As an apartment-dweller, I know the frustration of not having enough soil to call my own for a garden. (Why do you think I garden in other people’s yards?) For many years, I’ve had a small assembly of various-sized pots to keep some of my favorite herbs close at hand, and I’ve even tried growing the occasional vegetable in such containers as well. More urban dwellers — especially those in apartments or condos, living... 

On this site, we love exotic food-wine pairings . And we often talk about grapes beyond the “ big six .” So it should come as no surprise that I am a fan of Evan Goldstein’s new book, Daring Pairings . (In fact, I provided a blurb for the back cover.) The highly skimmable book starts off with a worthwhile discussion of pairing food and wine. The goal, says Goldstein, a former sommelier, is to turn food-wine pairing from a lengthy,... 

On this site, we love exotic food-wine pairings . And we often talk about grapes beyond the “ big six .” So it should come as no surprise that I am a fan of Evan Goldstein’s new book, Daring Pairings . (In fact, I provided a blurb for the back cover.) The highly skimmable book starts off with a worthwhile discussion of pairing food and wine. The goal, says Goldstein, a former sommelier, is to turn food-wine pairing from a lengthy,... 

Summer fruits from the farmers market are the supermodels of the produce world. Just like Heidi Klum doesn’t need makeup to be beautiful , a super-fresh White Lady peach or Seascape strawberry doesn’t need extra sweetening or seasoning to shine. But given the right recipe—one designed expressly for fruit and vegetables at their peak ripeness and flavor, not for their wooden supermarket facsimiles—they can really wow your tastebuds.... 

Michael Pollan uses five books to frame a piece in the New York Review of Books that basically restates his usual set of arguments: We need to know more about where our food comes from, how it is made, and what effects it has on our health, the environment, and society in general. It’s worth a read if you want a wide-angle introduction to Pollan’s theses or if you want to see his thoughts on the books, which include: Everything I... 

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  Read More →

Just been on to amazon and ordered a book recommended to me by Ted Lemon, who was at Pinot Noir 2010. Ted’s wines are fantastic, and so anything he wants to put on my reading list is fine by me. It’s called ‘Agroecology’, by Miguel Altieri. Not cheap at £30, but I’m hoping it will be very good. On the flight on the way back from Auckland I caught a few films. Here are my amateur reviews. 1. In The Loop ( www.intheloopmovie.co.uk... 

The potential for disaster surrounds us every day. The aftershocks of the earthquake in Haiti may seem too big for many Americans to grasp, but we too should have a plan for possible local emergencies such as severe storms that wipe out our power supply for days, earthquakes, long-term illness, or unforeseen personal economic crises. Because when something catastrophic does occur, food security becomes critical: how can you keep yourself and... 

Off to New Zealand tomorrow. Not the worst time of year to be visiting Kiwiland. The flight is long, and in my spare moments I like to read, so I did an amazon raid, choosing a range of books, many of which were recommended by readers here (thank you to those concerned). The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold – a risk, this. Could be great, could be dire. A good friend liked it a lot, and I trust him. Black Swan Green, David Mitchell – reader’s... 

As winter approaches, even the most knowledgeable of local-foods-loving shoppers have wondered what fresh produce they will find over the winter months, and the opening of a year-round market here in Wooster has only increased the frequency of that musing. Happily, I can point to a handful of our producer members who are likely to have greens and other vegetables coming from their high tunnels or hoop houses, taking a page from Eliot Coleman...