A Bite Off Mama's Plate: Mothers' and Daughters' Connections through Food

(Hardback)

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Description

In the last four decades of the 20th century women worked to escape the social messages of the 1950s regarding proper homemaking. During the 50s, despite an explosion of household appliances and gadgets, women spent increasing amounts of time in housekeeping. The idealization of perfectly clean homes and perfectly cooked and arranged food constituted oppression for most women, especially as the demands of working outside the home were added to work inside the home. Despite efforts to broaden the choices available to women, the assignment of food-related tasks - food procurement, preparation, and presentation - remains overwhelmingly in the hands of women. Meyers combines original research encompassing focus groups, interviews, and a national survey, as well as a personal memoir and a wide range of written sources to illuminate the ways mothers use this role to communicate with their daughters. The kitchen is revealed to be a place where women work, to be sure, but where they also gather to share confidences, memories, and laughter.

Reviews

"A joy and a pleasure."-Lynne Rossetto Kasper, food writer and host of the nationally syndicated radio program The Splendid Table
"A sense of generosity pervades A Bite off Mama's Plate....In both a spiritual and physical sense, the insights and individual histories this work shares about the importance of food as women's contribution to a civilized culture are as magnanimous as a Thanksgiving table."-Lisa Brock, in Minnesota Women's Press (Book Talk)
"As Miriam Meyers demonstrates in her book, food is the catalyst that brings us together. When we forget that, and neglect the place of food in the family, we lose the way to home. It's a significant loss, and we must get the word out in order to counter current trends. A Bite off Mama's Plate is an impressive contribution to that effort."-Marion Cunningham, author of Fannie Farmer Cookbook, The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham, and other books
"A Bite Off Mama's Plate is a colorful, affectionate, and often humorous exploration of the "connection(s) women in families have through food.,.".[r]aises important and provocative questions that could inspire further research."-Gastronomica
A Bite Off Mama's Plate is a colorful, affectionate, and often humorous exploration of the "connection(s) women in families have through food.,.".[r]aises important and provocative questions that could inspire further research.-Gastronomica
Delightfully combining commentary, recipes and telling anecdote, Meyers shows how relationships are developed and nurtured through food preparation and consumption and how many lessons about life come through the same routes. This book ranks high as an editor's choice; you'll enjoy it in your personal library; it will make timeless gifts; and it belongs in every public and academic library.-Women & Language
"Delightfully combining commentary, recipes and telling anecdote, Meyers shows how relationships are developed and nurtured through food preparation and consumption and how many lessons about life come through the same routes. This book ranks high as an editor's choice; you'll enjoy it in your personal library; it will make timeless gifts; and it belongs in every public and academic library."-Women & Language

Author Bio

MIRIAM MEYERS spent her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, where her mother worked in the food service industry for four decades. Since completing degrees in English, French, and linguistics at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University and Georgetown University, Miriam has taught and worked as a writer, editor, and administrator. She is currently Professor Emerita of Linguistics at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. She lives in Minneapolis, where she gardens and watches birds when she is not writing and teaching. _