The Seed Underground by Janisse Ray

I’ve heard this woman speak on local food and seed saving a few times.  She is an activist in every sense of the word including being arrested for protesting land grabs and environmental disasters. This book is on my Christmas list for many reasons, mostly because I believe in the cultivation of heritage seeds which have almost been bred into extinction save for a few people, like Janisse, who have taken up the cross for these plants. Historic preservation is a general term which includes buildings, art, literature, oral history AND our food.

Here’s a link to purchase her book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Seed-Underground-Growing-Revolution-Save/dp/1603583068

The Real Roots of Southern Cuisine

This is my recent article for Deep South Magazine with Chef Todd Richards of The Shed at Glenwood in Atlanta. A fascinating, enlightening and frankly, refreshing look inside the food Southerners take pride in cooking and in eating. Slavery is deeply rooted in its history and its transformation.  Chef Richards also discusses the term “Soul Food” and what it really means, where fried chicken came from and Southern cuisine’s two key ingredients.

Forget everything you’ve ever learned or thought you knew about Southern food because it’s all about to change.

http://deepsouthmag.com/2012/12/the-real-roots-of-southern-cuisine/