Folk Rock Food Porn

Why did I spend 40$ last week on We Eat Together, a locally produced cook book by Julianna Mimande, formerly of (personally much missed) Bacon and currently the chef behind the EATery at the ARTery, local designer Gabe Wong and photographer Zachary Ayotte? I mean besides the fact that Julianna is just one of the sweetest people I have met (only briefly, two times) and Zach is a cutie? (Ok, little off topic.)

This book is a celebration of sustainable, local food, with beautiful food porn pictures and a slightly retro, lo-fi feel, brought on partially (I think) by the uncoated stock giving the colours a slightly softer, warmer feeling.

The labour of love that produced this book is obvious. The “We Want to Get to Know You” questionnaire filled out by the producers (nine local fixtures from Edmonton’s farmers markets and food scene) and reproduced in full, handwritten glory is just the start. Family recipes, anecdotes and snippets from farm visits (YAY boar’s testicles!!!) and test dinners make this more like reading a letter from a friend who got to go somewhere cool while you went to work. I was reading this book in bed rather than a novel, I was that excited about it (MM was laughing at me).

And of course, the recipes. Oh the recipes. Locally sourced, tested, with substitutions in some cases, everything is here. Main courses, appetizers, desserts, even drinks. It made me want to throw a dinner party (but that would involve, you know, cleaning the house and having friends).

What it really made me want to do is to try a bit harder with my resolution to cook more and eat local year round, to be more aware of where my food comes from and what goes into it. A resolution that tends to be more intention than practice. Especially in the winter, or towards the end of the week in the evenings after work. But books like We Eat Together are a good start for those of us who want to try and be a bit better, but don’t have the passion and drive to hunt out the suppliers or test out the products, you know the ones influenced by the Influencers and Opinion Leaders. You know, lazy people. Like me.

The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eatingmay get you interested in localvores, and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto might helped maintain your interest in locally sourced food, but it is books like We Eat Together that will help those of us who don’t have (or don’t feel we have) the time eat local and reconnect to our food, and its makers, year round.

This book is not just a pretty piece of locally produced food porn. I mean it is, but it is not just that. It is a guide post, a first path marker for those of us drawn towards a more sustainable, affirming connection with our food and the lands around us. It is a path that is well trodden, but many may not be willing to follow it due misconceptions about what may be involved. Julianna, Gabe and Zachary have produced a book that show the joys of local sourced, sustainable food without the shrill voice of ideologies or the stink of patchouli (although the binding glue is almost as obnoxious). And they make it look easy.

You can pick up a copy at the Make It Fair on December 11-13. You might even be able to get it signed! Or you can get it off the shelf at Audreys Book Store on Jasper Avenue & 107 st in Edmonton. If by some chance someone not in Edmonton wants a copy, try emailing them through We Eat Together, or contacting Audreys. And by that I don't mean to imply that someone who isn't from Edmonton wouldn't want this book, I mean come on, the photos are gorgeous and the recipes look incredible. I just don’t think anyone is reading this blog. Yet. I hope.