Title: In Winter’s Kitchen
Author: Beth Dooley
Nonfiction, published November 1, 2016
Available in paperback and E-book
Suggested retail: $16
Published by Milkweed Editions
Beth Dooley moved from New Jersey to Minnesota with her husband in the 1970s. Over the years, she made more and more connections that allowed her to find locally sourced foods through CSAs, small farms, or a local farmer’s market. With the local food movement, Beth name drops some of the people behind the food ecosystem of the upper Midwest in a well-woven story. In Winter’s Kitchen
In Winter’s Kitchen centers its story around ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal. 14 recipes that would work for a holiday meal are included at the back of the book too.
With being a Minnesotan, I am happy to see how Beth debunks some of the myths associated with the area, like the Upper Midwest being the land of lutefisk and hot dish. Granted, those are foods of the area, but it is so much more, like the University of Minnesota developing the Honeycrisp apple and other apple varieties and also Wisconsin dairy farmers with cheeses aged in caves that are made with unpasteurized milk to keep its health benefits.
Beth also sheds light on the importance of saving heritage breeds and not relying on say one type of wheat to feed the nation. Myths of the area can be adapted and debunked in other parts of the country too. With living in Minnesota my entire life, I was amazed by all that I did not know about certain crops, like wild rice not always being truly “wild rice” and a theory on why so many individuals now battle wheat sensitivities. In Winter’s Kitchen is a great read.
About the Author:
Beth Dooley is the author of six cookbooks, including, with Lucia Watson, Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland ( a James Beard Nominee) and Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmer’s Market Cookbook. She also writes for the Start Tribune and other publications. She lives in Minneapolis.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this title to review. No other compensation was received for this post. The thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.
