The Feast Nearby: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally

by Robin Mather

Within a single week in 2009, food journalist Robin Mather found herself on the threshold of a divorce and laid off from her job at the Chicago Tribune. Forced into a radical life change, she returned to her native rural Michigan.  There she learned to live on a limited budget while remaining true to her culinary principles of eating well and as locally as possible. In The Feast Nearby, Mather chronicles her year-long preparing and consuming three home-cooked, totally seasonal, and local meals a day--all on forty dollars a week.  With insight and humor, Mather explores the confusion and needful compromises in eating locally. She examines why local often trumps organic, and wonders why the USDA recommends white bread, powdered milk, and instant orange drinks as part of its “low-cost” food budget program.  Through local eating, Mather forges connections with the farmers, vendors, and growers who provide her with sustenance. She becomes more closely attuned to the nuances of each season, inhabiting her little corner of the world more fully, and building a life richer than she imagined it could be.  The Feast Nearby celebrates small home-roasted coffee, a pantry stocked with home-canned green beans and homemade preserves, and the contented clucking of laying hens in the backyard. Mather also draws on her rich culinary knowledge to present nearly one hundred seasonal recipes that are inspiring, enticing, and economical--cooking goals that don’t always overlap--such as Pickled Asparagus with Lemon, Tarragon, and Garlic; Cider-Braised Pork Loin with Apples and Onions; and Cardamom-Coffee Toffee Bars.  Mather’s poignant, reflective narrative shares encouraging advice for aspiring locavores everywhere, and combines the virtues of kitchen thrift with the pleasures of cooking--and eating--well.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Biography, Biography Memoir

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it a 'ho-hum'. If I didn't live in Michigan I may have just given it a 'hum...' and if I hadn't ever read any local food memoirs, I may have given it a 'horray'. (did any of that make sense?)

One of many "I switched to eating all local foods and it changed my life" memoirs out there, this one has alot of my home state of Michigan in it. It's nice to see how someone eats locally in the same region as myself.

The writing was fine but I didn't feel alot of sympathy for the writer. She lost her job, got divorced, and was broke, so moved to a small cabin in Michigan and ate locally. Just by her tone (and the fact that she's obviously a semi-crazy-bird-lady) I felt less inclined to believe in her plight. So, while I was interested by the topic I was less engaged by the story.

Half recipes, half memoir, it was good for a library read. I'm glad I didn't buy it. On the other hand, she pointed to a way to get 'cheese scraps' from a local cheesemaker that sent me scurrying for the order button on their website. Cheese = win so overall, I'm glad I picked it up.

[Kerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. Yes, the author lost her job, got divorced, and moved to a remote area to set up housekeeping, but the book really only focuses on the "foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally" part. I would have liked for her to have shown us a bit more about her emotional journey -- losing her job and divorcing after so many years of marriage had to have been difficult, yet all she focuses on is her ability to feed herself on roughly $40 a week. More vulnerability, less canning stories, please!

I would recommend that anyone looking to read this book skip it and pick up Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle instead. Better written, better story.

[Beth Jusino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mather is not the only writer to embark on a one-year journey through eating local, simple food, and she clearly has experience and passion when it comes to writing about issues of Big Farms and chemical-laced food. But the book overall falls short of the promise in that long subtitle. This is not the story of how Mather lost her job, or her marriage, or found her way. It skates quickly past anything personal, relying instead on research and interviews with local food producers. I feel like I know more about her local butcher, dairy farmers, and cider press operator than I do the author. Which is disappointing, because the opportunities were there to explore how a woman starts over after a certain age, and how she made ends meet in seriously reduced circumstances. (The $40/week budget for food was mentioned several times, but also never explored.) Without that kind of vulnerability, this becomes a glorified cookbook of favorite recipes -- which all look fantastic, by the way.

[Susannah Sanford mcdaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off disliking this book, and ended up feeling okay about it. I'm not in love, by any means, but it's not terrible. It was nice to hear a story about how Robin Mather researched local cheesemakers and found a neighbor who would share his garden spoils in exchange for some strawberry jam. Then again, lots of people have decided to eat locally, and there's not a whole lot in her "essays" that sets this one apart.

The writing style is a little choppy and most of the "essays" and chapters are written as a moment when Mather is letting her mind wander. For example, one of the first chapters starts off with her having her morning coffee, then Mather launches into fair trade coffee, roasting her own beans, grinding coffee, buying from small companies, why roasting your own coffee is better and she loves it, then we're suddenly back to her sipping her coffee on her back porch and the chapter ends.

I'll admit, the recipes were the things that won me over. I haven't specifically tried any of them, yet, but some of them looked like standards and the rest looked delicious. I'm thinking of trying a few of her canning recipes and the bread recipe.

I'd really only recommend this book to people who want to read about food all day and then shop at the local farmers market and try the recipes. The writing was nothing to jump with enthusiasm over, but it wasn't a bad book. I kind of enjoyed it. I think it got the short end of the stick falling right after Savannah and Cranford in my reading list.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a point in Mather's book where she takes some time to dress down foodies who are too political, or too focused on economics, and too overbearing in their approach to persuading others. I found it laugh-out-loud ironic considering The Feast Nearby is didactic about so many things ("Will your children grow up thinking chicken nuggets are comfort food?" she asks judgmentally. "Polenta is so easy to make that I can't see why anyone would buy the manufactured stuff," she sniffs.) The book is, despite being about shopping locally and stretching a dollar to make ends meet, really quite pompous. It's also awkward, since Mather reconstructs conversations that are epic pieces of exposition, and cannot really have happened quite so neatly as she suggests.

But what really let down the book was that it didn't live up to the promise of its name. Despite saying, right there in the title, that she lost her job and buried her marriage, both events take up a tiny amount of space at the beginning of the book and barely rise again. This isn't a memoir - it's a collection of vignettes spaced between recipes, and that's fine and good, but feels like false advertising given everything else.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book. It was a quick read. I read the Kindle version but will buy the paperback to keep for reference because there are a plethora of simple, delicious-sounding recipes in here along with lots of clear instructions for preserving the garden harvest. The writing is delightful and I absolutely adored the author's "voice". The book is organized by season, beginning with Spring, and covers the first year of the author's residence in a little lakeside Michigan cabin -- just her, her standard poodle (I admit that was a big selling point for me), her African Grey and an eventually adopted kitten. Finding herself suddenly single and jobless, she sets a weekly grocery budget of $40 and resolves to eat as much local food as possible. This was everything I wanted Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to be and more -- it actually put me most in mind of Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking. Just delightful. Highly recommended.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A middle-aged woman loses her job and her husband in the same week. She goes to live in a cottage in the woods. She is poor. She loves animals and keeps acquiring more. She seems to like the solitary life. She is good at cooking and pinching pennies. She is a big fan of eating local. She and her neighbors frequently help each other out. Not very exciting. A lot of recipes.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been thinking about what to say in a review since I finished this book, alternating from 3 stars to 5 stars. I am a big fan of the whole "eat local" genre so I was an easy mark for this title. The subtitle was a little misleading; after telling us that she lost her job and that her husband left her in the same week, she doesn't discuss either in any substantive way throughout the rest of the book, so you're left with the impression that her animals, her neighbors and some really good food healed her pain. Hey, who am I to judge? Maybe they did. So this is definitely more of a food book than a self-help book, which, really, was just fine with me. I was skeptical of the $40 a week claim, but I think she really did it. She even writes about how that amount dropped to about $15 per week in the winter because she was living off all her preserved/canned/frozen/dehydrated food, so she took the opportunity to replenish her spices and odd pantry ingredients with the "extra" money. And lest you think she was just eating watery canned green beans, let me tell you that it sounded like she ate like a queen. She's clearly a MUCH better cook than I am, has a vast knowledge of all kinds of foods and ingredients, and isn't intimidated by anything. One of the parts I liked best was that the only thing she grew herself were some herbs - everything else was picked, purchased or given to her from the bounty of a friend's garden/farm/etc. and then preserved. That fits my lifestyle. My 3-star moments were when things got a little preachy or a little precious - like the author sitting in her house during a winter storm with her bird, dog and kitten, knitting a hat and smelling the bean soup cooking on the stove. On the other hand, those were also some 5-star moments, because doesn't that just sound fabulous? After reading this book, I went back and marked all of the recipes I wanted to save. There were 35 of them (including the aforementioned bean soup). And that's when I decided to buy a copy of the book. Plus, reading this makes me seriously consider buying a pressure canner and a dehydrator. So, all in all, a 4-star book that was pretty darn inspiring.

[Shauna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm. Well, I read this because I'm interested in the whole "life-transformation, goal-achieving, leaving your old life behind" genre and also in food. Robin Mather's goal was to eat seasonally and locally on $40 dollars a week and while she achieves it, it wasn't a very interesting book to read. Basically, she canned and preserved a lot. There wasn't a whole lot of dramatic tension, which I never realized I wanted in nonfiction. Apparently, I do: reaching goals is boring if it's easy, and I never got the feeling that it wasn't easy.

Still, some of the recipes were interesting, and it's gotten me thinking more about eating seasonally and locally -- and I'll never put anything but real maple syrup on my pancakes ever again.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a talented essayist! She's able to hook the reader in each time through a strong start that seemingly has little connection to the theme of the chapter, skillfully guiding the discussion to the intended point. There may have been one or two entries that didn't so much interest me personally, but overall they were consistently engaging.

The chapters end with a few relevant recipes, which aren't all that complicated, but many just are not suitable for my talents or space/equipment. However, I came away with a determination at some point to at least once try to make oxtail stew myself! Fear not vegetarians, there's plenty here for you to explore as well.

I suppose if I had one quibble it's that at times I felt the tone veered towards self-congratulatory, but that may be as much on me and my perception. I would rate this book as highly recommended.

[Zinta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle of Robin Mather’s The Feast Nearby is a mouthful (pun intended), but it sums the book up nicely: “How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way to keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on forty dollars a week).”

Robin Mather is a seasoned food writer and editor, having written 30 years for papers such as Chicago Tribune and The Detroit News and now at Mother Earth News. The Feast Nearby is her second book; the first, published in 1995, Garden of Unearthly Delight: Bioengineering and the Future of Food, perhaps before its time, discussing the two sides of eating locally or eating genetically modified foods.

The book caught my attention for several reasons. I have been eating predominantly locally grown, organic foods for some years now, and find myself as enthused about this food adventure today as I was when I first started. More so. I still can’t believe what I’ve been missing most of my life in terms of culinary joy. But I was also intrigued because the cottage to which Mather moved was in the neighborhood where I’d lived once—near Delton, in Michigan’s Barry County.

I was also curious about Mather’s claim to eat local and organic foods on $40 a week. Not that I am not already a believer. I don’t spend much either, and I don’t even can and preserve, but I do hear that complaint more often than I can count—that eating organic is too expensive. I’m still baffled by that. I spend less on groceries today than I did when I bought my food at the supermarket, packaged and wrapped.

Cooking from scratch is almost always less expensive. Add to that the joys of cooking with friends and family in the kitchen and at the table and, well, you get the idea of real value for your food dollar.

One might say that people tend to compare apples to oranges when they talk about cost. As Mather so well illustrates in her book, eating this way doesn’t have to cost more. It tends to cost less. What does change, however, is one’s eating habits. For me, this happened quite naturally once I started buying more of my food at farmers markets or even directly from the farmer, right on the farm. It became a new lifestyle, one that I enjoy immensely. It involves community, friendships, the building of enjoyable relationships that revolve around food … and who doesn’t know that when you throw a good party, more times than not, everyone ends up in the kitchen?

Mather’s lifestyle change and food adventure evolve from what must have surely been a week from hell. As so many journalists, she was laid off from her newspaper job. That’s bad enough, but this happened within days of hearing from her 12-year husband that he wanted a divorce. Ouch and ouch.

Whether Mather really is such a trooper or she just keeps it to a low simmer, but her book does not show much anguish or turmoil at such a double whammy. This isn’t a book about shedding tears or general introspection. She simply packs up her dog, Boon, and her bird, Pippin (later to be joined by cat, Guff), and moves to the summer cottage in southwest Michigan the married couple had owned but the now single woman makes a permanent residence.

Time to set up a budget. Mather does what she does best: she shops for good food on a smart dollar, getting to know the locals in the process. As those who eat organic food and shop locally know, you soon learn to change how you eat, planning your menus around what is available when, rather than buying the items to meet the menu. One eats in season, and science is beginning to show that this may prove to be best for our health—and our wallet.

Mather is a good cook, and the 150 or so recipes she intersperses between her seasonal essays are good recipes. That is, I haven’t tried them yet, but I plan to, and they were simple enough that I could read them with enjoyment, almost as if part of the preceding essay, a continuation of her story. They mostly use local foods, yet include a pinch of this or a dollop of that, bringing them a touch of the gourmet.

For those who live in the area described, as I do, I especially enjoyed reading about local markets. In fact, as I write this, my plan for the approaching weekend is to find the local butcher shop she describes, Geuke’s Market in Middleville, Michigan, and stock up my own freezer. Reading about it once again made me realize why so many are so enthused about local markets. When she described the food available there, she also described the owner, Don Geuke, and the first seed of a food relationship is sown. That’s something you never experience in the supermarket.

For those seeking a gritty story about a woman handling life upheaval, this isn’t it. Mather’s style is gentle storytelling, and she doesn’t go deep. Her way is more to skim the fat off the surface and make a fine presentation, leave the rest up to you. The reader doesn’t develop an intimate relationship with this author, but that may not have been her intent. Save the intimate relationship for reader and dish. This is a blend of cozy essay and cookbook, a nurturing nudge toward considering a more sensible and more sustainable lifestyle—and leave the excuses about financial constraints behind.

If we are a society that has forgotten how to cook, or how to keep a kitchen and a well-stocked pantry, Mather will be just the spice you need. Pull your chair to the table, read and eat the many flavors you’ve been missing.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The “whole food”, “natural food” and “organic food” movements have been slowly gathering steam across our nation. Paired with the organic and natural foods comes the “local food” movement – if you buy locally you support the small farmer and businessman, plus limit your carbon footprint by keeping fuel costs to a minimum (instead of transporting an item hundreds if not thousands of miles to your kitchen you only go 20 miles to the local farmer). There have been some wonderful books written on how to go “au naturel” with local food including Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.

Enter middle-ager Robin Mather, a Michigan native and third-generation journalist who suddenly finds herself without a job due to newspaper downsizing and a husband due to a divorce within a week of each other in 2009. While not a professional chef her jobs were in food journalism, including as a senior writer for Cooking Light and as the food editor for the Detroit News. She had also written A Garden of Unearthly Delights: Bioengineering and the Future of Food which was an expose on the genetic modification of crops and livestock for a broad market.

After getting the double whammy Robin decides to go back to her roots and live in a 650-square-foot cottage on a small lake in rural southwest Michigan with her old dog, a kitten and a parrot. Robin is determined to try to live on $40 a week by going simple in her life – the cottage is located so far from a town that her news can only come from the radio or internet and the heat comes from a wood burning stove. And living simple includes the food she eats.

The book is in four major parts – each part is a season of the first year in the cottage. Robin starts with spring “because spring is the beginning of the growing season and because spring is the season of rebirth; this recounting is also about a season of rebirth in my own life.” The seasons are written in sometimes witty and sometimes serious essays on food and country living. Robin discusses the weather, life in the cottage on the lake, her animal family (including a flock of chickens), local farmers and grocers, ways to preserve food for another day and the various foods that are a part of the seasons. Included at the end of each somewhat short chapter are many recipes – sometimes they are more in length than the essay that preceded them. By the end of the book we have almost one hundred recipes that are for the most part easy enough for many to try out.

Read this book to discover the possibilities of “whole foods” and “local foods”. And I stress the word “possibilities” since someone who does not live locally may have difficulty finding the type of local farmers and grocers she writes about in the book. But even that point is addressed a couple of times as Robin admits the love of coffee and spices means going out of the state of Michigan and using the internet.

She also compares the need to be both local and organic but when not possible she prefers the local small farmer over transporting an “organic” item from miles away. As Robin pointed out “it’s partly economic – as I’ve said, I want to give as much of my money to my neighbors as I can, and I want to reduce the energy costs associated with feeding myself – and partly about quality.” And Robin tries to prove that eating inexpensively doesn’t mean eating junk food or fast food – we just need to go back to the basics – seasonal foods, simple ingredients and even preserving foods for later use.

I enjoyed the book’s essays and the way she made me think of what I actually eat – both wholesome seasonal foods and local seasonal foods. I also liked how Robin encourages the use of preserving foods for later consumption and the back of the book has some great information on canning. Even if this book just gets us to think about what we eat and how we eat it is a great start. A quick fun read for anyone who loves to eat and also to read about a year in the life of living simply.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a combination memoir and cookbook detailing the author's struggle to stay on budget and eat locally over the course of a year. Not an uncommon theme, perhaps, but it's one that hit close to home as I am also a freelancer (read: poor) who loves to eat fresh, local food.

I was unsure of the book at first because Mather's writing is so succinct it's almost off-putting. I was expecting more memoir than I got. After a while though, I fell into the rhythm of the writing. Mather includes some beautiful descriptions of Michigan scenery, and anyone who's a pet lover will recognize the ways she talks to and about her pets.

I do wish Mather had elaborated more about the systems she used to keep her costs down. One of her strategies for lowering expenses was to have generous friends. She sort of fell into her friendships. And while I'm not saying that's not a good idea, I'm saying it doesn't work for everyone. Not all of us can live next door to a man who grows enough vegetables for two families. Heck, I waited 2 years for a 16'x16' community garden plot. I'm just sayin.

I grew attached to the book just after I began reading the recipes from start to finish. Mather definitely appreciates slow foods, and she's not afraid to set the reader off on an hours-long expedition to find the right ingredients for a good price. I also cook this way. It was nice to see I'm not the only one, and she explains so well why you could substitute more common ingredients or one method for another.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing, anyone who reads cookbooks like they're novels, and especially readers who are dabbling with more in-depth cooking. May not be suited for frugal persons looking for new tips on cutting costs.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect this book to be as good as it was. I doubt I would have picked it up except for it being a book discussion book and it had been recommended by a friend. The extended title is a little much. But that's exactly what the book was about.

The great thing was that Mather did not linger on the end of her marriage or job but gloried in her expertise of food and food preparation. The skills she learned in some of the ways to live on $40 a week for food and being as thrifty as possible were so interesting to hear about. Also, it was easy to feel a close relationship with Mather because she wasn't preachy or self-righteous. Eating local didn't mean you had to do without if it wasn't possible. She knew it was important to feel good in both body and soul. Supporting and building a relationship with local farmers and business owners and neighbors was just as rewarding as meeting her food goals.

I really enjoyed the stories she told in each of the four seasons and could hardly wait to see the recipes that she used in her meals or preserves. She motivated me to do more canning and freezing, make yogurt once again and just spend a little more time in purchasing and preparing the food that I eat. I think she really motivated me to live more simply and enjoy life. How many books can you say did that? A pleasant surprise.

[Fair Cousins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason that I did not give The Feast Nearby 5 stars was the semi-aloof, semi-pompous tone of Ms. Mather and the fact that her little cabin and its surroundings seem a little too perfect. It distracted me to the point that I sometimes considered putting the book down for good. I mean, who in the world is lucky enough to have a cozy cabin by the lake, adorable animals for company, and neighbors who seem to just appear at all the right times with exactly what she needs? Maybe I'm just envious.

In the end, however, this is a book that I wanted to dislike, but couldn't. I'm sure she is a lovely lady and she obviously makes creative and efficient use of everything at her disposal. The recipes are simple, practical, yet interesting and sometimes even mouth-watering. I also have some new goals: learning how to can/preserve food (this is a long term goal), making asparagus puree, and attempting to make hard cider. I also learned that you can freeze eggs, which I never even considered (duh) and am really excited about trying.

Overall, her tone is a slightly irksome at times, but I have found myself going back to re-read and make notes of different parts of this book, discussing passages with my husband, and thinking about it almost every time I'm out shopping. Again, I didn't want to like this book, but I do.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from the fact that it was well-written and interesting, and contains some recipes I'd love to try, there were two reasons I really enjoyed this book. One-the author stays on message about eating locally on $40 a week. Look at the subtitle--you'll see that she has been through some tough things and it would have been easy to slide into whining, but she never does. She does talk about her dog, cat, parrot (and kind of made me want one), and neighbors, which nicely rounds out her essays, but mostly she sticks to food; it also would have been easy for her to use food as a political platform, and while she touches on the idea, she never does it. Two-Mather makes eating locally on a budget sound more attainable than, say, Barbara Kingsolver (whose Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I adored, but since I don't have a farm I always felt like her method might be out of my reach). Definitely a book I'd recommend if the idea of eating locally and knowing where your food comes from is interesting to you.

[Sallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the next book for the Cucina Fresca book club. I've just begun it, so I'll let you know later how I like it.
3/26/12 - finished this on Saturday. I enjoyed it, but will probably not follow all the authors suggestions since buying locally produced food around NE Nevada isn't that easy. Beef, you betcha, but we have to grow our own veggies if we want to eat locally produced vegetables. Plus, other than making jams a few times in my life, I've never canned at all - nor did my mother (who was born in 1920) I have a feeling mom had enough of that growing up and loved when canned or frozen veggies came out to buy in the stores ;-} Just a guess of course. The author seemed to me to eat a whole lot more 'meat' - beef, pork, lamb, chicken - than I do in a month's time.

I did enjoy the conversations she had with Pippin!

[Yuliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book is misleading. The first part (about losing a job and burying a marriage) are only briefly mentioned in the beginning. This is not by any means an account of the author's emotional journey stemming from these two undoubtedly dramatic events - it's literally a description of how she moved to a country cottage (out of necessity) and fed herself on $40 a week by buying from local food producers. The endless descriptions of canning and freezing food (this woman must have a bottomless freezer) interspersed with paragraphs on why she made it her mission to eat locally grow tiresome very quickly. About half of the book are recipes, which were okay but didn't really pique my interest. I guess I was slightly disappointed because somehow I thought this book would be about homesteading, growing own food, and overcoming emotional challenges , but that was not the case.

[Florence Millo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pleasant read about the author's new life in a cabin by a lake in Michigan. She loves good, local food and uses her $40 per week food money wisely, buying good food locally produced. She includes many recipes and instructions for preserving fresh food. I liked the fact that she considers carefully her purchases both because of her financial constraints and because she wants to support her neighbors who produce the food she loves. A good, pleasant read.

[Amy Eller Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book the best when she stayed in the moments of her little house, the cooking and preserving and looking after her chickens. But then she would broaden out to "the economics of local eating" etc etc and I just lost interest. To me, this was a good memoir of a woman's losses and building herself up again that would have been stronger if she had been more vulnerable in her writing and not fallen back on journalism tricks. Still, would recommend.

[Nilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but I'm not sure why. Guess it interested me because it was about places I know, about cooking and "putting food by", and about living a simpler live, which I try to do-even though I am not always successful.

[Seanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book! It's one that I can see myself reading yearly, just to relearn the things she learns and to also see where I currently stand regarding self-sufficiency! A wonderful story as well as good recipes, this book is an inspiration - so glad she is doing well!

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it, lots of information and things to think about. Lots of good recipes.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a warm, wise book, with terrific recipes! I was in withdrawal when Ms. Mather left her job as food columnist for the Detroit News, still am, I guess, but having this book helps!

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for canning, preserving and pantry management. The recipes are terrific, too.

[Phillip Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reminded of Gladys Taber and more recently of Susan Branch's writing. This book will be more meaningful to anyone living in Michigan especially West Michigan as I do. I appreciated Ms. Mather's locavore approach to being self sufficient but I also appreciated her willingness to be loose with the rules for those items that were not available locally. I am driven personally by the satisfaction of better tasting food, and a well stocked pantry. But I also wish to do better as a citizen of the world and support local farmers at the same time. I admire Ms. Mather's skill at writing and cooking but was slightly disappointed in some of her recipe choices as I wanted a more Michigan centric offering.

I love cookbooks like this. A literary cookbook or memoir with a story behind the recipes. I read a copy from the library but I just bought my own. Here's hoping for more of the same from Ms. Mather!

[Debbie Koester · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Feast Nearby" by Robin Mather with a copyright of 2011 is a nonfiction book about a lady who found herself divorced and without her food writing job at the Chicago Tribune. She moved to what was supposed to be a vacation cabin in rural Michigan. She put herself on a strict budget of $40 a week to spend on food since she was only freelancing. I realize that is an incredibly small amount of money in 2009 when she did this, but even more so if it were today, so that's why I mentioned the copyright. She talked about what she learned from others, how important it is to buy and support local growers and businesses, and how with the help of others, she successfully lived there for a year. She includes recipes for some of the things she made or canned. I hated to see the book end because it felt like talking with a friend.

[Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something between a memoir, a local food manifesto, and a cookbook. I liked what it was trying to do, but I'm not sure how well it struck the balance. It didn't really have enough recipes to work well as a cookbook - so many times she'd mention a dish or method and I'd be excited to get to the recipe at the end of the chapter, only to find out it didn't make the cut! At the same time, her personal stories got too subsumed into the manifesto, loosing the emotional journey required for it to be a compelling memoir. And as a manifesto, it's not quite bold enough to engage, nor does it have enough detailed hands-on advice to be a practical guide to frugal local eating.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from my local library for .50 cents and what a bargain it was. As I love reading and love food/cooking and so I thought this would be right up my alley. And of course it is!

Each chapter covered a theme and at the end of the chapter there are recipes. I actually learned a few new things about food, producers and budgeting and found it all rather interesting, enlightening and fun (especially the recipes!).

I enjoyed reading this and it is the type of book I could have on the go but could put down and pick up days later and nothing was lost. The recipes are yummy and fun and I will be trying a few of them out very soon.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one, but sort of expected more from the author about the after math of her marriage and loosing her job. Instead it was all about food, how the author preserved every kind of food that was in season, how she liked to find her food locally or if not able to buy from people that supported small farmers. I very much like the idea, but it's not realistic for me as I'm a super picky eater. I do can salsa each year and make my own jam. Want to expand to other things, this book might just push me to do that.