Bestselling authors Grigson and her husband Black (Fish) now turn their attention to things organic, while refraining from spouting PR for organic farming. In the first, exhaustively researched half, Black takes a dispassionate, persuasive look at sustainable agriculture's evolution from a fringe movement to the last refuge of "the worried, the discontented and the disillusioned." Moral imperatives aside, this refuge also happens to be one of the fastest growing industries in the U.K. Though the authors' evince a distinctly British perspective, many of the issues herein relate to American readers. Moreover, Grigson and Black infuse a rather dry subject with an understated English wit. "Far from being a mundane brown sludge," Black writes, "soil is in reality highly complex and utterly fascinating." The second section details how to incorporate organic food into regular cuisine. Grigson, an intuitive cook, specializes in inventive twists to classic dishes. She adds avocado to her humus for a silky puree, and scatters sautéed fennel over pissaladiere, as opposed to the traditional jammy onions and anchovy topping. Her writing is as sensuous as her cooking: a cream cheese and parmesan omelette requires "truly sumptuous eggs with yolks of a rich flaunting yellow." The payoff for such meticulous attention to ingredients is an omelet "all plump, browned and luscious." In the end, Grigson's recipes illustrate one of the most compelling reasons to buy organic: flavor. (Jan. 1)
