Readers of Stanley Crawford's first book on farming, A Garlic Testament, can look forward to an update on his farming practices and reflections on the natural world in THE GARLIC PAPERS: A Small Garlic Farm in the Age of Global Vampires . In the fall of 2014, Crawford questioned the U.S. Department of Commerce's granting of an exemption of duties to the largest importer of Chinese garlic, setting off a massive legal battle in which his small farm has been pitted against the Chinese importer and its several international law firms. An account of this David and Goliath battle, now in its fifth year, makes up the core of the book, in which Crawford describes his personal and farming life under a cloud of lawsuits and administrative skirmishes. The unusual case was of sufficient interest that it became the subject of a Netflix documentary, Garlic Breath," in the six-part series, "Rotten," released in 2018."

Meditations on growing garlic and on the farming way of life.

A delightfully absurd blend of crime, comedy, and social commentary: “A wild novel of black humor . . . Wonderful” (The New York Times). Meet Gascoyne, a man who spends whole weeks in his car, eating, sleeping, and conducting his business via mobile phone. Gascoyne has found a new preoccupation―hunting down the killer of his business associate (last seen slithering away from the crime scene in a tree-sloth costume), and finding out how the southern California megalopolis has suddenly, despite all his power and prestige, slipped out of his grasp. “A mix of Sam Spade played by Inspector Clouseau plus Howard Hughes played by Dr. Strangelove—or all of them played by Bill Murray. In 1966 Gascoyne does what everybody does now: spends most of his time in his car talking on the phone . . . Our least-known great comic novel, a novel as prophetic as it is hilarious.” —The Austin Chronicle

This unique culinary history of America offers a fascinating look at our past and uses long-forgotten recipes to explain how eight flavors changed how we eat. The United States boasts a culturally and ethnically diverse population which makes for a continually changing culinary landscape. But a young historical gastronomist named Sarah Lohman discovered that American food is united by eight flavors: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. In Eight Flavors, Lohman sets out to explore how these influential ingredients made their way to the American table. She begins in the archives, searching through economic, scientific, political, religious, and culinary records. She pores over cookbooks and manuscripts, dating back to the eighteenth century, through modern standards like How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Lohman discovers when each of these eight flavors first appear in American kitchens—then she asks why. Eight Flavors introduces the explorers, merchants, botanists, farmers, writers, and chefs whose choices came to define the American palate. Lohman takes you on a journey through the past to tell us something about our present, and our future. We meet John Crowninshield a New England merchant who traveled to Sumatra in the 1790s in search of black pepper. And Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old slave who lived on an island off the coast of Madagascar, who discovered the technique still used to pollinate vanilla orchids today. Weaving together original research, historical recipes, gorgeous illustrations and Lohman’s own adventures both in the kitchen and in the field, Eight Flavors is a delicious treat—ready to be devoured.

To most people of the Mediterranean region, garlic, wine, and olive oil make up the Holy Trinity of foods: Garlic for taste and health; wine also for its medicinal value, plus the obvious enjoyment and relaxation that accompanies its use; and olive oil as a medium for cooking as well as for its own healthy properties. The many cultural and mythic dimensions of these three foods, whose use dates to pre-historic times, is discussed, along with an historical survey from Old World usage to the New, specifically to Brooklyn, New York, where the author grew up in a milieu of Italian, Jewish, and Greek neighborhoods, where garlic, wine, and olive oil were daily staples.With illustrations, historical quotes and facts, personal memoir, and both ancient as well as over 50 modern recipes, Garlic, Wine, and Olive Oil tells how reverence for these three foods was first developed in the Mediterranean and became integrated into cuisines around the world. In a tight, informative narrative, Thomas Pellechia covers the origins, cultivation, healthful attributes and preparation of these three holy foods.Rather than a dry history book or gathering of recipes, Garlic, Wine, and Olive Oil educates as it entertains, weaving together historical material (including many interesting ancient recipes), the author's ancestral connection to these foods, plus his travels through Europe and the Near East, and quick, easy-to-prepare, appetizing recipes. This unique format makes cooking and history come alive!

A funny, tell-all memoir from the New York Times' most controversial restaurant critic.

Featuring over 100 delicious, garlic-laden recipes, this culinary biography offers a tour through the colorful history of one of the world’s most timeless ingredients Garlic is the Lord Byron of produce, a lusty rogue that charms and seduces you but runs off before dawn, leaving a bad taste in your mouth. Called everything from rustic cure-all to Russian penicillin, Bronx vanilla and Italian perfume, garlic has been loved, worshipped, and despised throughout history. No writer has quite captured the epic, roving story of garlic—until now. While this book does not claim that garlic saved civilization (though it might cure whatever ails you), it does take us on a grand tour of its fascinating role in history, medicine, literature, and art; its controversial role in bigotry, mythology, and superstition; and its indispensable contribution to the great cuisines of the world. And just to make sure your appetite isn’t slighted, Garlic offers over 100 recipes featuring the beloved ingredient.