Reading this book will make you think about the food you’re eating in a new way. My husband is not home to make fresh bread daily (and that’s not something that I am undertaking!). However, while making homemade cheese sounds fun it is realistically not something that I see myself doing. Just because we can get any type of produce throughout the year, doesn’t mean we should. But I agree with Kingsolver that tomatoes in January, transported to the grocery store from across the country (or world) do not taste as good as the fresh tomatoes grown in our garden in the summer. For many of us, it is unrealistic for us to grow our own food, make our own bread, can fruits and vegetables, raise chickens, etc. Some critics of this book feel that Kingsolver gets a bit preachy and they are not wrong. I found Kingsolver’s chapter on turkey mating to be humorous and interesting. Kingsolver’s husband, Steven, also provides additional commentary and information on current food issues. She also provides recipes and seasonally appropriate meal plans. The family also allowed for some luxury “cheat” items, including coffee, hot chocolate and dried fruit. Although Kingsolver’s teenaged-daughter, Camille, was away at college for the majority of the year, the book includes occasional excerpts in which she shares her thoughts on the experience. Lily, is just eight, when the family underwent their year of living locally. If they can’t grow or raise it themselves they choose to buy it from someone local who does. This book differs from Plenty, in that it is a family undertaking. Kingsolver and her family use the land to grow vegetables and raise chickens and turkeys. Kingsolver and her family move from Arizona to a farmhouse in the southern Appalachians, with the goal of eating locally for a year. For those who have read Plenty (see our review here) this book will seem familiar. I had not finished listening to it before it was due back at the library and hadn’t attempted to finish it until now. I had first started listening to the audiobook version of this book, narrated by Kingsolver and her family several years ago. I knew author, Barbara Kingsolver, as a fiction writer, having previously read her book The Poisonwood Bible. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
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