Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

*This book review is a cross-post. I enjoyed it so much, and feel it so worth reading, that I am sharing it on both Tummy Treasure, and The Savvy Bookworm.

by Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara has been making a few appearances on my reading list lately. This one is a bit different, as it is not fiction. Not in the least. This is the chronicle of one family's attempt to eat local for the period of one year. Essentially, this book chronicles the way of like I so want to attempt, and as such, I loved it.

I grew up on Little House On The Prairie. I loved the books and would read them over and over. I can't tell you how many times I would read an account of food life and think that I could do that. As an example, in Little House In The Big Woods the family slaughters and preserves a pig for winter. It's a big deal, and as I finished reading Laura's account of the process, I felt certain that I could do the same thing if needed-even at the age of 10. I have always felt this deep-seeded desire to return to rustic life and grow much of my family's food and attempt raising our family's meat. We're still a long way off from doing just that, but for a few days I was able to live vicariously through Barbara Kingsolver and her family.

This book is so full of information, that it's hard to know where to begin a proper review. I learned so much about organic farming and why we really should be buying local. I'm still not 100% convinced that eating local all the time is the best way to go, but I loved seeing it done. With young children who practically live on fruit, I don't know how willing I would be to let go of our daily fruit ration- however out of season it may be. One of my favorite parts of this book was the argument against vegetarianism. Ms. Kingsolver actually used to be a vegetarian, and I have also considered it many times in the past. She clearly pointed out that we are designed to be a carnivorous species, and actually took us through the calendar year and proved that during the winter months we are designed to sustain on carbohydrates and proteins from animal products. I do agree with her wholeheartedly about sourcing meat as local as possible. If we lived in the country, you can bet that before I even finished this book I would have been out back building a chicken coop and ordering some chicks. Our family has taken almost exclusively to buying meat from a local butcher who gets all their meat products locally. The only exception is fish- and since we live in the Midwest, fresh fish is hard to come by.

This book was entertaining and informative the whole way through. As I'm reading their daily accounts with the massive garden, I kept heading out to my tiny garden plots, wondering how I could squeeze more into my tiny space. I found out that I am not insane to want to grow all I can and "put it by" for winter times. In fact, yesterday as I finished up the book, I promptly headed into the kitchen and put up three quarts of pickles. It may not be very much, but those cucumbers fresh from my garden will be a welcome addition to my Thanksgiving table. Provided they make it that long. While we are thoroughly enjoying every morsel that comes out of my garden, I am inspired by Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to try and save every scrap I can for leaner months ahead. At the end of harvest, as Barbara talked about the shelves lined with jars of tomatoes and bushels of root vegetables, I want my pantry to look the same.

And I learned about potatoes. Every year I consider buying a big 50# bag of potatoes from local farmers, and I always figure that we'd never eat them all before they spoil. After all, there are plenty of times where a 5# bag doesn't make it before the potatoes begins sprouting an shriveling. I learned in this book that I should buy the local potatoes in the fall and that they will likely survive until March or so without rotting from the inside out. Potatoes have a natural life cycle that permits them to sit in a root cellar for months without sprouting. When we buy potatoes in the grocery store and they begin sprouting shorty thereafter, that means that the potatoes are at the end of their life cycle and were easily pulled from the ground some 6 months ago in another climate. I never knew that! You can bet that I will be on the prowl for some bushel baskets to tuck in my larder and that those jumbo bags of potatoes at the farmer's market will be making their way into them this fall.

Same thing with onions! I always have onions go bad on me in my pantry- and this of course affects the rest of the onions. By purchasing onions at the farmer's market in the fall, I am ensuring that my onions will make it to early spring still intact.

I could go on and on about this book and all that I learned from it. Yes, there were some things that I don't particularly agree with in the book, but those were few and far between. Mostly I learned that it is entirely possible to do what I want to do, and do it in a way that doesn't leave us feeling deprived. The Kingsolver family ate well the entire year- they did not starve come the end of winter. Instead they looked ahead at what was to come, and they continue to eat locally as much as possible. You can see some of their progress and see some great pictures at their website www.animalvegetablemiracle.com. You definitely need to check out their turkeys. The turkeys get a few special sections of this book and I love that they give us a picture of them on their website- they are gorgeous birds.

So overall, read this book. It is an excellent book about sourcing food locally, and the many reasons for doing so. I know I will be going back to it time and time again to re-read a section here and there. Right now I'm thinking about sourcing some heirloom seeds for next year's vegetable garden. We'll see how I do.

Hungry Planet:What The World Eats

by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Alusio

It isn't very often that I pick up non-fiction to read. Other than cookbooks of course. A few weeks ago though, a national magazine brought to light a few excerpts from this book and I had to read the whole thing. I checked it out at the library and literally could not put this book down. It was so incredibly moving and truly amazing.

The premise of Hungry Planet is that families from around the world are photographed with a week's worth of groceries. Included with the photos is a detailed list of what the family eats on average, and how much it costs them. It was very eye opening to see how the rest of the world eats. Most notable were the families from the poor nations- refugees from Chad immediately come to mind. They were photographed with the most meager amount of food, and that was a feat to them. The essays that accompanied talked about daily life as a refugee and the massive amount of work that goes into feeding a family every day.

Equally stunning is the photos of the families in the more developed nations. It's astounding to see how American eating is having an effect the world over in the form of processed food. Nearly every photo in this book contained some form of Coca-Cola. It's incredibly sad to me to see that the more money a country and family has, the more they spend on processed food.

By far my favorite essay in this book is the one on the family from Okinawa. With the longest life expectancy in the world, Okinawa is a culture to pay attention to. They eat very little meat- instead indulging daily in fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood that comes from the surrounding waters. Okinawans also have a saying- Hara hachi bu, which means "eat only until 80 percent full." What a great philosophy to have, in my opinion. We live in a country full of all-you-can-eat buffets and supersizes, imagine how much more healthy we would be as a country if we ate only until 80% full.

Overall, this book has had me thinking a lot about the food we eat. It makes me embarrassed to throw food in the garbage, when there are so many people worldwide who would be thrilled with my scraps. It's eye-opening, and sometime this fall, I intend to do my own grocery experiments and see what a week's worth of groceries looks like all spread out. I bet it will be embarrassing to myself to see how much food we go through. I highly, highly recommend Hungry Planet, and even though I got my copy from the library, a copy will be making it's way to my bookshelf soon to serve as a reminder to be more conscious of what we eat.

The Nasty Bits

by Anthony Bourdain

I've been reading this book on and off for the last few months. It truly is a gem. It is a collection of articles and vignettes, and perfect for filling in the cracks between full-length novels. Or for that 15 minutes before you have to run out the door. I was already a fan of Anthony Bourdain before reading this book. I truly enjoy watching his show, No Reservations, on the Travel Channel. He has such a zest for exploring a new culture, and he is so gracious to his hosts. While he'll tell the camera when something really isn't good, he will profusely thank the host and the chef at the time, because he fully appreciates the effort they put into the dish.

The Nasty Bits was just a fun book to read. Full of commentary from Anthony Bourdain on the restaurant industry, travel, and The Food Network. He has a sincere appreciation for the little guy, and it shows in his writing. He has such a clear voice when he writes too, I feel like I'm in a room having a conversation with the guy, it's such a conversational tone. I would earnestly recommend this book to any foodie or fan of Anthony Bourdain. There are some adult references and some language, so I wouldn't recommend it for just anyone, or for someone under the age of 18, but it really was an enjoyable book to read. And it sure makes me want to travel to Vietnam.

Chocolat

by Joanne Harris


Let me say right up front that Chocolat, the movie, is one of my favorites. When I am in the mood for a good movie all by myself, Chocolat is my go-to movie. It sort of surprised me when I saw this book on the shelf at my library and realized that I've never read the book. Of course, I brought it home with me and immediately began digesting.


Let me also say, that just as many book/movie combinations, the book and the movie are two very different stories. But both are entirely enjoyable. This book made me smile from beginning to end. There is a bit of mysticism and magic involved, as well as a bit of religion and humor. It's a fantastic story about indulgence. The real point of this story is that life is too short to not do what you want to do. Whether that be to eat a chocolate or escape a bad marriage. It's about recognizing what your deepest desires are, and following through. This was an expertly woven tale about the conflict between two people. We have the chocolate shop owner, Vianne, who moves into a new town under serious suspicion. Up to this point, the Father of St. Jerome runs the town. He knows everyone, and what goes on. Other than a few stragglers, they are all under his control. Not so with Vianne.


I loved how we would get a chapter from the point of view of Vianne, and then a chapter by Pere Reynaud. Vianne was struggling with her past and with memories of her mother throughout, and oddly enough, so was Reynaud- although in a different manner. And of course, by the end of the book, most conflicts have been resolved, and we are left hoping for a wonderful future for this village. Most especially though, we are left with a serious craving for some chocolate. The food descriptions in this book are just heavenly. You can almost taste the apricots as they are being described, and of course, the hot chocolate which is mentioned over and over, you just wish you knew the secret for making the ultimate cup of hot chocolate.


This book is worth it for the chocolate alone. And if you can immerse yourself in a not-quite- 100% believable fantasy, this is the book for you. It was delightful, and now I must make a date with my DVD player to give the movie a viewing as well.