Saveur

“For an historical perspective on the centerpiece of the feast, we recommend Andrew F. Smith’s The Turkey: An American Story, which traces the bird’s journey from its native North America to the tables of Europe and, finally, to its status as an American icon.”

No surprise, we agree!

So what inspired you to go out and hunt up all these farmers’ markets?

You know, for me it was the ultimate road trip. I went to eight states and 76 farmers’ markets, and it’s really a celebration of how farmers get food to the market table.

Chicago really seemed an important starting point because we’re home to the largest CSA in the country, Angelic Organics. And from there I went in a spiral, and took in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.

I wasn’t sure about giving Chicago its own chapter at first, but it is so different from the rest of Illinois, obviously, in its relation to food, which gave me a chance to talk about urban farming, and then go to Urbana and show what’s different about its farmers’ market. And besides, as my publisher said, Hello, we are the University of Illinois Press.

Listen

The book celebrates the growers, producers, and artisans who bring fresh, nourishing food to their local communities–in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Missouri, and Michigan–every week.

Janine will participate in the Printers Row Lit Fest June 9 in Chicago and has scheduled other personal appearances to discuss and sign copies of the book. Today, the Chicago Tribune included some of Janine’s advice for shopping at farmers’ markets in Monica Eng’s piece Best of the season: The freshest tips to get the most out of your farmers market trips.

The Jew & the Carrot

“Even if the Russian immigrants and their children learned their way around a modern kitchen, some retained a particular Old World culinary practice. Like my Grandma Mamie, a daughter of Russian immigrants, they avoided measuring and cooked by feel. Steinberg and Prost tell several stories of modern granddaughters chasing their bubbes around the kitchen in order to measure handfuls and pinches of ingredients. Thankfully, the book’s recipes include measurements.”

Author Joe McFarland has added some new mushroom hunting stories to his website. The first anecdote, from nonagenarian Marjorie Martin, reminds me of the mushroom varieties growing around an old stump in MY backyard.

“Finally, at the age of 94, Marjorie Martin was able to walk out into her yard one spring day in southern Illinois and pick all of the morels mushrooms she wanted.” (More)

“Recipes live lives just like people, with some ending up forgotten while others are lovingly remembered for generations. Why does one recipe stand the test of time and not the other? Sometimes all you can do is wonder — about the recipe itself and the person who created it.”