My goal is to update this blog at least once a week -- but between work, the novel, following the girls around while they sell Girl Scout cookies (what a brutally cold week it was to be trudging door-to-door), and then a little trip over the weekend to visit out-of-town friends, this week got away from me. But I have been taking pictures (mostly of food), which I intend to get off the camera and processed tomorrow. And hey! My last post was last Sunday, so really, I'm not that far off...

A quick double recommendation before I head to bed: The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, both by Michael Pollan. Pollan has a nice writing style; he clearly has an agenda -- most of what our culture eats is not good for us or the environment -- but he doesn't come across as preachy or holier-than-thou. Rather, both books read as a real journey as he explores and learns about the history of Western food production and its current status, the growing organic and alternate-food movement, "nutritionism," and how and what to eat ("Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.").

I'm really into cooking and baking from scratch, vegetable gardening, and using high quality, organic ingredients, but -- and I'm sorry, this probably sounds pretentious but I'm tired and can't think of a better way to put it -- reading these books has even me taking a closer look at what we eat and where it comes from.

Anyway, they're good, thought-provoking reads. If you're into this sort of thing, they'll be right up your alley. If you're not, well, at the very least I think they'll have you looking at what you're eating a bit differently. Check 'em out.