Idea: Your Summer Reading List

So, here's your summer reading list, in order:

Pollan is today's foremost food writer.  The Omnivore's Dilemma will undoubtably change the way you think about food.  You'll learn how the food you eat get from the farm, or the factory, to the table, and be amazed by the process.  For me, it provided an introduction into how I could make practical changes to where I get my food, and what I choose to eat.  It's a must read.

Parson's book will make you hungry.  Really hungry.  How to Pick a Peach is an exciting lesson in fruits and vegetables.  Go ahead, read that last sentence again.  Exciting lesson in fruit and veg?  You bet.  If my farmers' market post didn't have you jumping into the market, this book surely will.  It's a quick read, filled with knowledge and recipes for all seasons.

Kingsolver is probably the best author of the bunch.  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle chronicles her family's attempt to spend a year eating only local foods.  Don't worry, it's not a hair-shirted, hippy, change your life by being righteous piece.  It's totally sensible, providing practical ideas about small changes that will make life better.  There is a wealth of knowledge in here.  As an added bonus for us meat lovers, Kingsolver documents why meat eating not only isn't bad, but, if done the right way, the smart way, can actually be beneficial!

Another top notch book by Michael Pollan.  In Defense of Food expands upon his earlier works, and looks into the general Western diet.  He examines how our culture has gone from a society of eating real food to a society of eating over-processed 'nutrients'.   Pollen points out that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers probably wouldn't recognize much of what we eat as food.  And if they wouldn't think it was food, why should we.  This one really made me see the silliness in fad diets, and how it's important to eat real food.

EXTRA CREDIT

In my opinion, MFK Fisher still ranks at the top of America's food writing ladder.  Her works, especially The Art of Eating, have influenced every food writer and cook to follow in her footsteps.  Julia Child, Alice Waters, even Anthony Bourdain would not be who they are without her writing.  Neither would I.  Very much worth the read if you have the time.