Slice of Organic Life

This smorgasbord of organic recipes, tips and suggestions has something for everyone, but like a Jack-of-all-trades, it's a master of none. With an emphasis on food, from gardening and buying to preserving and preparing, it also covers household hints on such subjects as conservation (turn down the thermostat), safe cleaning products (baking soda) and the three R's of green living: reduce, reuse and recycle, with recipes for such products as baby food, sauerkraut and exfoliating skin scrub. Some of these slices of organic living are appealing and accessible, like instructions for growing potted herbs, making compost and drying tomatoes. Others, like the information on renewable energy and keeping honey bees, are too sketchy to be of real use. The six pages devoted to raising pigs (with one entire page on selecting your breeds) borders on the absurd for most people. The selections are randomly ordered, with churning butter next to Make Organic Drinks. Profusely illustrated, the book may make an inspiring gift for those wishing to make their lives greener, but it's apt to frustrate and confuse novices trying out organic, and those seeking in-depth information will have to look elsewhere.  (June)   Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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       Sheherazade Goldsmith is a wife, mother, and environmental activist. She is the editor-in-chief of DK's  A Greener Christmas.