Thanksgiving AAR part II: Barbara Kingsolver

I got this super easy Corn Pudding recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal Vegetable Miracle. Made a few changes based on what I had in the house and flavors I like, and it was scrumptiously delicious, and as I mentioned, crazy easy.

Holiday Corn Pudding, adapted from Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle.
3 cups corn kernals (frozen is fine)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (anything that melts is fine)
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried herbs de provence
salt & pepper

combine all ingredients in a big bowl, then pour into a greased, shallow baking dish. bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes until top is puffy and golden.

This was so tasty I think i might make more in a few days.

If Barbara Kingsolver isn't careful, she's going to have quite the cult following. oh wait, she already does. For anyone who enjoys eating, living, being outside, breathing, and generally being satisfied with their life, I can not recommend her book Animal Vegetable Miracle enough.

the book, simply enough, is about her and her family moving to some property her husband owns in Virginia. the property had been a farm at one time, but the Kingsolver family had only used it as a vacation cabin for many years.They sell their home in the American southwest, and move out to the farm permenantly, with the family promise they will subsist on what they can grow, or get locally. Luckily, they have experience with chickens and vegetable gardens, and both parents agree quickly that coffee and olive oil will be exceptions to the rule. For those of us with minimal vegetable gardening experience (me), and no animal experience (me too), this could be a little harrowing.

non-fiction books aren't supposed to be this good. they aren't supposed to be this inspiring, they aren't supposed to make you want to change your life and start next years lettuce seedlings even though it's only November.

This book never tells you to start your own farm. it never tells you you need to buy some chicks and do an acre of potatoes and onions to feed your family through the winter. it's just one family's farming adventures. it asks one question: don't you want to know where your food comes from? and it gives an answer: buy local whenever possible. it supports your local economy, doesn't require as much energy to get to you, and usually supports varieites and breeds of food that are dying out.


I really didn't expect to have a religious experience reading a book about a farm. and the turkey sex chapter? priceless. the biggest problem with the book is the same problem I've had with every Kingsolver book i've read: that it had to end.