"Apples To Oysters"

Apples To Oysters - A Food Lover's Tour of Canadian Farms by Margaret Webb

Margaret Webb is a food writer who for this book traveled across the country visiting farms and restaurants and talking to the farmers who work long, hard hours to produce the best product possible for our tables. She listened to their stories of getting started, trying to maintain what they had built and to their hopes for expansion. In too many cases it seems that it's a losing battle with every imaginable thing against them, but they are passionate people and their stories of dedication and perseverance are both moving and inspiring.

The book is structured like a meal, in three courses. "Appetizers" takes in oyster farming in Prince Edward Island., Grand Manan (NB) dulse and the scallop fishery in Nova Scotia. "Mains" covers Newfoundland cod, Manitoba pork, Saskatchewan flax, Alberta beef and Yukon potatoes. The last section, "To Finish" takes us to British Columbia for apples, Quebec for cheese and Ontario for icewine.

What stands out to me in this book are her remarkably vivid descriptions. She does so much more than just tell you about a place - she puts you right there with her with wonderful detail. She makes it an exciting journey by taking part in the actual work of each farm and telling us what that's like, and by using vibrant language that makes every scene come alive. When was the last time you read a book about farming that was actually fun? This one will have you breathing in the salt air of the east coast and feeling the warm earth on your hands as you dig up a Yukon Gold potato. It was almost as good as a vacation. Well, maybe not so much for her.

Reading this book will leave you hungry so it's a good thing a couple of recipes are included at  the end of each chapter for anyone who can't wait to get to a restaurant where these products are featured. The book will tell you where those restaurants are as well. I haven't yet tried any of the recipes but the Yukon Gold fries (oven made) are on my menu for this week.

I wish this book was required reading for every Canadian so we'd all have a better idea where our food comes from and how much work goes into producing it. Full of eye-opening stories and a lot of information, it was never dry but fun to read from beginning to end. Try it, you'll like it. :)