The Kingsolver Family: Grow Your Own

Barbara Kingsolver, Stephen L. Hopp (her husband), and Camille Kingsolver (their daughter) will read from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle at the First Parish Church Meeting House on Tuesday Thursday, May 24, at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $5, but they are $85 if you want to attend the reception afterwards at UpStairs on the Square and get a copy of the book.

Instead of talking about eating better, Barbara Kingsolver and her family actually did it and started growing their own food. The family writes about how challenging the experience was in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

They set strict rules for themselves to eat only "what they grew themselves or what was grown by others within 10 miles of their home" for a year. The book shows that the family ate quite well and had a good time getting close to their food.

Of course, this book isn't going to change the life of a hardcore Hot Pocket addict. But Kingsolver and her family give urbanites the chance to live vicariously and find out where our food comes from. This is the kind of material the Oldways Table would appreciate. You can read an excerpt of Chapter One, which describes the family's journey from Tucson to Appalachia, where they would start their farming journey.

If you can spare the extra cash, you can also enjoy some local bites at UpStairs on the Square. They haven't posted a menu, but they did mention local organic wine.

Image of book cover from Amazon.