Book Stall

North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi
by Dr. Orson K. Miller Jr.
Falcon, 2006
Although nicely illustrated with color photos and densely packed with descriptions and identification keys, this field guide only covers some 600 out of several thousand North American mushroom species. It is not a definitive reference and should not be [...]

Mushrooms as Functional Foods
by Peter C. Cheung. Wiley-Interscience, 2008.
First introduced in Japan in the mid-1980s, the concept of “functional foods” suggests that foods are more than mere nutrients, but can have potent effects on the bodily functions of people who consume them. There is now worldwide interest in “food bioactives” that promote good health and [...]

Food Energetics
The Spiritual, Emotional, and Nutritional Power of What We Eat
by Steve Gagné
Healing Arts Press, 2008
Author Steve Gagne has been publishing books and articles about “Food Energetics” for almost two decades. His Energetics of Food: Encounters with Your Most Intimate Relationship was published in 1990. This latest work, published by Healing Arts Press, is [...]

Chocolate Pathway to the Gods
by Meredith L. Dreiss and Sharon Edgar Greenhill
University of Arizona Press, 2008
Today, chocolate may be a popular confection, but in the region of its origin — ancient Mesoamerica — it was a sacred substance, literally a food of the gods.
This illustrated history of chocolate documents the importance of cacao and its [...]

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
by Michael Pollan
Penguin Press, 2008
This popular nonfiction tome makes the astounding assertion that Americans would be better off eating a diet comprised of items their great-grandparents would recognize as food — fresh meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and whole grains –  and much less processed, pre-packaged food.
Michael Pollan, the author, [...]

Handbook of Fermented Meat and Poultry by Fidel Toldrá
Wiley-Blackwell, 2007
A substantial volume with over seven dozen contributors from 17 countries, this reference provides a comprehensive overview of meat and poultry fermentation.
Beginning with a general history of the production and consumption of fermented meats, the text details the ingredients, the microbiology, the nutritional aspects, texture, smell [...]

The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese
by Margaret Hathaway
The Lyons Press, 2007
“We could not give up the dream of ourselves as goat farmers. We were possessed by the idea, and our hopes had gone so far into the country that our daily city lives seemed schizophrenic and disappointing,” [...]

The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them
by Katie Letcher Lyle
Author and cook Katie Letcher Lyle of Virginia penned this guide to the most commonly found wild foods in North America, from asparagus and puffballs to coconuts and horseradish.
Unlike Euell Gibbons, whose Stalking the Wild [...]

How did the pretzel get its knot? When did hot dogs get their buns? And who put the hole in the doughnut?
There’s a story behind every food item, it seems, and the more elaborate the dish the more bizarre the tale. Chicken Tetrazzini, for instance, is a dish named in honor of the early-century Italian [...]

Food Labeling Compliance Review
Third Edition
by James L. Summers with contributions by Elizabeth J. Campbell
Iowa State Press, 2003
The author of this comprehensive food labeling compliance manual, James L. Summers, is a leading expert on the subject, having spent over three decades working for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on labeling issues. Elizabeth J. Campbell, who [...]