Book description
From making healthy food choices and preparing mouth-watering meals, to unmasking corporate flimflam and supporting sustainable farming, here is the complete guide for the young, the hip, the socially tuned-in—and for all who want to eat real food.

In the past few decades, organic food has moved out of the patchouli-scented aisles of food co-ops and into over three-quarters of conventional grocery stores. Hand-in-glove, more and more of us are becoming aware of the social, environmental, and health benefits of organic eating, independent farming, and promoting “fair food.”

Combining a straight-to-the-point exposé about the fake food filling our supermarkets and the compelling reasons for choosing organic, local, “fair” food, Grub helps all of us become a part of one of the most hopeful movements of the new century: a revolution in food and farming that is best for our bodies and the earth.

With spirited and practical how-to’s for creating an affordable, easy-to-use organic kitchen and dozens of delectable recipes, Grub also offers the millions of people who buy organics fresh ideas and easy ways to cook with them. From the Valentine’s Day Decadence Dinner to the Straight-Edge Punk Brunch Buffet, Grub includes over a dozen menus paired with soundtracks to cook (and party) by and artwork and poetry evoking the spirit of Grub.

If organic food has a user’s guide, this is it.

Book description (From Publishers’ Weekly)
A resourceful cook will tell you that almost anything (except perhaps, a 25-pound turkey) can be cooked in a small kitchen. But not every cook thinks such a feat is possible, and for him or her, this book will shed some very useful light. A Manhattan apartment-dweller and art historian, Spring lays out the basics of small-kitchen cookery: order, naturally, is of utmost importance. Think like a small-sailboat galley slave (the author grew up on a 36-foot catamaran where the kitchen consisted of a camp stove, ice chest and bucket) and optimize space, he says, by, for example, keeping dish cupboards and cutlery drawers as close as possible to the sink to create economy of motion while washing dishes.

In chatty and fun prose, Spring covers every aspect of cooking in a small space, from stocking it with the right ingredients and tools (with suggestions of how much cutlery and utensils you need) to understanding which appliances are really necessary (toaster ovens can be terrific but aren’t indispensable, while blenders can do the work of mixers and food processors, making them particularly valuable). Recipes are creative and well within the capabilities of basic cooks; they include Toaster-Oven Meatloaf and Sautéed Cutlets Marsala.

Book description (From Amazon.com)
Thirty years after Frances Lappe’s Diet for a Small Planet changed eating habits around the world, she and her daughter Anna bring us a new round of iconoclastic recommendations that break overwhelming issues down to a simple matter of personal choice. Hope’s Edge presents many of the same issues of the original title, but it also provides a wealth of new discoveries and possibilities in this era of genetically engineered foods, worldwide famine, and growing rates of obesity-related health issues.

Beyond discussing a wide range of reasons to become a vegetarian (and that means no fish or chicken either, folks), the authors introduce you to a number of individual reasons for hope—Bob, the Wisconsin cheese maker; Jean-Yves, the farmer from Brittany who created the Sustainable Agriculture Network; and Muhammad Yunas, who has changed the lives of countless living in poverty with his remarkable microcredit programs. Along with these stories and the theories they’re based on, you’ll also find luscious recipes calling for grains, fruits, vegetables, and a handful of dairy products that will delight your taste buds and your conscience.

The Lappes firmly believe that the choices of low-level consumers have the potential to make positive changes, both in the world economy and in our physical health. By eating a vegetarian diet, shopping with care, and cooking with love, we might all brighten our future tremendously.

Book description
Recipes from America’s Small Farms gathers the most exciting, original, and authentic recipes—using the freshest ingredients—from those who know best how to set a table anytime of the year. Favorite recipes from farmers across the country and members of Community Supported Agriculture—a national organization that facilitates direct farmer-to-consumer sales of produce—will inspire home cooks everywhere. Also included are recipes from high-profile chefs such as Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), Peter Hoffman (Savoy), Roxanne Klein (Roxanne’s), and Kevin von Klause (White Dog Café).

Readers will find it easy to locate recipes, organized by food family, that call for the vegetables and fruits that are in season, readily available, and simple to use. Recipes like Creamy Turnip Soup; Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Herbs, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Tapenade Toast Points; Greek Zucchini Cakes; and Hiroko’s Fusion Choy with Tahini-Soy Dip give common produce exotic appeal.

The book includes a chapter on meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood, and there are vegan recipes throughout. Each chapter provides details about the history, characteristics, and nutritional qualities of specific fruits and vegetables. Cooking techniques, useful sidebars, and a glossary make this book an indispensable resource.