Good Food Reads

There is nothing like sitting down to a great cookbook and enjoying the gorgeous pictures and mouth watering recipes. But lately, I’ve been drawn to books (both fiction and non-fiction) that are about food and eating and chefs. There are some great, non-traditional food novels and memoirs out right now. Here are a few of my current suggestions, I encourage you to get reading:

The School of Essential Ingredients (by Erica Bauermeister) – I am currently reading this novel and I haven’t been able to put it down. The author has such a beautiful writing style. You will be instantly transported and affected by this story. A chef holds weekly cooking classes in her restaurants and the novel follows the different life stories of all of her students. Some stories are humorous, some are heartbreaking and some are very surprising, but everyone can find a common ground with cooking. I cannot say enough good things about this novel and I will be looking forward to more work from Bauermeister.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (by Barbara Kingsolver) – I spent an entire summer reading this book. The subject matter was so new to me and so foreign, that I took my sweet time with this book. Kingsolver and her family moved to a farm in Virginia and pledged for a year to eat local, homegrown food. That meant giving up anything that wasn’t in season, wasn’t grown in the garden and wasn’t raised or produced by neighbors. Both their struggles and accomplishments are highlighted in this memoir and it is truly an eye-opening read. I look at food differently now and I think you might too!

Like Water For Chocolate (by Laura Esquival) – What book list would be complete without this novel? This one is slated for a re-read by me sometime in the very near future. This is one of my sister’s favorite books, and favorite movie, and I have to agree! The heroine Tita is bound by tradition to care for her aging mother and thus can never marry. Tita pours her heart and soul into her cooking with some extraordinary results. Relive this classic novel or discover it for the first time. This is a must read!