{"id":3737,"date":"2012-11-30T12:42:48","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T17:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2012-11-30T12:50:41","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T17:50:41","slug":"sleepless-on-state-road-plus-twenty-20-reasons-to-buy-cookbooks-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixburnersue.com\/cooking-fresh-eating-green\/2012\/11\/sleepless-on-state-road-plus-twenty-20-reasons-to-buy-cookbooks-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleepless on State Road, Plus Twenty Reasons to Buy Cookbooks for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Lately I have been waking up in the middle of the night. I have trouble falling back asleep, so I play the alphabet game that Libby, Roy and I do on the ferry rides back and forth from Falmouth. It takes on a different guise every night. Sometimes I start naming our (ever-increasing) chicken coops in alphabetical order\u2014an idea we\u2019ve thought of to help identify the groups of chickens. So far we have the Aquinnah Ladies, the Beach Road Babies, and the Chilmark and Chappy Chickens. I have imagined a future of 26 chicken coops (God forbid!) with names that go all the way up the alphabet to Menemsha and No-Man\u2019s Land and Quitsa and Wasque, too. These are all places on the Vineyard, of course.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The other night I got tired of naming chicken coops (but not tired enough to fall asleep) so I began to make lists. Lists of my favorite recipes in my first two books. Okay, I will just have to be honest and admit that I did fall asleep partway through this task, so it works. I hope, of course, this doesn\u2019t mean that thinking about recipes is boring\u2014I prefer to think of it as comforting and satisfying! (Actually, I got kind of boggled by all the choices and couldn\u2019t quite make up my mind.)<\/p>\n

I thought of this because I get asked a lot\u2014especially on radio\u2014what my favorite recipes in my books are. Of course everyone knows you\u2019re not supposed to play favorites with your own children, but, um, recipes aren\u2019t really children so I think it\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Also, I have been thinking a lot about shopping locally for Christmas and about supporting independent bookstores. This is really a make-or-break time of year for brick-and-mortar bookstores, so it is extra-important to patronize them. (On the Island that means Bunch of Grapes in Vineyard Haven, and Edgartown Books in Edgartown, where I will be signing books on December 8.) Besides, for whatever few extra dollars you spend there (which then goes into the local economy), you get the free experience of browsing in a cozy, friendly bookstore\u2014looking at all those books, seeing friends, perhaps having a cup of cider\u2014and just enjoying the whole experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So in that spirit (and because I feel guilty that I sometimes don\u2019t promote my own books as much as I should\u2014ah, but that\u2019s a whole other story!), I\u2019m giving you 20 reasons (10 each from Fast, Fresh & Green<\/em><\/a> and The Fresh & Green Table<\/em><\/a>) to visit your local bookstore, buy cookbooks for holiday presents, and have something to think about and savor if you wake up at night during the stressful holiday season! Here goes (And let me tell you, in the end it was NOT easy to narrow down to 10 for each!):<\/p>\n

Top Ten Favorite Recipes from<\/span> Fast, Fresh & Green<\/em>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n