Farmer John’s Cookbook:
The Real Dirt on Vegetables
By John Peterson’72 and
Angelic Organics
Gibbs-Smith, Publisher
Layton, Utah, 2006
With his documentary film The Real Dirt on Farmer John adored at Beloit College and film festivals nationwide, John Peterson’72 is back with a cookbook that is, in fact, much more than a cookbook. At 360 pages, it mixes more than 150 vegetarian recipes with a generous pinch of humor, a sprinkling of information about Peterson’s Illinois farm, Angelic Organics, and essays by Peterson and others.
With an emphasis on using vegetables as they are available, and organized by primary ingredient, the cookbook is especially accessible and useful for novice cooks who might not recognize a “sunchoke.” The cookbook is worthwhile for seasoned chefs too, as the recipes’ ingenuity and variety are outstanding.
Peterson runs Angelic Organics, one of the nation’s largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms, which provides vegetables for more than 1,200 families in the Chicago area.
RELATED LINKS:
“Home Ground: Farmer John Gets Down to the Real Dirt,” Beloit College Magazine, Winter 2005
Angelic Organics home page
Upstream: Sons, Fathers,
and Rivers
By Robin Carey’61
Oregon State University Press
Corvallis, Ore., 2006
Robin Carey’s narrative of a strenuous journey—kayaking upriver with his son—is entwined with stories pieced together from family history in this hauntingly beautiful memoir.
Carey sees his father and grandfather’s tumultuous relationship echoed in his own relationships with his father and son. As his son begins to outpace him, he reminisces about his father’s move into a nursing home with more than a little sadness. Fighting the current and his quick temper, he attempts to reach out to his son, his now-elderly father, and his deceased grandfather.
An emeritus professor of English at Southern Oregon University, Carey is also the author of Baja Journey: Reveries of a Sea Kayaker and North Bank: Claiming a Place on the Rogue. He has received the Oregon Book Award and a National Endowment for the Arts Award.
Beaches and Coasts
By Richard A. Davis, Jr.’59 and
Duncan M. FitzGerald
Blackwell Science Ltd.
Malden, Mass., 2004
With coastlines dominating the headlines as tidal waves and hurricanes sweep the globe’s seaboards, the authors examine the issues facing our world’s shores, from sea-level changes and tides to hurricanes and erosion. The underlying causes of these surface topics are covered in depth, including ecological damage and the effect humans have had on these environs.
Segmented by topic and coast type, this painstakingly researched textbook is a boon for those interested in geology, hydrology, or natural conservation, as well as anyone curious about the natural world we live in.
Davis is a distinguished university professor emeritus at the University of South Florida and has authored or edited 12 previous volumes. He has spent 40 years studying coasts worldwide.
