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| ISBN: 978-1416551058 |
In A Homemade Life contemporary food writer, Molly Wizenberg lovingly shares memories of her parents and the recipes handed down to her. If I could use just one quote or passage to sum her philosophy it would be “Food is never just food.” She explains that every time we sit down to a meal we bring with us our mothers and fathers, friends, and relatives and that the kitchen table that has nourished us. On this point I happen to agree, that in our dinner plates we could see a reflection of who we are, where we come from, and if we look closely enough where we are going.
Her father, whom she calls Burg, had a huge influence on her life and she recounts many shared experiences involving favorite foods--including many recipes, her first trip to Paris, and other family memories. Her mother is also an ever-present, even iconic, figure and is a wealth of support, companionship, and encouragement after Burg’s death. We also catch a glimpse of Molly’s first romance and a move to Seattle. Her life reaches another pinnacle before taking that next loop in its cycle and we meet the man she will ultimately marry.
The Dirty Life is a story of what happens when a couple from different backgrounds falls in love, learns to compromise, and learns new life skills to survive.
Like the old sitcom Green Acres--minus the friendly pig, crazy neighbors and ball gowns--city slicker/freelance writer Kristin Kimball meets educated organic farmer Mark and magic happens. She gives up life in NYC and moves to the country. While tending their growing relationship they search for the ideal farm location to institute their ideas of providing a whole foods concept for farm shareholders. What I mean by “whole foods” in the farm-to-table experience is that they not only raise fruits and vegetables but they additionally harvest maple sugar, keep bees for honey, and raise animals that supply dairy and meats that are sold in farm shares. By utilizing back to basics farm practices, such as using draft horses to plow instead of tractors, milking by hand and relying on their neighbors for help and support, they scratch a living out of the ground for themselves.
