Recommended Reading

It has been a bit since I have posted, but I am still cooking, as you can see from the above photo. Sometimes I think even a bouquet of flowers cannot compare to the beauty and excitement of fresh fruits and vegetables. My friend Carmen sometimes refers to the salads she makes as Happy Salads. And she touches on something very important. Fresh produce is not only visually appealing, but also mood enhancing.

It is in this framework that I would like to recommend a couple of books.

The first book, I haven't even finished yet, but I am so excited about it that I feel compelled to mention it. Amazingly, it explores so many of the concepts and ideas that I have taken to heart over the last year; ideas about food that have contributed in my losing so much weight and feeling healthier than I have in ages. When reading the book, hang on, as the first few chapters lay framework, whereas the middle of the book is where things really start to come together. Here it is (with a warning that the title is a bit off-putting):

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

The next book is by an author I really enjoy, Barbara Kingsolver, in collaboration with her daughter and husband:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

It contains some (but not all) of the same ideas as Pollan's book, but with a homegrown quality that only Kingsolver can convey. As an admirer of her novels, I especially enjoyed getting to know more about her daily life. She is an inspiration. I no longer feel alone or old fashioned when I am spending hours in the kitchen making food from scratch.