Also in Food & Health

Growing Roots

The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists
Stories and Recipes

by Katherine Leiner

Photographs by Andrew Lipton

Reviews

Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/10) 

I moved to the United States as an adult and even after more than a decade of living here, there are still things that baffle me. One of those, and probably the one that I talk about most often, is the relationship most Americans seem to have with their food. Everything needs to be bigger, shinier and “better value,” but so very few people seem to be concerned about where their food comes from and how it was raised. Do not get me wrong, I am not knocking convenience and I am also not preaching about being ultra-green and fanatically locavore-ish, but I sure do miss going to the market most days. Those nearly daily trips to the market, always on foot and with my basket, were something to look forward to, and talking to the grannies who grew the best lettuce in their backyards in the suburbs and the old man who sold the best pickled turnip anywhere in the world were always a highlight for me.

I have to admit that I have seen many positive changes in this direction recently, and the absolutely gorgeous “Growing Roots” by Katherine Leiner showcases them beautifully. There is a lot to like about this book, starting from the purely aesthetic beauty of the photos by Andrew Lipton, who managed to catch a variety of precious moments on film. Then there are the stories, written with so much passion and such great respect for the work the people we get introduced to in the book are involved in. The author’s admiration for the passion and purpose of this fascinating line-up of sustainable farmers, cooks and food activists shone through in every single story. If that would not be enough for you, the book also contains some 150 recipes, ranging from incredibly simple to quite complex, but all of them sounding delicious, tempting and actually doable. 

The stories introduce us to a vast array of people who are trying to make a change in fields as diverse as cooking raw food, producing compost, fishing for oysters, raising poultry or pigs, growing herbs, keeping bees, practicing naturopathic medicine, running a farmers market, producing biodiesel, making organic ice-cream and many more.

“Growing Roots” is a book for anybody who wants to know more about what’s on his or her plate, for anybody who’s curious about the newer trends in food and for anybody who wishes to respect our planet more. It’s a book to make you dream and yearn and slightly envy places like California or NYC for their abundant farmers markets and other food outlets. Hopefully, it is also a book that will inspire more of us to do what is right.

Read the original review.

The Greenhorns - Book Reviews

December 26, 2010

Growing roots. A new book by Chelsea Green Publishing.

Marin, other 'foodies' spotlighted in Leiner's book

By Jeanne Santangelo, The Lazy Gardener

Novato Advance - December 15, 2010

After generations of decline, the number of people in Marin who grow food to share or who consider themselves small farmers is increasing. The book “Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists” includes interviews, stories, photos and recipes from several dozen of America’s youngest and most passionate organic farmers, foodies and locavores — exponents of a new food culture. Author Catherine Leiner crisscrossed the continent in cities, suburbs and rural areas and selected a cross section of farmers, food writers and activists such as Anna Lappé, writer, and Elspeth Hay, NPR, who are walking the talk. It is no surprise that many live in Northern California.

Read the entire review at the Novato Advance website.

Open Salon - Betsy Robinson

December 5, 2010

FULL DISCLOSURE: Although I do eat, I am not a foodie. Most of my best friends are foodies and they would laugh if they knew I was reviewing a food book. I do not eat animals and I really hate reading about animals as products to be slaughtered and consumed. That's about it . . . except for one more thing: although I sometimes portray myself as a curmudgeon, I really do like people — not to eat, but to know about. I especially like to know about their deepest stories.

Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists by Katherine Leiner, with lush photography by Andrew Lipton, is an absolute tour-de-force encyclopedic collection of stories (along with recipes and websites) about the new generation of sustainable food activists. I know Katherine from Central Park, a place where people with dogs become friends. I liked her on first sight, but I didn’t want to eat her. I wanted to know her story, so when she told me she had written a book, I couldn’t wait to read it.

Katherine started writing Growing Roots when her daughter left home and she felt bereft with nobody to cook for. Over the course of three years, she crisscrossed the country in a kind of “walkabout.” She writes in present tense: “One of the many things I begin to notice as I make my way west is how many more restaurants serve local foods. There are more farmers markets and all in all, more and more folks under forty involved in the new sustainable movement. Every small town seems to have an Edible magazine or some way of broadcasting the local organic fare.”

Through 54 chapters, Katherine profiles 66 people with a passion for good sustainable food, and she has managed to produce (pun intended) something to support a world of different kinds of eaters: anyone who has ever had the fantasy of growing their own food or making their passion into a career; people who are curious about where their food comes from and who's providing it; people who are depressed about the state of the world’s food system.

I am none of these things. I'm a vegetarian with a lamb-eating dog, who is glad somebody is willing to slaughter those lambs, but I wish they didn't have to. I'm a person who doesn't understand staring lovingly into the eyes of a gentle animal and never deviating from the belief that its purpose on Earth is to become meat. But despite all this, Growing Roots is for me too — it has forced me to test my beliefs and question my questions.

The people in Growing Roots are sustainable farmers; experts in green living; restaurateurs; educators; manufacturers and suppliers of sustainable food products; political activists; distributors; and more. Entrepreneurs in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, they comprise a diverse group who have inherited their small farms or their food passion. They are from all ethnicities, educational and cultural backgrounds, and body types (not all are slim and fit). What they have in common is smarts, drive, optimism, and the conviction that they can make a difference. And they are doing this.

“I don’t believe that food that’s good for us, that connects us to land through shared work, should be a privilege for the elite,” says sustainable food activist Josh Viertel. “It should be a universal right.” Josh is the first president of Slow Foods USA, an organization that hopes to affect the politics of our food system. 

“I grew up with organic farming,” says Nicholas Zimmer (Otter Creek Farm). “Friends who have conventional farms always talk about their yields. . . . They think that with organic farming you get less. We actually do the same or a bit more than they do most of the time.”

“One day, I was talking to a café owner,” says Carolyn Swanson (PassionPurveyors.com), “and she showed me a spoon that she said was made from corn and potato starch. ‘It will break down and go back into the earth,’ she said. I thought to myself: Cutlery made from renewable sources, and disappears without a trace! My lightbulb moment. That one spoon opened the door to a world of restaurant service I had never imagined.”

And then there are the philosopher poets:

“When I’m working with bees I feel meditative, it feels calming,” says Andrew Coté (Bees Without Borders). “I don’t see how you can look at one of these honey frames and see what bees do and not be at peace. Can the world be random? Perhaps. But I have a hard time looking at a beehive and thinking there’s not some order or some plan.”

“There’s a smell that’s really important to me as a farmer,” says Matthew Moore (Urban Plough). “The smell of the ground being turned over is like a new chance.”

Katherine’s “walkabout” was an American journey directed by a hunger for good food and boundless curiosity about the next generation who is producing it. Katherine is a journalist, observing and reporting without judgment. Her quest to fill in the void left by her daughter’s departure, to reconnect with good food — a love passed to her by her own mother, to maybe grow her own roots deeper turned into a pilgrimage, directing her to do what all good elders do: she showcases the youngsters — spotlighting their accomplishments, knowledge, and ever-growing resources — to help launch them into a world that badly needs them.

We live in a world of paradox. Katherine and the people she presents are dedicated to connecting to their food — be it plant or animal. They love their food and their animals, but: “This fall, we killed 130 chickens,” says Makenna Leiner Goodman, Katherine’s daughter, a farmer/writer/editor who lives in Vermont. “We did it in one day. Chicken killing is gruesome, but I pulled through. Then two local men killed the cows. I know they were very gentle and quick. Soon after that it was time for the pigs to go. Several weeks later, Sam killed the lambs. We butchered them together. That was a lot harder, for both of us. Lambs are so gentle to each other and so sweet . . .”

Then there are Alden and Melissa Anne Smith of The Mountain School who “harvested” roosters they’d named and then labeled each frozen package of meat accordingly. “We really know our food,” says Missy. “It’s a curious thing to love an animal, then take its life,” says Alden.

To which I respond, “Yeah. And I don’t get it.”

I read Katherine’s personal prelude to a chapter about a lobsterer. It begins with her childhood horror at boiling live animals: “I’d hold my breath. I couldn’t bear their high-pitched screams as my father put them in the roiling water.” And it ends with her joy at doing the same thing after returning home with a box of lobsters: “My daughter’s in the kitchen. I can hear her singing. She’s invited her brother, his wife, and my stepmother over for dinner. The dining room table is set. My mother’s lobster pot is on the stove and the water is boiling. My kitchen is full again, at least for the moment.”

“How come?” I asked Katherine. “How do you go from horror to disconnect?”

Here is her answer:

“I have to say first off that I was a vegetarian (no meat whatsoever) for about 12 years. I loved the idea of not eating meat, of not eating the friends I had made in the fields . . . but I was always a little weak, always a little anemic. At around 21 my doctor said I MUST eat a little. And that’s all I eat now, just a little. And since I am eating meat (maybe a tiny bit of lamb or fish. Sometimes a chicken thigh), I want it to be meat that for the most part, I have known. And by that I mean, I have known the farmer, and sometimes (in the case of my daughter’s meat), a lamb, a chicken (her hen’s eggs are the best ever) even, raw milk from a cow I have known. I try to keep my life small. I want to know my farmer.”

And I want to know the stories. I will not eat the writers, but I want to know them as well as I can. This book is a good bunch of stories by what I'm sure would be a very tasty writer.

Read the original review on Open.Salon.com.

Growing Roots Review

Elevate Difference - November 25, 2010

Seared Scallop Salad with Honey Vinaigrette and Moqui (Spicy) Mac (n’Cheese), yum. This was simply the one of the selections of delicious recipes in Growing Roots that I attempted with the assistance of my boyfriend/sous-chef. But Growing Roots is much more than a cookbook. Chronicling one woman’s cross-country road trip and profiling folks on the ground at every level, from composting queens to herbalists to family farmers to social entrepreneurs-restaurateurs, Growing Roots is a unique window into the breadth of labor and love that is going into the ever-growing movement of food sustainability.

Each interview flows into the next by region, not issue area, but it works because you get the sense you are tagging along on this road trip with Leiner and her dog, Luna. Leiner gives a little exposition on how she met the people she interviews and where she spoke with them along the way in her travels; interestingly though, she predominantly uses their own words. Interviews focus on the daily lives and progress of their work on sustainability. Most of the profiles are complemented by each individual’s favorite recipes; most include ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, and all of them look incredible. The two I made on Sunday, mentioned above, were scrumptious and strangely complemented one another, even though they came from different folks.

From the scope of the interviews, Katherine Leiner appears to have a real insider’s connections throughout the industry. She notes lots of personal relationships, and though she tries to sound down-to-earth her Manhattan foodie fabulousness bubbles up again and again. It appears that she sees the book as a platform to highlight the little people of the sustainability world. Perhaps she sees it as doing her part, or perhaps she has compiled this as a pet project simply because she can.

Ironically, everyone highlighted in the book describes sacrifices they’ve made in order to do this work. Day jobs that they love and feel are so important leave them with limited means or other losses. Juxtaposed with Leiner, it seems at times she is almost using them. But to be fair, I come from very much the same school of privileged environmentalism that Leiner does, and the opportunity to credit these hard work activists is incredible—very few people could pull it off.

More than anything, the consistent pattern of each interview would seem to get old quite fast, but it doesn’t at all. Each person’s story is compelling and inspiring and makes you want to read more and more. It even began to create grand delusions in my own city girl mind about the beauties of farming and that even I could be capable of it. Now, that’s a hell of a book.

Read the original review at ElevateDifference.com.

Growing Roots book delicious

BY JOAN SANSTADT, NEWS EDITOR
Agri-View - November 17, 2010

Warning: This is not a book to read when you are hungry. Not only does the author describe mouth-watering dishes, she also includes recipes for 150 of them.

As Leiner traversed the country, making the trip from her home in New York City to her small log house near Durango, Colo., several times, she also took time to stop and visit with people along the way. She especially sought out farmers who farm organically, farmers’ market participants and small restaurants that feature locally grown food on their menus.

“Mostly, what I learned interviewing these people is how they found passion in their lives, in their work, and in the food they eat. This is the kind of passion we all crave and I was seeking to renew in myself when I began this journey,” she wrote.

She depicts the multi-generational James family whose ranch near Durango produces a diverse group of products including organic vegetables, grass-fed pigs, cows and chickens, organic flowers, organic artisan cheese and raw milk.

The dairy operation on the farm “breaks all the rules,” she says. The cows are 100 percent grass fed and milking is only once a day. “And we leave the calves on for 10 weeks,” she added.

The Macaroni and Cheese recipe included in this chapter is unlike any similar recipe I’ve ever seen n it’s unusual ingredient is freshly grated nutmeg. While the recipe can be created with many different cheeses, Leiner recommends no more than two be used in any one batch lest the flavors “become muddy.”

Featured in the book are people who moved to Colorado from California as well as people in California whom she visited.

There’s an unusual recipe by Samantha Johnson for “Coconut Jerky.”

There’s an organic winemaker featured in the book, as well as people who once participated in a farmers market near where the World Trade Center was built.

Another featured farm is “Flying Pigs Farm” near Sushan, N.Y. As Leiner drives toward the farm, she recalls something she read in a cookbook by Shannon Hayes (not the Shannon Hayes who is Agri-View’s editor).

“Every farmer needs four best friends; a border collie to move the livestock, a guard dog to protect them, a good barn cat for catching mice and rats n and a pig to handle the rest,” she remembered.

The Shaw family of Greenwich, N.Y., has a Garden of Spices and they are showcased in yummy recipes ranging from a Veggie Dip to a Garden of Spices Chocolate Cake.

A Norwalk, Connecticut, beekeeper not only is enthused about his bee population, he also provided a recipe for Honey Yogurt.

Back in the Midwest, Leiner stops at the organic farm of Nate and Shelley Pirogowicz in Columbiana County, Ohio.

The wheat produced on the farm, goes straight to their mill and is ground into Daisy Flour.

Shelley has a full-time job as an FFA teacher at the same school from which she graduated. She teaches 80 to 90 students a year, grades nine to 12, all are taking the elective courses in agriculture.

When Leiner gets to Wisconsin, she visits Otter Creek Organic Farms near Spring Green. Operated by Nicholas Zimmer, the farm is really a family operation. “I rent the Taliesin land,” Nicholas points out.

While in Wisconsin, there are stops at the Zinniker Farm in East Troy, at the Michael Fields’ Co-op for groceries, and at the Michael Fields Farm and Food Program campus.

Then Leiner is off to Minnesota, Kansas and New Orleans. Back in Vermont, she enjoys a meal at The Farmers Diner, operated by Tod Murphy in Quechee. The diner is actually a restored 1946 diner transported to Vermont from Worcester, Mass.

The book can be read in many ways. Some will consider it a travelogue, with some local recipes accumulated along the way. Others will look at it strictly as a cookbook and marvel at the unusual recipes (ever hear of Lemon Almond Macaroons or Creole Cream Cheese). Some will delight in the details of farming practices enjoyed by food producers all across the U.S.A.

Regardless of your reason for reading this book, don’t miss the recipe for Green Revolution Ice Dream.

Happy eating.

Read the original review on AgriView.com.

Growing Roots Book Review

The Evolving Homemaker Blog

November 17, 2010

Oh my goodness can I share how much I love, love, loved this book!  Every second of every moment of time I had in the last week, I was peeking through these amazing stories.

The author, Katherine Leiner, travels around the United States interviewing all kinds of folks involved in the current food movement.  From chefs, to farmers, to activists, to business owners, she brings us into their world.  Each piece highlights the journey of each individual in becoming whatever it is that involves food and sustainability practices.

You’ll remember, she highlighted Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, documentary filmmakers of King Corn.  But that was way back on page 67!  There are 300 pages of astute and passionate people sharing with us their dreams of quality, environmentally aware, conscientious food.

And did I mention it is loaded with recipes?  All that I will copy before I bring it back to the library!

From restaurant owners like Chris Jackson of Ted and Honey in Brooklyn, Tod Murphy of The Farmers Diner, highlighted in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, to Katrina Blair of Turtle Lake Refuge in Durango, Colorado, and Blake Spalding and Jennifer Castle of award winning Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah.

From farmers like Daniel Salatin, highlighted in Omnivore’s Dilemma, Amy and Jamie Ager of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, to Benina Marie Burroughs, an almond farmer.

From young entrepreneurs like Jamie Peterson of Peterson Winery and Vineyards, Alison Baily Vercruysse of 18 Rabbits granola, Neil Gottlieb of Three Twins Organic Ice Cream in Napa, to Joslyn Erica of Hummingbird Herbals.

There are food activist and oystermen, almond growers and vegetable oil vehicle converters!  This book is chock full for anyone who is interested in sustainable farming, homesteading, urban homesteading, organic food, health, natural remedies, living simply, or my goodness anyone who needs renewed hope in our collective future.

Read the entire review on TheEvolvingHomemaker.com.

The Sierra Club

The Green Life Blog
Book Roundup Wednesday - August 25, 2010
By Della Watson

Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks, and Food Activists (by Katherine Leiner, $35, Sunrise Lane Productions, Sept. 2010): This collection of interviews with a diverse group of organic farmers, raw-food chefs, winemakers, beekeepers, and slow-food advocates forms an intimate portrait of America's growing sustainable-food movement. Candid conversations are paired with recipes and tips from these passionate foodies, leaving readers feeling enthusiastic about the future of green cuisine.

Read the original review here...