds of ecolicious recipes and ways to stay on a budget and save money, while eating green.
Sophie’s first book made the New York Times Bestseller list and she keeps us updated on new developments via her blog. Right now she is offering coupons for pre-orders of her new book. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on October 16th, 2008
The irony of this post being put up on the same day as Stuart Stein’s Do Publishers Think We’re Stupid is not lost on me. But there are some of us who use our cookbooks regularly and do enjoy getting new ones. Or at least getting new-to-you ones.
I just got back from my county library used book sale, and there were two whole tables of used cookbooks with more boxes full of cookbooks under them. I promised to limit myself to only five cookbooks, and I anguished over my choices when there were so many to choose from. At $2 per hardback and $1 per softback, it would have been easy to buy every cookbook that caught my eye. But I restrained myself (plus I wasn’t buying just cookbooks).
If you’ve got a cookbook habit, or if you’re just tired of the same recipes you’ve been using for years and want to pick one or two new ones up, hitting a local library used book sale is a great idea for several reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on October 16th, 2008
The people over at Slashfood turned me on to an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled Publishers Bet Big on Cookbooks. the gist of the article is that even though people maybe cutting back on luxuries like eating out, the tanking cookbook publishers are counting on all of us to buy their product - especially during the upcoming holiday shopping season. By the way, I hate to be the one to tell you this but there are only 69 shopping days left until Christmas.
My question is, Do publishers think we’re stupid?
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on October 10th, 2008
Are you a real man? Then cook like it! The Art of Manliness is a blog “dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man“, and through contributions from readers like you, they’ve put together a Man Cookbook full of recipes to help you rightfully claim your manliness.
Sorry fellas, but you won’t find a single recipe in here that involves the word canape, and precise directions about how to make that “to-die-for” souffle will not be found. However, there are some killer recipes for manly dishes like Hungarian Goulash, Redneck Caviar, even Thai Basil Tempeh for the Veg Man. Read the rest of this entry »
My bookshelves creak with the weight of my amassed food preservation resource collection. As we grow over 70 percent of our food needs on our Wisconsin farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, the how-to behind stocking up has always been area of personal, passionate research.
