Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
When Barbara Kingsolver and her family moved from arid Tucson to a farm in the lush Virginia mountains, they committed to living for one year on only food they could grow themselves or find locally. From nurturing delicate asparagus to starting a heritage turkey flock to pining for faraway citrus, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is both a thought-provoking meditation on American food culture and an engaging family memoir. Included in the text are the Kingsolvers' own favorite recipes and seasonal meal plans.
Quote:
“Planning complex, beautiful meals and investing one's heart and time in their preparation is the opposite of self-indulgence. Kitchen-based family gatherings are process-oriented, cooperative, and in the best of worlds, nourishing and soulful. A lot of calories get used up before anyone sits down to consume. But more importantly, a lot of talk happens first, news exchanged, secrets revealed across generations, paths cleared with a touch on the arm. I have given and received some of my life's most important hugs with those big oven-mitt potholders on both hands.”
Author:
Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, and poet. Her many books include The Poisonwood Bible; The Lacuna; High Tide in Tucson; and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She lives in southwestern Virginia.
Published: 2007
Length: 370 pages
Set in: Virginia, United States
Illustrations by: Richard A. Houser