Wild Abundance: A Beautiful Cookbook for Carnivores and Hunters

I love books, so when I come across a beautiful new cookbook -- so lovely it doubles as a coffee table book -- I'm a happy camper. Recently I've been losing myself in Wild Abundance: Ritual, Revelry & Recipes of The South's Finest Hunting Clubs, gazing at the stunning photography of Lisa Buser, drooling over the delectable recipes of the chefs and cooks, and reading the warm tales about the people and places brought together by editor Susan Schadt.

Wild Abundance (courtesy ArtsMemphis)

Odd as it may seem for a girl who grew up in cities, my family actually did a fair bit of hunting when I was a kid. My father was a chef who loved to hunt, and my family would pile into our camper and drive all the way from California to Montana or Wyoming for weeks-long hunting, fishing and camping trips on horseback.

Perhaps because of this, I've always been skeptical of carnivores who shun hunting. I've just never understood why someone who is not a vegetarian could have anything against the hunt. Often when I speak of hunting, people gasp, You'd kill Bambi?! Yet these same people happily order venison in a restaurant and buy it from the market. I truly believe the modern mentality born of experiencing meat all cut up and sold in plastic wrapped packages at the grocery story is the very disconnect that has led to the horrible animal raising and slaughtering practices rampant in today's food industry. To hunt is to respect and appreciate the life of the animal with which you're nourishing yourself, as well as the land on which they nourish themselves.

 Chef Derek Emerson's Grilled Quail with Corn Salsa (courtest ArtsMemphis)

Chef Derek Emerson with NY Giants Quarterback 

Eli Manning at Fighting Bayou Hunt Club

(courtesy Arts Memphis)

 

Wild Abundance is enough to make this nature-loving, game-craving city girl want to run for the wilds of America, and never look back.

 

Read the full article and see more of the beautiful photos from this stunning cookbook at The Huffington Post.