Here, Taste This


Book Description

This is a collection of metaphorical short stories created from bits of my life. When you have a negative experience, do you replay it over and over, allowing it to build upon itself, thereby magnifying those negative feelings? On the other hand, when you have a positive experience, do you replay that over and over, allowing it to build upon itself more and more feelings of joy? Do you find yourself attributing more aspects of good to the experience because of the uplifting feelings it brought to you? Couples who are in love often do this. In either case, the event is technically over with. Have you let those experiences go, or are you still living within them as if they were happening now? If the experience was negative, did you resolve it, or did you just bury it within the deep recesses of your mind, where it may be awakened from time to time in reaction to lifes continuing experiences? If it was positive, do you keep replaying it over and over as if there will be no more, thereby preventing yourself from creating and enjoying even better ones? Since the experiences, however you would describe them, have already happened, you can now rewrite the memory, or story, of any of them in a way that allows you to let them go using the information and understanding you have assimilated since then. If negative, you can take the bitter foods of those experiences, the spinach, turnips, and liver, then add spices and sauces of understanding, forgiveness, and love and let them pass out of your consciousness leaving you free to create a buffet of even more tasteful and delicious life experiences! The metaphorical foods that came my way may not have been ones I would have consciously chosen, yet I have now made them palatable adding value to my life and allowing me to let them go and move on. So can you. This is a portion of my buffet of stories. What are yours?




Italian Food Activism in Urban Sardinia


Book Description

With her new book, Italian Food Activism in Urban Sardinia, cultural anthropologist Carole Counihan makes a significant contribution to understanding the growing global movement for food democracy. Providing a detailed ethnographic case study from Cagliari, the capital of the Italian island-region of Sardinia, she draws upon Sardinians' own descriptions of their actions and motivations to change their food as they pursue grassroots alternatives to the agro-industrial food system through GAS (Gruppi di Acquisito Solidale or solidarity-based purchase groups), organic and urban agriculture, alternative restaurants, and farm-to-school programs. They link their activism to the sensory and emotional resonance of food and its nostalgic connections to place, tradition, and culture. They stress the importance of education through experience, and they build relationships and networks through workshops, farm visits, and commensality. The book focuses on three key themes to emerge in interviews with Cagliari food activists: the significance of territorio (or place), the importance of taste, and the role of education. By exploring these areas of concern, Counihan uncovers key tensions in consumption as a force for change, in individual vs. group actions, and in political and economic power relations, which are of crucial importance to wider global efforts to promote food democracy.




Grocery


Book Description

The New York Times–bestselling author “digs deep into the world of how we shop and how we eat. It’s a marvelous, smart, revealing work” (Susan Orlean, #1 bestselling author). In a culture obsessed with food—how it looks, what it tastes like, where it comes from, what is good for us—there are often more questions than answers. Ruhlman proposes that the best practices for consuming wisely could be hiding in plain sight—in the aisles of your local supermarket. Using the human story of the family-run Midwestern chain Heinen’s as an anchor to this journalistic narrative, he dives into the mysterious world of supermarkets and the ways in which we produce, consume, and distribute food. Grocery examines how rapidly supermarkets—and our food and culture—have changed since the days of your friendly neighborhood grocer. But rather than waxing nostalgic for the age of mom-and-pop shops, Ruhlman seeks to understand how our food needs have shifted since the mid-twentieth century, and how these needs mirror our cultural ones. A mix of reportage and rant, personal history and social commentary, Grocery is a landmark book from one of our most insightful food writers. “Anyone who has ever walked into a grocery store or who has ever cooked food from a grocery store or who has ever eaten food from a grocery store must read Grocery. It is food journalism at its best and I’m so freakin’ jealous I didn’t write it.” —Alton Brown, television personality “If you care about why we eat what we eat—and you want to do something about it—you need to read this absorbing, beautifully written book.” —Ruth Reichl, New York Times–bestselling author




Russian History through the Senses


Book Description

Bringing together an impressive cast of well-respected scholars in the field of modern Russian studies, Russian History through the Senses investigates life in Russia from 1700 to the present day via the senses. It examines past experiences of taste, touch, smell, sight and sound to capture a vivid impression of what it was to have lived in the Russian world, so uniquely placed as it is between East and West, during the last three hundred years. The book discusses the significance of sensory history in relation to modern Russia and covers a range of exciting case studies, rich with primary source material, that provide a stimulating way of understanding modern Russia at a visceral level. Russian History through the Senses is a novel text that is of great value to scholars and students interested in modern Russian studies.




Muslims and Christians in the Bulgarian Rhodopes.


Book Description

The book by Magdalena Lubanska examines the role of religious syncretism in the social and religious life of Muslim-Christian communities in the Western Rhodopes. The author is interested mainly in the origins and motivations of various beliefs and behaviors which at first sight may appear to be syncretic. She looks at syncretism in the context of anti-syncretic tendencies, particularly pronounced among the Muslim neophytes and young members of the Muslim religious elite, who are not interested in the local forms of post-ottoman Islam (“Adat Islam”), preferring instead a “pure” form of religion, a class of fundamentalist religious movements rooted in orthodox Islam and seeking to remain faithful to mainstream Islamic thought and tradition (“Salafi Islam”). Lubanska findings offer an insight into the fact that although certain actions may appear syncretic in nature, their underlying intentions are often not in fact motivated by syncretic tendencies. This is the first study to look at syncretism in Bulgaria from this perspective.




The History of Fashion Journalism


Book Description

The History of Fashion Journalism is a uniquely comprehensive study of the development of the industry from its origins to the present day, and including professionals' such as Dylan Jones's vision of the future. Covering everything from early tailor's catalogues through to contemporary publications such as LOVE, together with blogs such as StyleBubble, and countries from France through to the United States, The History of Fashion Journalism explores the origins and influence of such well-known magazines as Nova, Vogue and Glamour. Combining an overview of the key moments in fashion journalism history with close textual analysis, Kate Nelson Best brings to life the evolving face of the fashion media and its relationship with the fashion industry, national politics, consumer culture and gender. This accessible and highly engaging book will be an invaluable resource not only for fashion studies students but also for those in media studies and cultural studies.




A Philosophy of Recipes


Book Description

This volume addresses the nature and identity of recipes from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Contributors study the values and norms guiding the naming, production, and consumption of recipes, scrutinizing their relationship to territory, makers, eaters, and places of production. Along the road, they uncover the multifaceted conceptual and value-laden questions that a study of recipes raises regarding cultural appropriation and the interplay between aesthetics and ethics in recipe making. With contributors specializing in philosophy, law, anthropology, sociology, history, and other disciplines, this volume will be of vital importance for those looking to understand the complex nature of food and the way recipes have shaped culinary cultures throughout history.




Introducing Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art


Book Description

Aesthetics and the philosophy of art are about things in the world – things like the Mona Lisa, but also things like horror movies, things like the ugliest dog in the world, and things like wallpaper. There's a surprising amount of philosophical content to be found in wallpaper. Using a case-driven approach, Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art is grounded in real-world examples that propel thought, debate, and discussion about the nature of art and beauty. Now in its third edition, this tried-and-tested text features fresh cases and new activities. Hands-on Do Aesthetics! activities pepper the text, and Challenge Cases appear at the end of each chapter to test intuitions, to complicate the field of discussion, and to set a path forward. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wall-Paper” serves as a recurring case throughout, and this edition includes the full text of this classic short story. From classical debates that continue to bother philosophers today, to emerging problems of identity, appropriation, and morality, this introduction is designed to engage you in a field that itself engages with so much of the world around you. Here is everything you need to know about the history, themes, thinkers and theories to get you started on aesthetics and the philosophy of art.




The Georgian London Town House


Book Description

For every great country house of the Georgian period, there was usually also a town house. Chatsworth, for example, the home of the Devonshires, has officially been recognised as one of the country's favourite national treasures - but most of its visitors know little of Devonshire House, which the family once owned in the capital. In part, this is because town houses were often leased, rather than being passed down through generations as country estates were. But, most crucially, many London town houses, including Devonshire House, no longer exist, having been demolished in the early twentieth century. This book seeks to place centre-stage the hugely important yet hitherto overlooked town houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, exploring the prime position they once occupied in the lives of families and the nation as a whole. It explores the owners, how they furnished and used these properties, and how their houses were judged by the various types of visitor who gained access.




Life Kitchen


Book Description

'Life Kitchen is a celebration of food' Lauren, Sunderland 'The recipes are just really simple, really easy and delicious' Carolyn, Newcastle 'His book is better than a bunch of flowers because it's going to last forever' Gillian, Sunderland Ryan Riley was just eighteen years old when his mum, Krista, was diagnosed with cancer. He saw first-hand the effect of her treatment but one of the most difficult things he experienced was seeing her lose her ability to enjoy food. Two years after her diagnosis, Ryan's mother died from her illness. In a bid to discover whether there was a way to bring back the pleasure of food, Ryan created Life Kitchen in his mum's memory. It offers free classes to anyone affected by cancer treatment to cook recipes that are designed specifically to overpower the dulling effect of chemotherapy on the taste buds. In Life Kitchen, Ryan shares recipes for dishes that are quick, easy, and unbelievably delicious, whether you are going through cancer treatment or not. With ingenious combinations of ingredients, often using the fifth taste, umami, to heighten and amplify the flavours, this book is bursting with recipes that will reignite the joy of taste and flavour. Recipes include: Carbonara with peas & mint Parmesan cod with salt & vinegar cucumber Roasted harissa salmon with fennel salad Miso white chocolate with frozen berries With an introduction from UCL's taste and flavour expert Professor Barry Smith, this inspiring cookbook focusses on the simple, life-enriching pleasure of eating, for everyone living with cancer and their friends and family too. 'This book is a life changer: this is not gush, but a statement of fact' Nigella Lawson