Melanie Rehak always loved cooking, eating, and sharing food with loved ones. After reading the likes of Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, and Wendell Berry, she tried to buy organic and local foods. But upon the birth of her son, Jules, she realized that she was responsible for feeding someone else, and she wanted to know more. Eating for Beginners details a year of discovering what it means to be an eater and a parent in today's complicated world. Rehak harvested potatoes, milked goats, sorted beans, and worked at a small restaurant where she learned what to eat and why, that even the most dedicated organic farmers sometimes serve their children frozen chicken fingers, and that we really can make peace with our food. AUTHOR: Melanie Rehak's Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her earned both Edgar and Agatha Awards. She has written for the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and others; her column on food books, "Paper Palate," appears in Bookforum.