Don't miss this chance to hear Lawrence L. Rettig, author of Gardening the Amana Way, read and present from his new book!
Reading
Date: Thursday, November 14
Time: 1:30 P.M.
Location: Vinton Public Library, 510 2nd Ave., Vinton, IA
We hope you can all make it! If you're planning on attending, feel free to join our Facebook event.
Gardening the Amana Way, by Lawrence L. Rettig
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Andrea M. Jones: reading
Andrea M. Jones will be reading from her new book, Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado, tomorrow night in Durango, Colorado!
Reading
Date: Tuesday, November 12
Time: 6:30 P.M.
Location: Maria's Bookshop, 960 Main Ave., Durango, CO
Don't miss this opportunity! If you plan on attending, we'd love for you to join our Facebook event. We hope you can make it!
Praise for Between Urban and Wild
"Westerners have arrived at a Y in Nature's rocky road—a forked path littered with ethical questions. In Between Urban and Wild, Andrea Jones offers humble and probing answers to the question of whether it's too late for Westerners to find an integral way of being with the land, and not just on the land. Her book offers hope."—Page Lambert, author, In Search of Kinship: Modern Pioneering on the Western Landscape
Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado, by Andrea M. Jones
Reading
Date: Tuesday, November 12
Time: 6:30 P.M.
Location: Maria's Bookshop, 960 Main Ave., Durango, CO
Don't miss this opportunity! If you plan on attending, we'd love for you to join our Facebook event. We hope you can make it!
Praise for Between Urban and Wild
"Westerners have arrived at a Y in Nature's rocky road—a forked path littered with ethical questions. In Between Urban and Wild, Andrea Jones offers humble and probing answers to the question of whether it's too late for Westerners to find an integral way of being with the land, and not just on the land. Her book offers hope."—Page Lambert, author, In Search of Kinship: Modern Pioneering on the Western Landscape
Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado, by Andrea M. Jones
Friday, November 8, 2013
Jenny Barker Devine reading: November 9
Head out to the Wonder of Words Festival in Des Moines tomorrow, November 9, to hear Jenny Barker Devine give a reading! Author of On Behalf of the Family Farm: Iowa Farm Women's Activism since 1945, Devine will be at the Des Moines Public Library tomorrow afternoon.
We hope to see you there!
Praise for On Behalf of the Family Farm
"Devine redefines midwestern farm women's activism after World War II by tracing the subtle and powerful shifts in gender relationships in rural America. On Behalf of the Family Farm brings a fresh look at the complexities of how farm women shaped their organizations, claimed public space, and redefined their identities."—Carolyn Sachs, Pennsylvania State University
On Behalf of the Family Farm: Iowa Farm Women's Activism since 1945 by Jenny Barker Devine
We hope to see you there!
Praise for On Behalf of the Family Farm
"Devine redefines midwestern farm women's activism after World War II by tracing the subtle and powerful shifts in gender relationships in rural America. On Behalf of the Family Farm brings a fresh look at the complexities of how farm women shaped their organizations, claimed public space, and redefined their identities."—Carolyn Sachs, Pennsylvania State University
On Behalf of the Family Farm: Iowa Farm Women's Activism since 1945 by Jenny Barker Devine
Chingri Maach Malai Curry (Shrimp Curry Cooked in Coconut Milk)
Check out this delicious recipe from Nina Furstenau's book, Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland!
Serves 8

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
4–5 whole cloves
1 piece cinnamon stick, 1 1/2 inches long
4-5 cardamom pods
1 onion, cut in half lengthwise and then very finely sliced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2–1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (or to taste)
2 pounds shrimp peeled, and deveined
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/4 cups raisins
1/2 cup peas
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 inch fresh ginger, grated, or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
garam masala (optional)
Heat oil in a heavy pot and add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Let the whole spices sizzle for 10 seconds. Add sliced onions and fry until light brown. Drain excess oil. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and a small amount of water to keep mixture from burning. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and peas and stir. Cover and cook for 3–4 minutes. Add coconut milk, raisins, salt, sugar, and ginger. Simmer until heated through. Sprinkle with garam masala if desired and serve.
Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau
Serves 8

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
4–5 whole cloves
1 piece cinnamon stick, 1 1/2 inches long
4-5 cardamom pods
1 onion, cut in half lengthwise and then very finely sliced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2–1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (or to taste)
2 pounds shrimp peeled, and deveined
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/4 cups raisins
1/2 cup peas
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 inch fresh ginger, grated, or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
garam masala (optional)
Heat oil in a heavy pot and add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Let the whole spices sizzle for 10 seconds. Add sliced onions and fry until light brown. Drain excess oil. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and a small amount of water to keep mixture from burning. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and peas and stir. Cover and cook for 3–4 minutes. Add coconut milk, raisins, salt, sugar, and ginger. Simmer until heated through. Sprinkle with garam masala if desired and serve.
Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Nina Furstenau: reading and presentation
This event has been rescheduled for March 8.
Nina Furstenau will be reading and presenting from her book, Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, this Saturday at the Chicago Foodways Roundtable.
Reading
Date: Saturday, November 9
Time: 10:00 A.M.
Place: Kendall College, 900 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, Illinois
If you plan on attending, please join our Facebook Event!
Praise for Biting through the Skin
"A beautiful and sensitive memoir--with recipes!--about life in Kansas for a Bengali family."--Star Tribune
Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau
Nina Furstenau will be reading and presenting from her book, Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, this Saturday at the Chicago Foodways Roundtable.
ReadingDate: Saturday, November 9
Time: 10:00 A.M.
Place: Kendall College, 900 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, Illinois
If you plan on attending, please join our Facebook Event!
Praise for Biting through the Skin
"A beautiful and sensitive memoir--with recipes!--about life in Kansas for a Bengali family."--Star Tribune
Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland, by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Interview with Chris Baker: part 2
Chris Baker is the editor of Others Had It Worse: Sour Dock, Moonshine, and Hard Times in Davis County, Iowa, with text written by his grandmother, Vetra Covert. The book was released in September and is available now. University of Iowa Press acquisitions editor Holly Carver asked him a few questions about the book.
Others Had It Worse: Sour Dock, Moonshine, and Hard Times in Davis County, Iowa by Vetra Covert and Chris Baker
HC: Given their hardscrabble
upbringing, it’s amazing to me that Vetra and her brothers and sisters all
survived childhood. I mean, really, cow manure poultices? Were Vetra and her
siblings unusually tough or unusually lucky?
CB: Well, I always though they were a tough lot compared to me. But in conversations with family members, it's apparent that they approached their lives with acceptance, not necessarily resignation. If the only available remedy is a cow manure poultice and it works, well, so be it. Of course, a little luck never hurts.
CB: Well, I always though they were a tough lot compared to me. But in conversations with family members, it's apparent that they approached their lives with acceptance, not necessarily resignation. If the only available remedy is a cow manure poultice and it works, well, so be it. Of course, a little luck never hurts.
HC: After her impoverished
childhood, do you know how Vetra reacted to the telephones, radios,
automobiles—to the miracle of electricity and indoor plumbing—of her adult
years?
CB: I really don’t have a lot of insight into that. She does write about
her excitement the first time she listened to a radio. The neighbors would
invite the family over to listen to boxing matches and country music from Nashville.
I can say that I never saw her behind the wheel of a car, and I don’t believe
that she had the slightest interest in learning how to drive.
HC: Cinnamon rolls are one
of the treasures of Iowa baking. What other culinary treats did your grandmother
produce?
CB: Oh, beef and noodles, dinner rolls, soup beans and corn bread, fried
morel mushrooms. Those were my favorites. She could also make quick work of any
wild game brought to her house and fry up a tasty dinner with just a little
lard, flour, and salt and pepper. Of course, her cinnamon rolls were the
undeniable favorite.
HC: You’ve honored your
grandmother’s life; indeed, you’ve extended it into the future. What do you
wish you could ask her now?
CB: Of course, the first time I
interviewed her, I was around nineteen years old and, frankly, more concerned
with all that comes with being twenty. I certainly missed a rare opportunity.
After reading and absorbing her journal over the last few years, I do wish I
had the opportunity to interview her one last time. At first glance, it is easy
to miss the stories hidden between the lines in her journal. I certainly would
like to know more about her relationship with her parents, especially her
mother. I would also like to ask her about the early years of her marriage and
how they managed to get by. At my own peril, I might even ask her to share any
thoughts about me. Others Had It Worse: Sour Dock, Moonshine, and Hard Times in Davis County, Iowa by Vetra Covert and Chris Baker
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Hot off the Press: BETWEEN URBAN AND WILD: REFLECTIONS FROM COLORADO
The University of Iowa Press is proud to present our newest Bur Oak Book, Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado, by Andrea M. Jones!
Praise for Between Urban and Wild
"Andrea Jones's Between Urban and Wild is a touching account of her intimate connection with the natural world of central Colorado, a land that is, like her book, simultaneously severe and beautiful. Through a combination of flashbacks and present-day musings, she invites the reader to appreciate the joys, challenges, and sublimity of this landscape. She offers up a deeply personal, deeply affecting narrative of a life inseparable from the land."—Matthew Wynn Sivils
"Westerners have arrived at a Y in Nature's rocky road—a forked path littered with ethical questions. In Between Urban and Wild, Andrea Jones offers humble and probing answers to the question of whether it's too late for Westerners to find an integral way of being with the land, and not just on the land. Her book offers hope."—Page Lambert, author, In Search of Kinship: Modern Pioneering on the Western Landscape
Praise for Between Urban and Wild
"Andrea Jones's Between Urban and Wild is a touching account of her intimate connection with the natural world of central Colorado, a land that is, like her book, simultaneously severe and beautiful. Through a combination of flashbacks and present-day musings, she invites the reader to appreciate the joys, challenges, and sublimity of this landscape. She offers up a deeply personal, deeply affecting narrative of a life inseparable from the land."—Matthew Wynn Sivils
"Westerners have arrived at a Y in Nature's rocky road—a forked path littered with ethical questions. In Between Urban and Wild, Andrea Jones offers humble and probing answers to the question of whether it's too late for Westerners to find an integral way of being with the land, and not just on the land. Her book offers hope."—Page Lambert, author, In Search of Kinship: Modern Pioneering on the Western Landscape
Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado, by Andrea M. Jones
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