Useful Books

I just got a copy of The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food by Janet Chadwick. I had been looking for a good resource and this was mentioned in Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle--I figured if it's good enough for Barbara, it's probably good enough for me. And so far I am favorably impressed. Lots of useful information, with different methods described for preparing each of many types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs--freezing, drying, canning, and root cellaring. For each method she gives a quick assessment of how fast it is and how good the end product is. Nice clear instructions, too, along with guidance on equipment and answers "what went wrong" questions.

Speaking of Animal Vegetable Miracle, I imagine most aspiring locavores have read it as well, but if you haven't, I recommend it. A thoroughly enjoyable, and inspiring, read. And while I'm on the subject of books, I also really enjoyed Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma.