Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

by Frances Mayes

Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—opens the door to a wondrous new world when she buys and restores an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. In evocative language, she brings the reader along as she discovers the beauty and simplicity of life in Italy. Mayes also creates dozens of delicious seasonal recipes from her traditional kitchen and simple garden, all of which she includes in the book. Doing for Tuscany what M.F.K. Fisher and Peter Mayle did for Provence, Mayes writes about the tastes and pleasures of a foreign country with gusto and passion.

Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages
by Anne Mendelson

Part culinary history, part cookbook—with more than 120 enticing recipes,—part inquiry into the evolution of an industry, Milk is a one-of-a-kind book that will forever change the way we think about dairy products. Anne Mendelson, author of Stand Facing the Stove, first explores the earliest Old World homes of yogurt and kindred fermented products made primarily from sheep’s and goats’ milk and soured as a natural consequence of climate. Out of this ancient heritage from lands that include Greece, Bosnia, Turkey, Israel, Persia, Afghanistan, and India, she mines a rich source of culinary traditions. She shows us how milk reached such prominence in our diet in the nineteenth century that it led to the current practice of overbreeding cows and overprocessing dairy products. This illuminating book will be an essential part of any food lover’s collection and is bound to win converts determined to restore the purity of flavor to our First Food.

Pomegranate Soup, A Novel
by Marsha Mehran

Three orphaned sisters, who fled Iran seven years earlier, have found their way to a small town in Ireland where they hope to make a home. They bring with them their heritage, their demons and their hopes for a better future. Marjan, Bahar and Layla open the Babylon Cafe in the heart of Ballinacroagh’s Main Mall. In part this novel is about the clash of cultures and inherent suspicion about what is different. It is equally about the power of hope and the unifying role of food and the role of the senses in life.

Wild Fermentation

by Sandor Ellix Katz

Bread. Cheese. Wine. Beer. Coffee. Chocolate. Most people consume fermented foods and drinks every day. For thousands of years, humans have enjoyed the distinctive flavors and nutrition resulting from the transformative power of microscopic bacteria and fungi. The flavors of fermentation are compelling and complex, quite literally alive. This book takes readers on a whirlwind trip through the wide world of fermentation, providing readers with basic and delicious recipes – some familiar, others exotic – that are easy to make at home.

Full Moon Feast: Food and the Hunger for Connection

by Jessica Prentice

Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods. The book follows the thirteen lunar cycles of an agrarian year, from the midwinter Hunger Moon and the springtime sweetness of the Sap Moon to the bounty of the Moon When Salmon Return to Earth in autumn. Each chapter includes recipes that display the richly satisfying flavors of foods tied to the ancient rhythm of the seasons. Jessica Prentice is a professional chef, food activist, speaker, and founder of Wise Food Ways. She is also a cofounder of Locavores and the Eat Local Challenge (Locavores.com).

More Home Cooking

by Laurie Colwin

In her collection of essays on cooking and eating, Laurie Colwin shares not only her skills and knowledge in the kitchen, but her wisdom about how food is a reflection of our lives. It is easy to imagine what Colwin’s home must have been like — filled with food, books, and people talking about food and books. She knew that reading and eating go together. Whether we are consuming brilliant, original ideas or a pan of gingerbread that brings back childhood memories, books and food evoke our most basic, and best, instincts.

The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love

by Kristen Kimball

Essex Farm is a 500 acre draft horse-powered farm that produces a full diet for 200 people. The Dirty Life is Kristin’s memoir about the farm’s startup year. “The Dirty Life is a wonderfully told tale of one of the most interesting farms in the country. If you want to understand the heart and soul of the new/old movement towards local food, this is the book you need. It’s the voice of what comes next in this land, of the generation unleashed by Wendell Berry to do something really grand.” — Bill McKibben, author Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-mile Diet

by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon

The remarkable, amusing and inspiring adventures of a Canadian couple who make a year-long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment.