As my last day of farm work approaches, I’m thinking a lot about what books I’ll be reading during my two-month long hibernation before I have to start pruning fruit trees in February.
If you’re also looking for food-related books to read (and cook out of) this winter, here are some of my recommendations.
1. Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables From Your Home Garden All Year Long by Eliot Coleman: My goal is to be able to harvest winter salad greens from my garden by 2012. This book is my guide.
2. The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley: I’ve been obsessed with this vegetarian cookbook for months now. The recipes are sophisticated without being overly complicated. Plenty of vegan recipes as well!
3. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver: The book that first made me realize that I wanted to grow my own food.
4. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan: Most foodies I know have read The Omnivore’s Dilemma but haven’t read this follow-up yet. It’s well worth the read, especially if you’re interested in nutrition.
5. Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life by Jamie Oliver: An inspiring cookbook full of seasonal recipes and growing tips. Also a great chapter on cooking wild game.
6. Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter: Carpenter’s account of growing produce and raising poultry, rabbits, pigs, and bees in a vacant lot in Oakland is hilarious and inspiring.
Please share your recommendations as comments!
Image courtesy of megabeth via a Creative Commons license.
Too many to list! I’d have to say my favorites this year have been James Beard’s American Cookery and The Dirty Life.
I know it’s a little bit corny, but I devoured the book Like Water for Chocolate as a teen.
Steak, by Mark Schatzker
The Sheer Ecstasy Of Being A Lunatic Farmer & Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal by Joel Salatin
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain