For The Grown Ups At The Table
Kids ask big questions about food. Sometimes the grown-ups want to know more too.
The Stories From the Soil™ Food Guides are companion books to the children’s series, written for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who loves knowing where their food comes from. Each guide takes one food and goes deeper: how it’s grown or raised, what to look for when choosing it, how to store it and cook it, and what the people who produce it want you to know.
Meet The People Behind Your Food
Every Food Guide includes a Meet the Producer interview with a real farmer or producer. We ask the same core questions in every guide, plus a few that are specific to that food. As the series grows, you’ll hear from many of the people behind the tables at your market.
Read Them Together
Each Food Guide pairs with a Stories From the Soil™ children’s book. Children follow Mr. Cluck Cluck’s adventure while the adults explore the same food in more depth, which gives your family plenty to talk about at the market and in the kitchen.
The Guides
Tomatoes – A Stories From the Soil™ Food Guide
Why does a farmers market tomato taste so different from one shipped across the country? This guide explains heirloom and hybrid varieties, how tomatoes ripen, the best way to store them (hint: not in the fridge), and simple ways to enjoy them at the peak of the season. A conversation with a local grower brings it all back to the field.
Eggs – A Stories From the Soil™ Food Guide
Brown, white, blue, or green, what does shell color really tell you? This guide covers what’s inside the shell, what the labels on egg cartons actually mean, how to check freshness, and how the way hens are raised shapes the eggs you bring home. A farmer who knows his flock shares what he wishes every egg buyer knew.
Honey – A Stories From the Soil™ Food Guide
Every jar of local honey tells the story of its season. This guide explains how local honey differs from store-bought, why real honey crystallizes (and why that’s a good sign), how flavor and color change with what’s blooming, and what a beekeeper’s year really looks like. A local beekeeper in training takes you inside the hive.
Where The Guides Began
My mother, Louise, never just cooked. She explained.
Working beside her in the garden and the kitchen, I learned more than recipes. Louise told me why you pick a tomato at that color, what makes one egg different from another, and where the good things on our table came from. She made food something to be curious about.
These guides are my way of passing that on. When I’m in the kitchen cooking for my own family, I still hear her explaining. I hope these pages bring a little of Louise to your table too. -Robin Long
From Our Markets To Your Bookshelf
Stories From the Soil™ Food Guides are published by Long Family Press, an imprint of Long Family Markets Foundation Inc. Illustrations by REL Creations.
