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Monday, July 25, 2011

Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen

Hey there, I'd like to expand the book list here on the blog. I have the "Good Reads" page, but I keep forgetting to post new books. If it gets extensive I can organize it into categories or something. Let me know your favorite books and I'll post them here. Doesn't have to be about farming, just anything that strikes your fancy.

I'll start.
I was recently loaned, ok well not so recently, actually I need to get this back to her soon...Anyway...My friend Stacey let me borrow her copy of Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen.
The San Francisco Chronicle calls her "The Julia Child of Ireland." Need I say more?

Love, love, love this book. It's not just a cook book filled with recipes, but like the title suggests, it teaches you "skills" and old fashioned ones at that! Like how to hang game, how to raise chickens to get the best meat, how to butcher things, how to smoke and cure etc. She was "nine years old when electricity came to her village" So she's been there, and lived the techniques she talks about. It's filled with interesting facts, antique approaches, and "what to do's" if something goes wrong. It also has nostalgic little "isms" like "a scant cup" or "handfuls" and a written dialect that makes it extra "Irishy" and quaint. Don't skip the yellow text boxes, she gives some great tips and hilarious stories. 

On my list to read:
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Dirty Life by Kristen Kimball

Just finished:
The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
re-read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (One of my classic favorites)
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2 comments:

  1. DeniseJuly 25, 2011 at 12:56 PM

    Have you read any of the Foxfire books? They are really wonderful. The stories in them were written by students back in the 70's. They interviewed older residents of the Appalachians. There are things about basketweaving, chair making, foraging, etc. I'm on Foxfire 3 right now. I'm reading them really slowly to savor them. There are 13 in the series I think. I might even try to make a ducimer (not) :)

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  2. Shannon @VillageGirlBlogJuly 31, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan....I have this one should you need a copy. It certainly will make you more aware of the foods that you serve and how exactly they get to the table all while giving a nice showing of what big business food has become.

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