Books & Media

Our first book club first pick of 2011, Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat, tells the stories of women working towards eating and farming sustainably. Author Temra Costa writes about the relationships, nurturing, and inventiveness that women bring into the “delicious revolution” that is happening in our food world. Join us on January 27 at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op from 7:00 - 9:00 pm or in Bemidji (near Harmony Co-op) from 5:30 - 7:30 pm to dig into these stories.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be squeezing in some last-minute shopping this holiday season. To help, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite food-related books and DVDs. Whenever possible I like to do my gift shopping at two places I frequent: food coops and the internet. Here are items you can pick up while you get your groceries or surf the web in your PJ’s:

For the traditionalist... 

I knew three things about Steward Woodman before reading his recently-released book Shefzilla: Conquering Haute Cuisine At Home.

Although it's a year old now, I find myself returning to Micaela Preston's excellent book, Practically Green, on a regular basis. Subtitled "Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making," Practically Green is a small, handy, good-looking book intended to make it easy to be green (sorry Kermit, couldn't resist). The book doesn't pretend to be a comprehensive guide to green living, local food, recycling, or anything else. It's not political or didactic; it doesn't preach or make me feel bad about what I'm not doing better. Practically Green includes broad, easy-to-follow sections (Eating, Living, Cleaning, etc.), with loads of specifics suggestions for things to buy and make. 

Selfishly, I found myself super excited when this month's book club pick was announced. I'm a huge Molly Wizenberg fan -- she of the successful blog Orangette and the amazing, go-to recipe collection, and she of the blogger-turned-author fad that has swept the nation these past few years. I guess I just love her natural, homey, chefy, and Frenchy vibe -- and apparently I'm not alone. Wizenberg's practical. She's cheeky. She leads with her taste buds. She seems like someone I'd enjoy sharing a bottle of wine with. And, to be completely honest, I've also got a girl crush on her for parlaying her blog into a book deal. I bought this one the week it came out. You go, Molly!

I’ve heard or read Michael Pollan’s words so many times by now, if we ever were to meet, it’d feel like catching up with a familiar acquaintance. Nevermind he has no idea who I am, and aside from his positions on food and agricultural systems I don’t really know much about the man; he has a conversational and folksy style that conveys what he says is just plain truth, and he’s saying it because he wants what’s best for us.

A locally-produced film has been stirring up plenty of controversy in Minnesota’s agricultural and education communities. “Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story” is a documentary produced by the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum about pollution and water contamination in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.

I grew up in rural Minnesota, where my parents have a big back yard with an abundant vegetable garden, and where every summer brings a plethora of tomatoes, peppers, and onions. My mom is a canner, and she taught me there's really only one way to deal with all of these summer foods: canning. My mom spends plenty of time in the kitchen in August and September, peeling, chopping, and stewing the season's bounty. After all is said and done, several clean, hot jars of salsa sit on towels on the kitchen counter. My mom waits in the other room, listening for the sealing “pop,” counting to be sure each jar has properly sealed itself.

In honor of Fair Trade month, October's Simple, Good, and Tasty book club selection is Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee. In the book, author Dean Cycon -- founder of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee, activist, and entrepreneur -- describes the many issues and implications around producing fair trade coffee in Africa, Central America, South America, and Asia. Javatrekker is a fantastic mix of travelogue and social commentary, with a healthy dose of history, politics and economics.

Continuing our bookclub this month, we'll be diving into the gap. The food gap, that is. September’s Simple, Good and Tasty book club pick. Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty, by author Mark Winne addresses a vast array of political, social and economic issues around food.