Beginning with an examination of West African food traditions during the era of the transatlantic slave trade and ending with a discussion of black vegan activism in the twenty-first century, Getting What We Need Ourselves: How Food Has Shaped African American Life tells a multi-faceted food story that goes beyond the well-known narrative of southern-derived "soul food" as the predominant form of black food expression. While this book considers the provenance and ongoing cultural resonance of emblematic foods such as greens and cornbread, it also examines the experiences of African Americans who never embraced such foods or who rejected them in search of new tastes and new symbols that were less directly tied to the past of plantation slavery. This book tells the story of generations of cooks and eaters who worked to create food habits that they variously considered sophisticated, economical, distinctly black, all-American, ethical, and healthful in the name of benefiting the black community. Significantly, it also chronicles the enduring struggle of impoverished eaters who worried far more about having enough to eat than about what particular food filled their plates. Finally, it considers the experiences of culinary laborers, whether enslaved, poorly paid domestic servants, tireless entrepreneurs, or food activists and intellectuals who used their knowledge and skills to feed and educate others, making a lasting imprint on American food culture in the process. Throughout African American history, food has both been used as a tool of empowerment and wielded as a weapon. Beginning during the era of slavery, African American food habits have often served as a powerful means of cementing the bonds of community through the creation of celebratory and affirming shared rituals. However, the system of white supremacy has frequently used food, or often the lack of it, as a means to attempt to control or subdue the black community. This study demonstrates that African American eaters who have worked to creative positive representations of black food practices have simultaneously had to confront an elaborate racist mythology about black culinary inferiority and difference. Keeping these tensions in mind, empty plates are as much a part of the history this book sets out to narrate as full ones, and positive characterizations of black foodways are consistently put into dialogue with distorted representations created by outsiders. Together these stories reveal a rich and complicated food history that defies simple stereotypes and generalizations.

Nationally syndicated columnist and bestselling author of "Ask a Mexican "Gustavo Arellano presents a tasty trip through the history and culture of Mexican food in this country, uncovering great stories and charting the cuisine's tremendous popularity north of the border. Arellano's fascinating narrative combines history, cultural criticism, food writing, personal anecdotes, and Jesus on a tortilla. In seemingly every decade for over a century, America has tried new culinary trends from south of the border, loved them, and demanded the next big thing. As a result, Mexican food dominates American palates to the tune of billions of dollars in sales per year, from canned refried beans to tortilla wraps and ballpark nachos. It's a little-known history, one that's crept up on this country and left us better for it.

Learn how to make meals that are out of this world with this indispensable guide to the food of the stars! Perfect for every fan, this updated edition of The Star Trek Cookbook from the New York Times bestselling author comes with brand-new and delicious recipes, tantalizing visuals, and easy-to-follow instructions and advice to make the best foods from the future. With all-new recipes right beside timeless classics, food stylist and New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Monroe-Cassel's reimagining of The Star Trek Cookbook presents a visual feast along with complete guides on favorite foods from across Star Trek, adapted for easy use in 21st-century kitchens. Themed as a Starfleet-sponsored collection of recipes from across multiple quadrants and cultures, and intended to foster better understanding of different species from a human perspective with its Earth-centric ingredients, this must-have cookbook embraces the best of Star Trek and its core message of hope, acceptance, and exploration in the spirit of gastrodiplomacy.

In this captivating new memoir, award-winning writer Jessica B. Harris recalls her youth "surrounded by some of the most famous creative minds of the seventies and eighties...James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Nina Simone" (New York magazine)-in a vibrant, lost era of New York City. In the Technicolor glow of the early seventies, Jessica B. Harris debated, celebrated, and danced her way from the jazz clubs of the Manhattan's West Side to the restaurants of Greenwich Village, living out her buoyant youth alongside the great minds of the day-luminaries like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. My Soul Looks Back is her tribute to that fascinating social circle and their shared commitment to activism, intellectual engagement, and each other. With "simmering warmth" (The New York Times), Harris paints evocative portraits of her illustrious friends: Baldwin as he read aloud an early draft of If Beale Street Could Talk, Angelou cooking in her California kitchen, and Morrison relaxing at Baldwin's house in Provence. Harris describes her role as theater critic for the New York Amsterdam News and editor at then-burgeoning Essence magazine; star-studded parties in the South of France; drinks at Mikell's, a hip West Side club; and the simple joy these extraordinary people took in each other's company. At the center is Harris's relationship with Sam Floyd, a fellow professor at Queens College, who introduced her to Baldwin. More than a memoir of friendship and first love, My Soul Looks Back is a carefully crafted, intimately understood homage to a bygone era and the people that made it so remarkable.

Why should the professional brewmaster have all the fun? Now it is possible to brew good, simple beer at home without expensive equipment. This extensive reference book, the product of 80 home brewing sessions, is your technical guide to easy home brewing and covers every single aspect of the process in great detail. From establishing your workspace to assembling your raw materials to step-by-step coverage of the brewing process, this book is an essential ingredient in your home brewing operation. With detailed illustrations and photographs documenting the process, you will learn fermentation, bottling, brewing mistakes, and basic beer recipes. In addition, there is an entire chapter devoted to using new beer brewing machines as well as a comprehensive list of recipes for European specialty beers. All in all, this is the ideal home brewery guide for setting up and producing your own brew.

From corn flakes to pancakes, Breakfast: A History explores this "most important meal of the day" as a social and gastronomic phenomenon. It explains how and why the meal emerged, what is eaten commonly in this meal across the globe, why certain foods are considered indispensable, and how it has been depicted in art and media. Heather Arndt Anderson's detail-rich, culturally revealing, and entertaining narrative thoroughly satisfies.

Hedgerows, moors, meadows and woods - these hold a veritable feast for the forager. In this hugely informative and witty handbook, John Wright reveals how to spot the free and delicious pickings to be found in the British countryside, and how to prepare and cook them. First John touches on the basics for the hedgerow forager, with an introduction to conservation, safety, the law, and all the equipment that you may need. Next he guides you through the tasty edible species to be found. Each one is accompanied by photographs for identification, along with their conservation status, habitat, distribution, season, taste, texture and cooking methods - not forgetting, of course, some fascinating asides and diversions about their taxonomy and history. Fifty species are covered, including bilberries, blackberries, raspberries, common mallow, dandelions, hedge garlic, horseradish, pignuts, nettles, sloes, sweet chestnuts, water mint, bulrushes and wild cherries. After this there is a section describing the poisonous species to steer clear of, with identifying photographs as well as warnings about nasty 'lookalikes'. Finally, there are thirty delicious recipes to show how you can make the most of your (edible) findings.Introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Hedgerow" is an indispensable household reference, and an essential book to have by your side for every trip into the countryside.

The Campout Card Deck is a user - friendly guide to creating a next - level camping experience. From the IACP Award - winning authors of The Picnic, this card deck gives easy - to - digest and inspiring tips and tricks for leaving civilization behind and dining under the stars, including how to find a suitable campsite and build a campfire plus how to keep it going, activities like Stargazing for City Slickers and 5 Fantastic Car Games, and delicious recipes for toasty pudgie pies, backcountry breakfast boards, s'mores, hot dogs, and more. Adapted from Artisan's popular The Campout Cookbook, this card deck is the perfect gift for the camp - curious and a beautiful, user-friendly guide for anyone looking to craft the ultimate camping adventure.

For 15 years, the author has been informing and entertaining the barbecue world on line. Now this indispensable advice on how to impress friends and family by perfecting their favorite cuisine, and win grilling competitions, is in book form for the first time. Whether it's pork, beef, poultry, fish, or lamb, professional grill masters share some of the best-kept secrets of the trade. Included is inside information on purchasing the most reliable equipment, using the right type of grill and fueling method, and shopping for the freshest ingredients. If you're a seasoned barbecuer broadening your horizons or a casual griller looking for inspiration, let this user-friendly and visually striking book be your motivation. Mouth-watering photos, including colorful depictions of outdoor feasts, abound, as well as step-by-step instructional sequences and recipes that include fancy spices and marinades. Discover the most modern methods of grilling and smoking used by real barbecue champs, and fire away!

"Expertly takes readers into a world of Japanese home cooking far from the austere precision of the sushi counter, or the late-night rush of the ramen-ya. . . .This welcome primer goes a long way toward making Japanese cooking accessible to home cooks curious but perhaps intimidated by the cuisine." Publishers Weekly Learn how to make the enigmatic and umami-rich comfort food of Japan, with over 75 recipes straight from Atsuko Ikeda's authentic yet modern Japanese Kitchen. Japanese home-cooking is full of comfort, but a version of comfort food that is stylish, mouth-watering and less unhealthy than most. For those who aspire to recreate the Japanese dishes enjoyed in restaurants or on holiday, and to discover even more about the secrets and techniques involved in Japanese home cooking, you are invited into Atsuko's Kitchen. Learn the subtle art of creating a balanced meal as demonstrated with an easy-to-follow infographic. Learn the basics, such as how to season food the Japanese way, how to prepare dashi stock and how to make variations on basic rice. Choose from the delicious array of main dishes you might be familiar with, such as chicken teriyaki, tonkatsu pork, beef tataki, gyoza, seared tuna with ponzu, vegetable tempura, okonomiyaki, grilled aubergine with sesame sauce, plus recipes from Atsuko's own family and modern creative repertoire. Also featuring 'izakaya' small plates for sharing and sumptuous modern desserts, there is Japanese comfort food for every occasion. With tips on how to present your dishes in the traditional way, anecdotes and cultural explanations of dishes, discover the secrets of Japanese home-cooking for yourself.

Everyday, millions of people eat earth, clay, nasal mucus, and similar substances. Yet food practices like these are strikingly understudied in a sustained, interdisciplinary manner. This book aims to correct this neglect. Contributors, utilizing anthropological, nutritional, biochemical, psychological and health-related perspectives, examine in a rigorously comparative manner the consumption of foods conventionally regarded as inedible by most Westerners. This book is both timely and significant because nutritionists and health care professionals are seldom aware of anthropological information on these food practices, and vice versa. Ranging across diversity of disciplines "Consuming the Inedible" surveys scientific and local views about the consequences - biological, mineral, social or spiritual - of these food practices, and probes to what extent we can generalize about them.

IN 1945, FORTUNE MAGAZINE named Betty Crocker the second most popular American woman, right behind Eleanor Roosevelt, and dubbed Betty America's First Lady of Food. Not bad for a gal who never actually existed. "Born" in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to proud corporate parents, Betty Crocker has grown, over eight decades, into one of the most successful branding campaigns the world has ever known. Now, at long last, she has her own biography. Finding Betty Crocker draws on six years of research plus an unprecedented look into the General Mills archives to reveal how a fictitious spokesperson was enthusiastically welcomed into kitchens and shopping carts across the nation. The Washburn Crosby Company (one of the forerunners to General Mills) chose the cheery all-American "Betty" as a first name and paired it with Crocker, after William Crocker, a well-loved company director. Betty was to be the newest member of the Home Service Department, where she would be a "friend" to consumers in search of advice on baking -- and, in an unexpected twist, their personal lives. Soon Betty Crocker had her own national radio show, which, during the Great Depression and World War II, broadcast money-saving recipes, rationing tips, and messages of hope. Over 700,000 women joined Betty's wartime Home Legion program, while more than one million women -- and men -- registered for the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air during its twenty-seven-year run. At the height of Betty Crocker's popularity in the 1940s, she received as many as four to five thousand letters daily, care of General Mills. When her first full-scale cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, or "Big Red," as it is affectionately known, was released in 1950, first-year sales rivaled those of the Bible. Today, over two hundred products bear her name, along with thousands of recipe booklets and cookbooks, an interactive website, and a newspaper column. What is it about Betty? In answering the question of why everyone was buying what she was selling, author Susan Marks offers an entertaining, charming, and utterly unique look -- through words and images -- at an American icon situated between profound symbolism and classic kitchen kitsch.

Drawing directly from his experience as an acclaimed climate-change gardener, and of setting up a kitchen garden from scratch for River Cottage, Mark explains the practical aspects of organic growing, introduces us to a whole world of vegetables we may not have previously considered, and does away with alienating gardening jargon once and for all. Mark begins with a catalogue of vegetables that will grow in this country, explaining for each their benefits, what varieties to go for, dos and don'ts, and popular culinary uses. He then invites us to create a wish list of foods, and shows us his own list from his early gardening days. Next, he explains how to turn this wish list into a coherent kitchen garden plan appropriate for our space, whether it be a patch of acidic soil, a roof-top garden or an allotment, whether we put on our wellies in every free moment or are 'time-poor' gardeners. Then he puts all the theory into practice, showing us how to look after nutrients in the soil, how to resist pests and diseases, and how to make our garden sustainable and organic. In clear, concise sections we learn about seed trays, supporting plants with climbing structures, mulching, composting, companion planting, irrigation and promoting pollination, and there are additional tables showing sowing and harvesting times, plant sizes, and alternative varieties of plants for different sites.About thirty recipes and a directory of useful addresses finish the book, and the handbook is complemented by bright colour photography throughout. Practical and inspiring, with a textured hard cover and an introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Veg Patch" is destined to join Handbooks No. 1, 2 and 3 as an indispensible household reference.

Einstein's cook was lucky. But you, too, can have a scientist in your kitchen: Robert L. Wolke.

Do you wish you understood the science of foods, but don't want to plow through dry technical books? What Einstein Told His Cook is like having a scientist at your side to answer your questions in plain, nontechnical terms.

Chemistry professor and syndicated Washington Post food columnist Robert L. Wolke provides over 100 reliable and witty explanations, while debunking misconceptions and helping you to see through confusing advertising and labeling.

o In "Sweet Talk" you will learn that your taste buds don't behave the way you thought they did, that starch is made of sugar, and that raw sugar isn't raw. Did you know that roads have been paved with molasses? Why do cooked foods turn brown? What do we owe to Christopher Columbus's mother-in-law?

o In "The Salt of the Earth" you will learn about the strange salts in your supermarket. Does sea salt really come from the sea? (Don't bet on it.) Why do we salt the water for boiling pasta? And how can you remove excess salt from oversalted soup? (You may be surprised.)

o In "The Fat of the Land" you will learn the difference between a fat and a fatty acid, what makes them saturated or unsaturated, and that nonfat cooking sprays are mostly fat. Why don't the amounts of fats on food labels add up? Why does European butter taste better than ours?

o In "Chemicals in the Kitchen" you will learn what's in your tap water, how baking powder and baking soda differ, and what MSG does to food. What Japanese taste sensation is sweeping this country? Is your balsamic vinegar fake? Why do potato chips have green edges?

o In "Turf and Surf" you will learn why red meat is red, why ground beef may look as if it came from the Old Gray Mare, and how bones contribute to flavor. Want a juicy turkey with smooth gravy? How does one deal with a live clam, oyster, crab, or lobster?

o In "Fire and Ice" you will learn how to buy a range and the difference between charcoal and gas for grilling. Did you know that all the alcohol does not boil off when you cook with wine? How about a surprising way to defrost frozen foods? And yes, hot water can freeze before cold water.

o In "Liquid Refreshment" you will learn about the acids and caffeine in coffee, and why "herb teas" are not teas. Does drinking soda contribute to global warming? Why does champagne foam up? Should you sniff the wine cork? How can you find out how much alcohol there is in your drink?

o In "Those Mysterious Microwaves" you will learn what microwaves do—and don't do—to your food. What makes a container "microwave safe"? Why mustn't you put metal in a microwave oven? How can you keep microwave-heated water from blowing up in your face?

o In "Tools and Technology" you will learn why nothing sticks to nonstick cookware, and what the pressure-cooker manufacturers don't tell you. What's the latest research on juicing limes? Why are "instant read" thermometers so slow? Can you cook with magnetism and light? What does irradiation do to our foods?

This sequel to the best-selling "What Einstein Told His Cook" continues Bob Wolke's investigations into the science behind our foods from the farm or factory to the market, and through the kitchen to the table. In response to ongoing questions from the readers of his nationally syndicated "Washington Post" column, "Food 101," Wolke continues to debunk misconceptions with reliable, commonsense answers. He has also added a new feature for curious cooks and budding scientists, "Sidebar Science," which details the chemical processes that underlie food and cooking. In the same plain language that made the first book a hit with both techies and foodies, Wolke combines the authority, clarity, and wit of a renowned research scientist, writer, and teacher. All those who cook, or for that matter go to the market and eat, will become wiser consumers, better cooks, and happier gastronomes for understanding their food."

Andy Baraghani peeled hundreds of onions at Chez Panisse as a teenage intern, honed his perfectly balanced salad–making skills at Estela in New York, and developed recipes in the test kitchens of Saveur, Tasting Table, and Bon Appétit. It took him all those years to figure out the cook he wanted to be: a cook who is true to his Persian heritage, a fresh-vegetable lover, a citrus superfan, and an always-hungry world traveler. In The Cook You Want to Be, Baraghani shows home cooks on how to hone their own cooking styles by teaching the techniques and unexpected flavor combinations that maximize flavor in minimal time.
 
At Bon Appétit, Baraghani created a bevy of viral recipes—from Tahini Ranch to Fall-Apart Caramelized Cabbage—that became household staples. Here, he follows up with more umami-rich dishes, beautiful and restaurant-worthy meals (that take half the time), and well-known dishes recast in utterly delicious ways. Among his debut cookbook’s 100 recipes, new surefire hits include Caramelized Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter Harissa; Sticky, Spicy Basil Shrimp; and Tangy Pomegranate-Chicken. Cooks will find inspiration to riff on, quick meals for hurried weeknights, condiments galore, and memorable meals to impress dinner guests. In essays throughout the book, Baraghani shares convictions (why everyone must make his beloved Persian egg dish, kuku sabzi) and lessons to live by (the importance of salting fish before cooking it).
 
The Cook You Want to Be is a trove of go-to recipes and knowledge, stunning photographs, and delicious, simple home cooking for modern times.

Scarlett O'Hara munched on a radish and vowed never to go hungry again. Vardaman Bundren ate bananas in Faulkner's Jefferson, and the Invisible Man dined on a sweet potato in Harlem. Although food and stories may be two of the most prominent cultural products associated with the South, the connections between them have not been thoroughly explored until now. Southern food has become the subject of increasingly self-conscious intellectual consideration. The Southern Foodways Alliance, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, food-themed issues of Oxford American and Southern Cultures, and a spate of new scholarly and popular books demonstrate this interest. Writing in the Kitchen explores the relationship between food and literature and makes a major contribution to the study of both southern literature and of southern foodways and culture more widely. This collection examines food writing in a range of literary expressions, including cookbooks, agricultural journals, novels, stories, and poems. Contributors interpret how authors use food to explore the changing South, considering the ways race, ethnicity, class, gender, and region affect how and what people eat. They describe foods from specific southern places such as New Orleans and Appalachia, engage both the historical and contemporary South, and study the food traditions of ethnicities as they manifest through the written word.

Divided into 5 sections which: * Set the scene - with facts, figures and quotations. * Inform - thrace the history of the bean from its discovery in South America. * Delight the eye - a blast of colour - a selection of adverts for chocolate from around the world. * Explain - how it is made, national variations on our relationship with chocolate, gorgeous recipes. * Expand - additional information and finding out more.

THE BOOK LOVER'S COOKBOOK
Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature
and the Passages that Feature Them
Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen
Wake up to a perfect breakfast with Mrs. Dalby's Buttermilk Scones, courtesy of James Herriot's "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and Ichabod's Slapjacks, as featured in Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." There's homey comfort food like Connie May's Tomato Pie, created with and inspired by Connie May Fowler" (Remembering Blue)"; Thanksgiving Spinach Casserole (Elizabeth Berg's "Open House"); and Amish Chicken and Dumplings (Jodi Picoult'"s""Plain Truth") . . . Sample salads, breads, and such soul-warming soups as Nearly-a-Meal Potato Soup (Terry Kay's "Shadow Song"); Mr. Casaubon's Chicken Noodle Soup (George Eliot's "Middlemarch"); and Mrs. Leibowitz's Lentil-Vegetable Soup (Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes") . . . After relishing appetizers and entrees, there's a dazzling array of desserts, including Carrot Pudding (Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol"); Effie Belle's Coconut Cake (Olive Ann Burns's "Cold Sassy Tree"); and the kids will love C.S. Lewis's Turkish Delight from "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe."
Sprinkled throughout with marvelous anecdotes about writers and writing, "The Book Lover's Cookbook" is a culinary and literary delight, a browser's cornucopia of reading pleasure, and a true inspiration in the kitchen.
Shaunda Kennedy Wenger enjoys creative cooking and writing children's stories and articles. She is currently working on a novel. Her work has been published in "Babybug," "Ladybug," "Wonder Years," "American Careers," "South Valley Living," and "Short-Short Stories for Reading Aloud" (The Education Center, 2000). She is an active member of the League of Utah Writers and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She regards her monthly book club meeting as one life's essential ingredients.
Janet Kay Jensen is published in "Healing Ministry "journal""and "The Magic of Stories. "She has received numerous awards for essays, poetry, and short stories, including three "ByLine Magazine" honorable mentions. A speech-language pathologist, she holds degrees from Utah State University and Northwestern University. She is writing a novel, teaches poetry classes to jail inmates, and is a literacy tutor. Married and the mother of three sons, she is a consultant at Utah State University.
TASTY RECIPES AND THE BOOKS THAT INSPIRED THEM
Jo's Best Omelette . . . "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
No Dieter's Delight Chicken Neapolitan . . . "Thinner" by Stephen King
Extra-Special Rhubarb Pie . . . "The Persian Pickle Club" by Sandra Dallas
Grand Feast Crab Meat Casserole . . . "At Home in Mitford" by Jan Karon
Persian Cucumber and Yogurt . . . "House of Sand and Fog" by Andre Dubus III
Tamales . . . "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel
Bev's No-Fuss Crab Cakes . . . "Unnatural Exposure" by Patricia Cornwell
Macaroni and Cheese . . . "The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler
Veteran Split Pea Soup . . . "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane
Alternative Carrot-Raisin-Pineapple Salad . . . "Midwives" by Chris Bohjalian
Summer's Day Cucumber-Tomato Sandwiches . . .
"Women in Love" by D. H. Lawrence
Refreshing Black Cows . . . "The Book of Ruth" by Jane Hamilton
Dump Punch . . . "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Not Violet, But Blueberry Pie
. . . "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
Innocent Sweet Bread . . . "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
Daddy's Rich Chocolate Cake . . . "Fatherhood" by Bill Cosby

. . . and many other delectable dishes for the literary palate

"From the Hardcover edition."

Why have white Australians so often rejected the delicious and nourishing foods native to our own continent - the wild rices, native fruits, meats, herbs and spices? This is one food revolution that really matters - and it will change how you look at Australia. We celebrate cultural and culinary diversity yet shun the foods that grew here before white settlers arrived. We love superfoods from remote exotic locations, yet reject those that grow in our own land. We say we revere sustainable local produce, yet ignore Australian native plants and animals that are better for the land than European ones. In this, the most important of his many books, John Newton boils down these paradoxes by arguing that if you are what you eat, we need to eat different foods. And, with the help of some amazing recipes from the likes of Rene Redzepi's Noma, Peter Gilmore and Kylie Kwong, he shows that the tide is turning, and that there is a revolution happening today in Australian restaurants and beyond.

When Julia Child arrived in Paris in 1948, 'a six-foot-two-inch, thirty-six-year-old, rather loud and unserious Californian', she barely spoke a word of French and didn't know the first thing about cooking. As she fell in love with French culture - buying food at local markets, sampling the local bistros, and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu - her life began to change forever. We follow her extraordinary transformation from kitchen ingenue to internationally renowned (and internationally loved) expert in French cuisine. Bursting with Child's adventurous and humorous spirit, My Life in France captures post-war Paris with wonderful vividness and charm.