I met Amy a few years ago in Troy, NY where she was teaching a class in food storytelling with photos. Amy grew up in Troy, NY and was the  product of the packaged food era with hardly a real food culture memory other than cooking pancakes. She fell in love with both baking and sweets, and eventually became the cook of the family. Fast forward to today, and you will find Amy cooking at the Unity House in Troy, teaching a Food Justice class at Russell Sage College. Amy is also a food journalist and writer with a specialty in the history of grain production. In fact, Amy has just written her first book, The New Bread Basket: How the New Crop of Grain Growers, Plant Breeders, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers, Brewers, and Local Food Activists Are Redefining Our Daily Loaf. She is being published by Chelsea Green Publishing, and her book is due out this summer. In addition to writing and teaching, Amy manages a soup kitchen where she is working to increase the amount of fresh food in the menu. 

I hope you enjoy hearing about how Amy’s obsession with pancakes inspired her to write a book about flour and grain production. Be sure to check out her blog, Home Economics: Three Avid Eaters and One Picky Fellow Getting Local About Food.