My brother, Mike Madison, is a farmer who sells mainly flowers at the Davis, California farmers’ market. He has lots of time when he’s hoeing, repairing drip tape, or planting thousands of bulbs, to write in his head. What’s unusual about Mike is that he has made time to put those thoughts on . His book, called Blithe Tomato, it is a wry and often amusing collection of short essays about what farmers encounter as they plan and plant, water and harvest, then finally sell at the farmers’ market. It will make you laugh and groan in succession. And doubly appreciate what it takes to bring a tomato to market.

Blithe Tomato is something of a family affair: my husband, Patrick McFarlin, illustrated it and I wrote the foreward. It’s a must-read for anyone who has an interest in cooking and eating and is curious about what exactly it’s like to be a small-scale family farmer.

Blithe Tomato is published by Great Valley Books Heyday Press in Berkeley, California.