Lisa Jervis
More than just a rousing food manifesto and a nifty set of tools, Cook Food: A Manualfesto for Easy, Local, Healthy Eating makes preparing tasty, wholesome meals simple and accessible for those hungry for both change and scrumptious fare. If you’re used to getting your meals from a package—or the delivery guy—or if you think you don’t know how to cook, this is the book for you.
If you want to eat healthier but aren’t sure where to start, or if you’ve been reading about food politics but don’t know how to bring sustainable eating practices into your everyday life, Cook Food will give you the scoop on how, while keeping your taste buds satisfied. With a conversational, do-it-yourself vibe, a practical approach to everyday cooking on a budget, and a whole bunch of animal-free recipes, Cook Food will have you cooking up a storm, tasting the difference, thinking globally and eating locally.
Lisa is available to give cooking demonstrations and to speak on topics such as:
- Local healthy eating for beginners and busy people
- Integrating food politics into everyday life
- Improvisational cooking
- How to make the best roasted vegetables you ever tasted
About the Author
Lisa Jervis’s official bio makes her sound far more official than she actually is. She is the founding editor and publisher of Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, the founding board chair of Women in Media and News, a member of the advisory board of outLoud Radio, and the current finance and operations director at the Center for Media Justice.
In addition to her many writings for Bitch, her work has appeared in Ms., the San Francisco Chronicle, Utne, Mother Jones, the Women’s Review of Books, Bust, the late and much-lamented Hues, Salon, the late but not-so-lamented Girlfriends, the late and also-lamented Punk Planet, the late and lamented-by-the-few-people-who’ve-heard-of-it LiP: Informed Revolt, Women Who Eat (Seal Press), The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order (Penguin), Tipping the Sacred Cow (AK Press), and Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (Seal Press). She is the co-editor of Young Wives’ Tales: New Adventures in Love and Partnership (Seal Press) and Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).
She was born in Boston and partially raised in Los Angeles; she moved to New York City at age 8 and so considers herself a New Yorker by both chronology and temperament, though the transplant to Oakland, California, has worked out remarkably well.
In her spare time, she squeezes fruit at farmer’s markets, bikes around Oakland, and resists adopting more cats.
What People Are Saying
“Overwhelmed by all the politics on your plate? Paralyzed by guilt every time you shop for food? In this swift and delectable guide, Lisa Jervis shows not just how easy it can be to eat with your conscience and with the planet, but also how cheap and how delightful it is to feel at home in the kitchen.” —Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved
“Thanks to Lisa Jervis for not only distilling such important information into digestible bites, but for putting the theory into practice with excellent and inspiring recipes. Potluck at my place, please!” —Michelle Tea, author of Rose of No Man’s Land and Rent Girl
“Want an opportunity to make the world better several times a day? Learn to feed yourself using the rational, witty, simple, and ethical guidelines in Lisa Jervis’s manual, Cook Food.” —Jennifer Baumgardner, co-author of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future
“With a heavy emphasis on local and unprocessed eating, Cook Food will help you overcome your hesitations about going veg or passing on the vegan bologna. A great resource for those stepping into the kitchen for the first time and vegetarians who want to go the distance to make this a healthier planet.” —Siue Moffat, author of Lickin’ the Beaters vegan dessert cookbooks
“Cook Food is equal parts inspiration, call to arms, cooking school, and guide to making everything more yummy. It also demonstrates, powerfully, how to marry important ideals about food with the realities of day-to-day living.” —Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of Surprised By God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion
“Finally! A thoroughly smart and useful book on the topic of food and social justice that fat people (and people of all sizes) can enjoy. Lisa offers so very many good, convincing reasons to make a smaller footprint, that it’s clear we can discard as unnecessary all of those arguments made on the backs of fat people. Thank you, Lisa, for a delicious, truly cruelty-free book!” —Marilyn Wann, author of FAT!SO?—Because You Don’t Have to Apologize for Your Size!
“Lisa Jervis’s head, heart, and taste buds are all so exactly in the right place, and reading Cook Food is like having her in your kitchen with you. This book feels like a strong, sane, healthy, funny friend, chatting with you while you cook and saying ‘try a pinch of that.’ It may well prove to be just the kind of companionship people need in order to make that step toward really changing the way they shop, cook, eat, and think about food.” —Thisbe Nissen, author of The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook and Osprey Island
“With good humor and a level head, this little treatise strips the elitism and the nutrition-fascism out of fresh, honest vegetable-centric food, and offers robust, immensely usable recipes to teach and inspire both the whole-foods newbie and the experienced cook.” —Hanne Blank, author of Virgin: The Untouched History and Unruly Appetites
“Lisa Jervis has convinced me that I can be a great cook. We can’t come close to being perfect when it comes to preserving the planet or our health, but this persuasive, friendly, and usable book gives us the impetus to be the best we can. We can’t change the world overnight, but we can change our eating habits.” —Amy Richards, author of Opting In: Having A Child Without Losing Yourself and co-founder, Third Wave Foundation
“Cook Food is an informative, accessible, and downright fun guide to cooking healthily, locally, and responsibly. In addition to the many tasty recipes, Lisa Jervis demystifies the kitchen experience by explaining basic cooking tools and techniques, and encouraging improvisation. A must-have for progressive-minded foodies everywhere!” —Julia Serano, author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity
“Sure, I appreciate a cookbook with a social conscience. Plus, on a very practical level, Cook Food is just useful to have around. But, hands down, I most value this book for its sense of flavor. Lisa Jervis serves up simple yet sophisticated taste combinations with a global flare that make it easy—and even fun—to do the right thing with one’s diet.” —Paula Kamen, author of Feminist Fatale and Finding Iris Chang
Upcoming Events
| Date | City | Location | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/24/10 | Lisa Jervis in Fairfax, VA | George Mason University Fall for the Book program | United States |
| 09/25/10 | Lisa Jervis in Baltimore, MD | Baltimore Book Festival | United States |
| 09/26/10 | Lisa Jervis in New York, NY | Bluestockings Books | United States |
