One of the greatest gifts I ever received is A Treasury of Great Recipes, a 1965 cookbook written by Vincent Price and his wife Mary. I am a huge fan of Price the actor, so getting a sneak peak into his life as an international gourmand is very satisfying. The book is an incredible read and has remarkable, full-color pictures. It doesn't matter how obscure a celebrity - it's likely that you'll find something out there.
Would you like to do something good for your city, and eat well while you're at it? Berlin's newest dining initiative, "Mit Sinn Serviert" (Served with Purpose), makes that as easy as ordering your next coffee or bowl of soup. The campaign, newly relaunched by Berliner Tafel, invites restaurants, cafés, and snack bars all over the city to dedicate one item from their menu to support people in need.
Even apart from the altruistic aspect of the work, Fruit Rescue's gleaning events - which are open to anyone who signs up through the group's Eventbrite page - are a fun, family-friendly way to spend a morning. The aforementioned peach-picking session didn't wind up happening (backyard fruit can be a fickle enterprise), but my nine-year-old daughter and I drove out to Martinez's Alhambra Valley on an impossibly clear-skied Tuesday morning to harvest about a dozen Bartlett pear trees in a tidy, picturesque frontyard orchard.