In Winter's Kitchen

October 26, 2015
In this homage to local food, Dooley paints an exquisite portrait of Minnesota and those who call it home. Arriving from New Jersey as a young woman, the author learns to absorb the culinary traditions of her new home. Each of Dooley’s 12 chapters showcases a different local food such as apples, wheat, chestnuts, cranberries, corn, wild rice, and sweet potatoes. The author includes a few recipes but explains that this is not a cookbook; rather, it is the story of the author building relationships with the “small, independent farmers, processors, and chefs” who make their living building and contributing to local economies throughout the Upper Midwest. Dooley’s narrative weaves in ideas surrounding our broken food system and explores how we can begin make changes. When confronted with the persistent question of whether local foods can ever really feed the world, Dooley responds that the locavore system’s “highest consideration is the future, not the immediate impact on the bottom line.”