We think the only thing more fun than preparing and eating amazing food is to read about it! Thus we thought it might be a nice to include some wonderful food-oriented books to explore. So curl up with a hot cup of herb tea and enjoy!
The Omninvore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
A national bestseller that has changed the way readers view the ecology of eating, this revolutionary book by award winner, Michael Pollan, asks the seemingly simple question:
What should we have for dinner? Tracing from source to table each of the food chains that sustain us, whether industrial or organic, alternative or processed, he develops a portrait of the American way of eating. The result is a sweeping, surprising exploration of the hungers that have shaped our evolution, and of the profound implications our food choices have for the health of our species and the future of our planet.
The Oxford Companion to Food, by Alan Davidson
This is a comprehensive encyclopedia of food, from, no really, aardvark, to zucchini and everything, and I do mean everything, in-between. Peppered with illustrations and jammed with historical citations and concise explanations of physical appearance and preparation methods, I won't put any new food in my mouth until I've read what Davidson has to say about it. Expanded essays on staple products like bread, sugar, and rice just add to this book's authority. Knowing the origins of our food helps demonstrate the interconnectedness of our world and how we've all benefited from the ingenuity and hard work of our ancestors and people on the opposite side of the world. A must have for anyone with more than a passing interest in food.
The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating, by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon
A documentary of the eating experiment of Vancouver couple, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon. Unless you've only recently stumbled on the idea of local eating, you've probably heard that the authors ate foods only sourced within 100 miles of their urban apartment for a whole year. What starts as a struggle through the first spring grows into a quiet revolution around the dinner table.
There is a simplicity and honesty in the 100 Mile Diet that makes it attractive and accessible. It's not about rules, it’s about exploration and celebration of everywhere. Smith and MacKinnon are not breaking down a system or digging up the dark side of an industry. They’re celebrating - creating community.
After the release of the book, the 100 Mile Diet became a cultural phenomenon that struck a chord with people around the world. Smith and MacKinnon demonstrate how the daily need to eat can create lasting community by consciously connecting, in the most basic way, with the immediate environment. Along the way, people living in Scotland, Alaska, Sweden, even Antarctica, share 100 mile eating stories with them. Their journey is restricted by geographical boundaries, but the idea transcends them.
The quintessential book about the joys and struggles of local eating.
(For some odd reason the U.S. publisher changed the name of this book to the cumbersome
Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally.)
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