The Perfect Pantry

Bookworm in the country

One of the original Ninecooks nine cooks, and the best salad dressing maker I know, Jessica lives in the town next to mine in northwest Rhode Island, and she's this week's Bookworm in the Pantry. An avid reader, Jessica, who works for a nonprofit organization, and her husband, a university librarian, bought their old farmhouse in part because it's directly across the road from the town library! Her improvisational cooking style spans all cuisines, including a recent interest in Korean cooking, and her vegetable and herb garden provides ample inspiration.

UPDATE. Jessica recommended:

• A History of the World in Six Glasses
• Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasues and Politics of Local Foods
• Spice: The History of a Temptation
• Sweets: A History of Candy
• The Mammoth Cheese
  

Browse through the eclectic library of some previous Bookworm recommendations here.

NOTE: Since February, we've had a Bookworm in the Pantry every Saturday. As there are no more Bookworms waiting for a first turn at stardom, I'm going to publish a master list of all of the Bookworm recommendations next Saturday.

If your favorite reads are not on the list (and there are some surprising omissions), and if you've enjoyed this feature on The Perfect Pantry, why not be a Bookworm? If you've already had a turn as a Bookworm and would like to recommend five more of your favorite food-related non-cookbooks, I'd love to share your list.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

Bookworm in the Lone Star State

Cooking by the Seat of My Pants is not just a state of mind; it's a wonderful, funny, free-range blog by Jerry, a professional web designer from Wichita Falls, Texas, who's this week's Bookworm in the Pantry. A 30-something father of six, married to an active-duty Air Force staff sergeant, Jerry loves to write, cook, and play the guitar. He learned to cook by reading The Joy of Cooking and Betty Crocker; then, he put down the books and began to wing it!

UPDATE. Jerry recommended:

• American Diner Then and Now
• Are You Really Going to Eat That?
• The Day Everything Tasted Like Broccoli (Maximum Boy)
• Food in History
• Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin'
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

*As almost every Bookworm has had a hard time limiting the list to five books, I invite any past Bookworm to share another reading list of five books. Please send your list to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

A Capitol Bookworm

One half of the creative team behind Cookthink, a terrifically smart blog that focuses on basic ingredients, equipment and techniques, Brys Stephens is this week's Bookworm in the Pantry. After law school and a brief stint as a law clerk, Brys worked in sales and marketing for American Premium Beverage (a major wine distributor in the Southeast) and later in PR and viticultural management for Joseph Phelps Vineyards. A native of Alabama, he now blogs and cooks in Washington, DC.

UPDATE. Brys recommended:

• Second Nature
• A Moveable Feast
• Salt
• Adventures on the Wine Route
• The Food of France (Waverly Root)
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through mid-June.

*As almost every Bookworm has had a hard time limiting the list to five books, I invite any past Bookworm to share another reading list of five books. Please send your list to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

Another great Bookworm

Cooking is easy and oh-so-democratic, as in anyone can do it, according to Shannon of Simply Cooking, this week's Bookworm in the Pantry. Shannon writes her fun-loving, recipe-oriented blog in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. She's an enthusiastic home cook by night, and an information systems development manager for a nonprofit organization by day. And, like all Bookworms, she's an avid reader!

UPDATE. Shannon recommended:

• Blue Jelly: Love Lost and the Lessons of Canning
• The Soul of a Chef
• Pot on the Fire
• The Botany of Desire
• The Tummy Trilogy

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through mid-June. If you've already been a Bookworm but would like to share another reading list of five books, please do!

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

A Big Apple Bookworm

Born in my home town of New York City, Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook is this week's Bookworm in the Pantry . On her wonderful, relatively young blog, you're as likely to find recipes for Ethiopian doro wat as for Mexican salsa verde. Susan and her husband, Scott, who also cooks from time to time, can be found at their dinner table in the metro New York area, discussing everything from politics to Pop Tarts!

UPDATE. Susan recommended:

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
• Feeding a Yen: Savoring Local Specialties, from Kansas City to Cuzco
• Girl with a Pearl Earring
• The Van
• The Dead
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through mid-June.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

Bookworms for children

Jeanne writes Mommy Cooks, a smart and cheery blog about cooking with, for, and sometimes in spite of kids. She's the first Bookworm to give us recommendations for children's books . PS: The recipes on Jeanne's blog are fun for those of us without small children at home, too!

UPDATE. Jeanne recommended:

• Green Eggs and Ham
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
• Thunder Cake
• I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato
• The Seven Silly Eaters
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through early June.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

A renaissance Bookworm

Chip Brantley, co-creator of Cookthink, one of the smartest blogs around, is this week's Bookworm in the Pantry. In his eclectic career, this Alabama native has been head cheesemaker at Westfield Farm, an artisan cheese company in central Massachusetts; a food writer for the San Francisco Examiner; and a "development hack" for Dogstar Films. Currently a freelance food and culture writer, contributing to such publications as Slate, the Boston Globe, the Oxford American and Gastronomica, Chip's book about the pluot (one of my favorite fruits) and its creator will be published next year.

UPDATE. Chip recommended:

• The Anatomy of Dessert
• Oranges
• The Devil's Larder
• The Supper of the Lamb
• The Land was Everything
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through early June.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

A Bookworm recommends

This week's Bookworm in the Pantry, Fran, has travelled all around the world, but her home base is one town away in rural northwest Rhode Island. She loves to cook, and loves to read — and since retiring last year from the Rhode Island School of Design, she has a bit more time for both.

UPDATE. Fran recommended:

• Back Story (and the entire Spenser series)
• Blessed are the Cheesemakers
• Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen
• The Gastronomical Me
• The Measure of Her Powers: An MFK Fisher Reader
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through early June.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

 

Bookworm on the coast

Toni, from San Diego, California, is this week's Bookworm in the Pantry . On Daily Bread Journal, Toni writes about food, family, and health. About herself, she writes, "I'm congenitally incapable of following a recipe, so my adventures in food have always had an original flavor. I've maintained a successful acupuncture practice for over 15 years, and aside from acupuncture and herbs, I counsel my patients on food, exercise and mindfulness meditation. Aside from cooking, my other main hobby is photography." She's just back from a trip to India, so watch her blog for photos.

UPDATE. Toni recommended:

• The Art of Eating
• French Lessons
• Why We Eat What We Eat
• A Natural History of the Senses
• Physiology of Taste

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through early June.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.

A Bookworm in Manila

Bookworms are everywhere! Christine, this week's Bookworm in the Pantry, creates her lovely blog, Ramblings from a Gypsy Soul, in Manila, The Philippines . Whenever I read her posts, I learn something new about Filipino culture and cuisine — and, of course, I want to get on a plane and go to the places she visits. Christine has traveled to the US, Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam, Egypt, and more. She photographs, she cooks, and, oh yes, she reads; her wish list features dozens of books I'd love to have in my own library.

UPDATE. Christine recommended:

• Feeding a Yen
• Havana Salsa
• The Mistress of Spices
• Her Fork in the Road
• Extra Virgin
  

Browse through the eclectic library of previous Bookworm recommendations here.

We'll have a new Bookworm every Saturday, at least through early June.

Want to be a Bookworm in the Pantry? Start here.