To Boldly Grow

December 15, 2021
A journalist who "grew up in a food-focused household" chronicles her adventures gardening and eating in Cape Cod. In 2008, Haspel, a James Beard Award-winning columnist for the Washington Post, and her husband, Kevin, moved from Manhattan to Cape Cod, trading their rooftop garden for a "shack on a lake." The next New Year's Day, Haspel floated a new idea: For the next year, they would "eat at least one thing we grew, hunted, or gathered every day." Rather than relying on experts, the author preferred suggestions from her neighbors who were fighting the same difficult growing conditions. She also notes that she has "learned the most from just getting dirty, from trying things." With witty insight, the author shares their successes and failures along with tips and how-to advice. As they acclimated to their new environment, she and her husband got involved in "the vibrant bartering that goes on in every community where people grow food; we've traded eggs for jam, pickles, asparagus, venison, and tomato seedlings." On their land and the surrounding areas, they successfully fished, hunted, raised fowl, and grew delicious shiitake mushrooms. Parts of the narrative are repetitious--Haspel is candid about how "bits and pieces of [the book] have been published elsewhere"--and some readers may squirm at her descriptions of preparing roadkill to eat, dressing turkeys, and shooting her first deer. Although the author doesn't espouse the view that eating meat is unethical, she believes in minimizing suffering and that "eating overpopulated (or at least unthreatened) animals [is] responsible and planet-friendly." Despite the scope of the book being limited to the resources found on Cape Cod and its surrounding waterways, it's a great stepping-off point for individuals interested in exploring "first-hand food opportunities" and exercising more control over the origins of what they eat. Knowledgeable inspiration for getting out there and getting dirty.

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December 13, 2021
Journalist Haspel (The Dreaded Broccoli Cookbook), writer of the Washington Post column “Unearthed,” marches briskly down the well-trodden path of doing something for one year in this amusing work. When, in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown, Haspel and her former commodity trader husband left Manhattan to live in a 900-square-foot “shack” on Cape Cod, they decided to go a step further and commit to eating one food a day that they had gathered “first-hand.” In a colloquial, curious tone reminiscent of the work of Mary Roach, Haspel recounts how this escalated from clamming to catching and smoking bluefish, to raising chickens (“gateway livestock”), to making their own salt by evaporating seawater. Haspel even got acquainted with guns to shoot deer for venison. Set pieces, such as a description of rigging a washing machine to serve as a chicken plucker, double as helpful hints (including tips for crafting logs to grow shiitakes) and self-deprecating anecdotes. There’s a refreshing lack of sugarcoating: Haspel notes that the idea that growing your own food saves money can be a delusion, and mourns the death-by-hawk of Phyllis, a white Araucana chicken named for her resemblance to Phyllis Diller. Despite the familiar setup, the bright prose and clever insight make this a pleasure to dig into. Agent: Jan Baumer and Steve Troha, Folio Literary.