Every once in awhile a book drops into your lap (even a blind nut catches a few squirrels!!) and you wonder why it's not better known. Well...I'm here to tell you about Blithe Tomato...An Insider's Wry Look at Farmer'sMarket Society.
We had DeborahMadison & PatrickMcFarlin over for dinner a week ago. Deborah has written a number of very/very good cookbooks, mostly vegetarian, many of which are my favorites (must admit...never could bring myself to love her tofu book!!), and was founding chef of Greens and CafeEscalera. Patrick is an artist of some repute, done some drawings of NapaVlly winemakers, done a few wine labels (Two-Tone Farm is one), and also drives a cab as a GraphisDesigner at LosAlamosNationalLaboratory. I'd vaguely recalled that her brother had written a book, couldn't remember the name, but asked her to bring a copy for my perusual. She brought a jointly autographed gift copy.
So Deborah has done the foreward and Patrick the pen&ink drawings for the book, with her brother Mike writing it. Mike lives in Winters, Calif, not far from Davis (Deborah's home town). He's a farmer, mostly flowers, some vegetables, and sells at many of the local Farmer'sMarkets, a movement Deborah has been an ardent supporter of across this GreatNation. The book is a whole series of short viginettes, of people mostly, of Mike's farm life.
So's...I started reading it a few nights ago, preparing to read a book that was rather earnest and pontifical on the artisinal farmer movement.
Boy...was I ever wrong. It's one of the funniest things I've come across since my 7'th viewing of BlazingSaddles. It leaves me in stitches every essay in it I read. Last night's one on gophers really cracked me up. Yet....it still has a lot of wisdom and philosophy packed within the pages. Gets in a few very/very clever digs at RonaldReagan, JimmyCarter, and BillClinton. I can hardly wait to resume reading it again tonight.
Anyway...BlitheTomato...not to be missed....I think most of us winos/foodies will find it a hoot.
TomHil