Jen's comments (member since Oct 12, 2007)

Jen's comments from the Sustainable Foodies group.

Recently upon re-reading The River Cottage Family Cookbook I fell into a reverie of how much I love this man's manner of imparting food knowledge. He's expressly good at breaking the steps down meaningfully so that a child could take this book off the shelf and make their own butter as well as realize it is part of a process of being from an animal (as there is a picture of a cow being milked directly associated with the section) as opposed to the cooler section of the grocery store. The "this is not as complex as those stores will make you think" aspect is still revolutionary and gets you wanting to try and make your own. Like a cookbook should!

They had a pretty great interview with Novella Carpenter (whose blog I am also obsessed with http://yourcityfarmer.blogspot.com/ )
She and her partner Bill have a one bedroom apartment in Oakland California with an adjacent vacant lot she has converted into a full time farm. Chickens, goats, turkeys, and veggies. I think she's my new hero. I just wish there had been more pictures of the layout. The article said has a book pending for 2009 publication, but the blog and article are pretty good fodder for thought in the meantime.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/fashio...

I'm hopeful for these new farmers. Particularly in light of the statistics that most of our small farmers are about 52 years old right now. I'm sure it is a steep and dangerous learning curve. I couldn't imagine beginning to have the start up cost money.

For those who do already eat as a vegan on a daily basis what one book really informed and balanced your shift in diet?
What helped you begin to cook vegan meals the most? I realize these may be two wholly different things.

Thanks for the options. Do either of these books have any good cues for direct on-the-hearth cooking?

I know little about it but if any particular titles about Amish cooking have been of help to anyone I'd love the information.

I always return to James Peterson's Splendid Soups. Out of newer books I've enjoyed Super Natural Foods quite a bit.