The Edible City

If a city is its people, and its people are what they eat, then shouldn’t food play a larger role in our dialogue about how and where we live? The food of a metropolis is essential to its character. Native plants, proximity to farmland, the locations of supermarkets, immigration, food-security concerns, how chefs are trained: how a city nourishes itself might say more than anything else about what kind of city it is. With a cornucopia of essays on comestibles, The Edible City considers how one city eats. It includes dishes on peaches and poverty, on processing plants and public gardens, on rats and bees and bad restaurant service, on schnitzel and school lunches. There are incisive studies of food-safety policy, of feeding the poor, and of waste, and a happy tale about a hardy fig tree. Together they form a saucy picture of how Toronto – and, by extension, every city – sustains itself, from growing basil on balconies to four-star restaurants. Dig into The Edible City and get the whole story, from field to fork.

The story of food in Seattle is a living history. Through photos and narratives, "Edible City" takes us from the city's early eating days up through the modern boom, introducing us to iconic figures and signature foods. It also includes several recipes that helped define the region, from the Dutch Baby invented by a local restaurateur to an irresistible shortcake using strawberries developed by Washington State University. From farmers markets to foraged foods to famous restaurants, we learn how what we eat helps show who we are.

You don't need a sprawling backyard or spacious raised beds to grow delicious fruits, vegetables, and herbs of your own. In The Edible Balcony, longtime urban gardener Alex Mitchell shows how to transform whatever space you have, from a balcony or rooftop to a fire escape or window box, into a profusion of fresh, seasonal produce. While raising your own produce is eco-friendly in itself, you'll learn how to plant, grow, and water as sustainably as possible to ensure your edible Eden remains green and productive all year long. Plus, with a collection of innovative, step-by-step projects for designing colorful pots and plant supports with recycled containers and other household paraphernalia, you'll double your eco-friendliness, avoid hours of shopping, and be able to infuse your space with your own personal flair and style. Who knew saving time, money, and the environment could be so much fun? A collection of practical advice, fabulous container projects, and stunning examples of how gardeners around the world are successfully transforming urban spaces into abundant fruit and vegetable plots, The Edible Balcony is your guide to creating attractive, responsible, and thoroughly rewarding small space gardens—and perhaps never having to settle for grocery store produce again.

As we walk through the city with our headphones in or our eyes glued to screens, it's easy to forget that we are surrounded by wonderful things to eat. Our parks, canals, gardens and wild spaces are crammed full of delicious, nutrient-rich plants; all we need to know is how to find them. In The Edible City, urban forager John Rensten gives us the tools to identify, source and cook delicious food from the bounty around us. This account of a year of urban foraging is perfect for the armchair naturalist or home cook looking for exciting new ingredients to experiment with. Once you catch the foraging bug, you'll never look at the city around you in the same way again.

"Join Indira Naidoo, bestselling author of The Edible Balcony, on her inspiring journey as she visits the communities turning concrete into crops. Vegie patches are no longer confined to our backyards and balconies; they're spilling out across our streets and suburbs, taking root wherever a seed can grow. Neighbours are working side by side, batlling council restrictions, wild weather and pest attacks to transform urban spaces into edible oases. In The Edible City, Indira visits some of Australia's most innovative and memorable urban green spaces, from Sydney's Wayside Chapel's award-winning vegetable garden and beehive, to the rooftop wormfarm above a Melbourne restaurant. She discovers that in the process these urban gardeners reconnect with their food but, most importantly, they reconnect with each other. Indira also shares her tips for setting up your own community garden, as well as practical advice on beekeeping, wormfarming, composting and growing your own fruit and veg. Plus there are 40 delicious recipes to cook and enjoy. Community gardens change people's lives. They reconnect with food, but most importantly, they also reconnect with each other."--Wheelers.co.nz.

This book on urban design extends and develops the widely accepted 'compact city' solution. It provides a design proposal for a new kind of sustainable urban landscape: Urban Agriculture. By growing food within an urban rather than exclusively rural environment, urban agriculture would reduce the need for industrialized production, packaging and transportation of foodstuffs to the city dwelling consumers. The revolutionary and innovative concepts put forth in this book have potential to shape the future of our cities quality of life within them. Urban design is shown in practice through international case studies and the arguments presented are supported by quantified economic, environmental and social justifications.

Want to grow food but have nothing larger than a balcony, windowsill or a piece of wall? No problem! This gardening book can help you to grow your own fruit, vegetables, herbs and even mushrooms in small spaces in the most ecological way possible. It shows you why the urban landscape can be a great place for permaculture.

"The foodie book of the year" The Spectator ''An inspiring book for city dwellers who pine for the bounty of a countryside hedgerow' Sunday Times 'The forager's magic trick; To conjure a meal out of seemingly nothing and ensure you never look the same way at a neglected green space again' Daily Telegraph 'I love the idea that I could pick up dinner from a local park rather than from a shop on the way home. A book about urban forging could so easily have been worthy, but it's an entertaining read with recipes: get ready for nettle tempura...' Delicious magazine 'A man after my own heart.' Mark Hix 'That is the final act of the forager's magic trick. To conjure a meal out of seemingly nothing, and ensure you never look the same way at a neglected green space again' The Telegraph Once you start foraging, you'll never look at the city around you in the same way again. As we walk through the city with our headphones in or our eyes glued to screens, it's easy to forget that we are surrounded by wonderful things to eat. Our parks, pathways, gardens and wild spaces are crammed full of delicious, nutrient-rich plants; all we need to know is how to find them. From dandelions to winter cress, wild garlic to chickweed and ground ivy to water mint, this book takes us through a year of delicious, foraged food. Each entry is illustrated in colour to help you identify the plant and followed by a recipe using these remarkable ingredients. In The Edible City, urban forager John Rensten gives us the tools to identify, source and cook delicious food from the year-long bounty around us, whether that's nettle and three-cornered leek gnocchi, winter purslane pesto, or stinging nettle tempura. This account of a year of urban foraging is perfect for any nature lover or home cook looking for exciting new ingredients to experiment with.