Dishing It Out

Some recipes are dreamed up in the kitchen. Others are dished up from the dirt. For Andrea Bemis, who owns and operates an organic vegetable farm with her husband in Parkdale, Oregon, meals are inspired by the day’s harvest. In this stunning cookbook, Andrea shares simple, inventive, and delicious recipes for cooking through the seasons. Welcome to life on Tumbleweed Farm—where the work may be hard, but the stove is always warm.

This study challenges the uncritical equation of advancement with success. As a participant observer at a family-style restaurant in New Jersey, the autho reveals the strategies that experienced waitresses employ to improve their own positions rather than aspiring toward management. Through the voices of some aggressive, determined, tough, and resilient women, the author confronts stereotypical characterizations of waitresses. The author finds that certain unique features of the restaurant industry the tipping system, chaotic work environment, chronic shortages of labor and supplies, and the manager's role as a fill-in man allow waitresses to manipulate their work environment to protect their own interests. The downgrading of the managerial role in this restaurant has rendered advancement meaningless. Knowing that the 'help wanted' sign is permanently posted, the waitresses refuse to submit to management's dictates, to 'take junk' from rude or hostile customers, or to internalize the negative self-image usually associated with waitressing. The colorful and often amusing comments by the women the author interviewed indicate that they have developed an arsenal of subtle but undeniably effective tactics to combat the exploitive elements of the job, to maximize tips, and to secure the boss' attention to their needs.

Explore Oregon’s varied and exciting food traditions. With delectable dishes that range from Hazelnut-Crusted Salmon with Balsamic Vinaigrette to Blackberry Bread Pudding and Flank Steak with Sorrel Salsa Verde to Rustic Pear Galette, Ashley Gartland covers the entire range of Oregonian cuisine. Profiles of local food producers are paired with stunning photography of Oregon’s farms, inns, and vineyards, bringing the state’s vibrant food and drink scene to life. Pass the locally sourced cranberry chutney!

Back when SOS or Adam and Eve on a raft were things to order if you were hungry but a little short on time and money, nearly one-fourth of all waitresses belonged to unions. By the time their movement peaked in the 1940s and 1950s, the women had developed a distinctive form of working-class feminism, simultaneously pushing for equal rights and pay and affirming their need for special protections. Dorothy Sue Cobble shows how sexual and racial segregation persisted in wait work, but she rejects the idea that this was caused by employers' actions or the exclusionary policies of male trade unionists. Dishing It Out contends that the success of waitress unionism was due to several factors: waitresses, for the most part, had nontraditional family backgrounds, and most were primary wage-earners. Their close-knit occupational community and sex-separate union encouraged female assertiveness and a decidedly unromantic view of men and marriage. Cobble skillfully combines oral interviews and extensive archival records to show how waitresses adopted the basic tenets of male-dominated craft unions but rejected other aspects of male union culture. The result is a book that will expand our understanding of feminism and unionism by including the gender conscious perspectives of working women.

The author of the popular farm-to-table cookbook Dishing Up the Dirt returns with a dazzling collection of inventive recipes using farm-fresh ingredients, inspired by her commitment to supporting the local food movement. For Andrea Bemis, eating locally is a way of life. After all, her and her husband own and operate an organic vegetable farm in the Pacific Northwest, and the produce they grow—from kale and kohlrabi to beets and butternut squash—is at the heart of the meals they serve and eat at their dinner table. They supplement their harvest with food produced by their neighbors, including the ranchers who supply their meat, and the orchardists who provide their fruit. Andrea has always identified as a sustainable eater—until one day, when she opened a can of coconut milk and realized she had no idea where it came from. This propelled her to look more closely at her pantry, taking stock of the other ingredients that may have traveled some distance. Considering the energy used to transport the avocados, olive oil, and lemons to her Northern Oregon kitchen, she came up with an idea—a 30-day challenge to cook and eat only local food grown from local dirt, using ingredients produced within 200 miles of her home. In Local Dirt, Andrea shares her journey through stories, photographs, and more than 80 recipes, re-creating a not-so-distant world when the ingredients cooked and eaten were produced within local communities. Organized by season, the delicious and creative dishes in this truly sustainable cookbook includes Fennel Gratin, Kohlrabi Yogurt Salad with Smoked Salmon, Winter Squash Toast with Honey & Hazelnuts, and Zucchini Swiss Chard & Chickpea Stew. Best of all, the recipes can be adapted to utilize any local fare. Ultimately, Andrea found that the “challenge” she set out for herself wasn’t a challenge at all, but an opportunity to go back to basics, slow down, and connect even more deeply with her community. In Local Dirt, she offers the inspiration, instruction, and advice we need to eat deliciously and sustainably.

These 150 mouthwatering recipes, contributed by some of Minnesota’s best chefs, farmers, and foragers and accompanied by gorgeous photography, celebrate the state’s outstanding and unique cuisine. You’ll find dishes featuring fish from the lakes as well as morels and chanterelles, wild blueberries, wild game, beef and bison, orchard fruits, berries, dairy products, and much more. There are recipes inspired by German, Scandinavian, East Asian, and African traditions, as well as dishes from fairs and food trucks. There’s something here for everyone, from Carrot Risotto and Dry-Fried Sugar Snap Peas to North Shore Fish Cakes; Wild Cherry Jelly; Northland Venison Burger with Wild Rice; Bison, Bacon & Cheddar Meatballs; Busy-Day Pho; Egg Coffee; Gravlax; Varmland Potato Sausage; Hmong Chicken Larb; Tater Tot Nachos; Thai Peanut Caramel Popcorn; Honey Pecan Pie; Classic Pound Cake with Cardamom; and Apple Dessert Hotdish.

The sweet and classic fresh taste of crab cakes may be Maryland’s signature flavor, but it’s only a part of what the Old Line State has to offer. More than 28 million people visit Maryland every year, spending billions of dollars, much of it on food. Those who live in Maryland year-round care deeply about the quality of their food and its origins; they support local farms and take pleasure in creating recipes built around farm-fresh products. Dishing Up® Maryland focuses on the rich diversity of Maryland’s native foods and food producers and includes 150 recipes, as well as food lore; advice on where to visit; and profiles of local food producers, chefs and restaurants, and fishermen and crabbers. Southern Fried Chicken, Roasted Turnips and Rutabagas, Corn and Quinoa Salad with Lemon Mint Dressing, and the beloved Smith Island Cake celebrate strong traditions and the best tastes of fall, winter, and spring. Summer, everyone’s favorite season for celebrating local freshness, is spent grilling in suburban backyards and enjoying the shore; dishes like Strawberry Shortcake with Biscuits, Corn Fritters with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce, and Rockfish Kabobs in Greek Marinade define the lazy days of the season. And then there are the crabs. What would a Maryland cookbook be without a mouth-watering collection of crab recipes? Hot and Spicy Crab Dip, Kathleen’s Crab Salad, Fried Crab Cakes with Dijon Mustard, Pan-Fried Soft-shell Crabs, Crab Bisque, and many more fresh takes on Maryland’s best-loved food will delight natives and visitors alike.

150 brand-new recipes, party ideas and menus, killer playlists, and inventive beauty projects from How Sweet Eats blogger Jessica Merchant. Jessica Merchant is like your most reliable girlfriend—that is, if your girlfriend was a passionate cook and serious beauty junkie. With her second book, she brings her signature playfulness to the page. It’s filled with 150 brand-new recipes, along with themed menus, party ideas, killer playlists, and inventive beauty projects. She’s the extra hand guiding you in the kitchen giving you the most inventive pizza toppings (crispy kale and summer corn), showing you how to make hibiscus blueberry mint juleps, and telling you the coolest way to make an avocado face mask while you plan your weekly menu on Saturday morning. All her recipes are deliciously indulgent (think: poke tacos, toasted quinoa chocolate bark, pistachio iced latte) and all take 60 minutes or less to make.