Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

A Year of Food Life. By Barbara Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp, and Camille Kingsolver. I was intrigued by the title and got this book with little idea what it was about. Barbara Kingsolver and her family move from Arizona to Virginia partly to reduce their carbon footprint and realign themselves with the food chain as it actually grows. They make a pact to buy only food grown in their neighborhood, grow it themselves, or do without, for a full year. This was surprisingly engrossing. Never preachy, simply present facts (with resources listed where you can see for yourself) and state what those facts mean for their family. I really enjoyed the recipes and meal plans Camille (Barbara's daughter) included. Barbara provides the memoir, her husband Steven adds more environmental information. Fascinating stuff. They are grateful for their good life, but they are not religious people. It was more a vague "thanks to the universe" sort of thing. They wrote about a year of incredible bounty and good health that kept them able to sow and reap and preserve. Recognizing Whom it came from? Perhaps that too will come in time.