Synopses & Reviews
The explosive growth of the local food movement is hardly news: Michael Pollans books sell millions and the spread of farm-to-table restaurants is practically viral. But calls for a food revolution” come most often from a region where the temperature rarely varies more than a few degrees. In the national conversation about developing a sustainable and equitable food tradition, the huge portion of our population who live where the soil freezes hard for months of the year feel like they're left out in the cold.
In Winters Kitchen reveals how a food movement with deep roots in the Heartlandour first food co-ops, most productive farmland, and the most storied agricultural scientists hail from the regionisn't only thriving, it's presenting solutions that could feed a country, rather than just a smattering of neighborhoods and restaurants. Using the story of one thanksgiving meal, Dooley discovers that a locally-sourced winter diet is more than a possibility: it can be delicious.
Synopsis
Beth Dooley arrived in Minnesota from her native New Jersey with preconceptions about the Midwestern food scene. Having learned to cook in her grandmother's kitchen, shopping at farm stands and making preserves, she couldn't help but wonder, "Do people here really eat swampy broccoli, iceberg lettuce, and fried chicken for lunch everyday?"
These assumptions quickly faded as she began to explore farmers' markets and the burgeoning co-op scene in the Twin Cities, and eventually discovered a local food movement strong enough to survive the toughest winter. From the husband and wife who run one of the largest organic farms in the region to Native Americans harvesting wild rice, and from award-winning cheesemakers to Hmong immigrant farmers growing the best sweet potatoes in the country, a rich ecosystem of farmers, artisanal producers, and restaurateurs comes richly to life in this fascinating book.
In Winter's Kitchen "personalizes the path from farm to fork with heart and skill" (Wall Street Journal), demonstrating that even in a place with a short growing season, food grown locally and organically can be healthy, community-based, environmentally conscious, and--most of all--delicious.
About the Author
Beth Dooley has been involved with the local food movement for over twenty years. She is the author of numerous award-winning cookbooks about Heartland food traditions and her travel and food writing has been featured in the
Star Tribune,
Fine Cooking,
Delta Sky Magazine, and the
North American Review. She is also regularly a featured guest on Lynne Rossetto Kaspers Splendid Table” on PRI. Beth and her husband have three sons and live in Minneapolis, MN.