With grace, humor, and irresistible recipes, the author of Girl Sleuth takes us on her journey as an amateur chef, amateur farmer, and amateur parent
Melanie Rehak was always a passionate cook and food lover. Since reading the likes of Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Wendell Berry, she'd tried to eat thoughtfully as well. But after the birth of her son, Jules, she wanted to know more: What mattered most, organic or local? Who were these local farmers? Was it possible to be an ethical consumer and still revel in the delights of food? And why wouldn't Jules eat anything, organic or not?
Eating for Beginners details the year she spent discovering what how to be an eater and a parent in today's increasingly complicated world. She joined the kitchen staff at applewood, a small restaurant owned by a young couple committed to using locally grown food, and worked on some of the farms that supplied it. Between prepping the nightly menu, milking goats, and sorting beans, Rehak gained an understanding of her own about what to eat and why. (It didn't hurt that, along the way, even the most dedicated organic farmers admitted that their children sometimes ate McDonald's.) And as we follow her on her quest to find the pleasure in doing the right thing--and become a better cook in the bargain--we too will make our peace with food.

THE FIRST BEHIND-THE-SCENES HISTORY OF THE BELOVED GIRL DETECTIVE
"Through the history of Nancy Drew, Rehak sheds light on perhaps the most successful writing franchise of all time and also the cultural and historic changes through which it passed. Grab your flashlights, girls. The mystery of Carolyn Keene is about to begin." -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
* The original proposal for Nancy Drew suggested that her name be Stella Strong, Nell Cody, Helen Hale, or Diana Dare.
"GIRL SLEUTH is meticulously researched, elegantly written, and riveting. Melanie Rehak juxtaposes teen sleuth Nancy Drew's omnipotence with the all-too-real struggles of her creators." --Susan Kandel, author of NOT A GIRL DETECTIVE
* When Nancy Drew was introduced she wore cloche hats and gloves whenever she was out in public. In the 50s she changed to sport dresses and rompers and even -- gasp -- pants.
"Witty, fast-paced, and smart, Girl Sleuth makes the story behind Nancy Drew as much fun to read as the mystery novels themselves. It's superb."
--Jean Strouse, author of "Morgan, American Financier"
* Nancy and her boyfriend Ned Nickerson never once kissed, although in "The Secret of the Old Attic" she does "faint into his strong arms."

"A rare and wondrous thing....[Fox] knows how to create a character."—Vogue

Luisa de la Cueva was born on the Caribbean island of Malagita, of a plantation owner's son and a native woman, a servant in the kitchen. Her years on Malagita were sweet with the beauty of bamboo, banana, and mango trees with flocks of silver-feathered guinea hens underneath, the magic of a victrola, and the caramel flan that Mama sneaked home from the plantation kitchen. Luisa's father, fearing revolution, takes his family to New York. In the barrio his once-powerful name means nothing, and the family establishes itself in a basement tenement. For Luisa, Malagita becomes a dream. Luisa does not dream of going to college, as her friend Ellen does, or of winning the lottery, as her father does. She takes a job as a servant and, paradoxically, grows more independent. She marries and later raises a son alone. She works as a servant all her life. A Servant's Tale is the story of a life that is simple on the surface but full of depth and richness as we come to know it, a story told with consummate grace and compassion by Paula Fox.

"[A] book I absolutely loved....Marvelously observed, horrific without being violent, modesty and reticent."—Marina Warner, author of From the Beast to the Blonde