An Onion in My Pocket

My Life with Vegetables

By: Deborah Madison

Narrated by: Deborah Madison

From the author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone ("The Queen of Greens," The Washington Post)—a warm, bracingly honest memoir that also gives us an insider's look at the vegetarian movement.

Madison’s “insightful memoir” (The Wall Street Journal) is “a true delight to read as she uncovers her love for all real foods, peeling off layer by layer like an onion, recounting her own personal, culinary, and gardening experiences” (Lidia Bastianich).

Thanks to her beloved cookbooks and groundbreaking work as the chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison, though not a vegetarian herself, has long been revered as this country's leading authority on vegetables.

She profoundly changed the way generations of Americans think about cooking with vegetables, helping to transform "vegetarian" from a dirty word into a mainstream way of eating. But before she became a household name, Madison spent almost twenty years as an ordained Buddhist priest, coming of age in the midst of counterculture San Francisco. In this charmingly intimate and refreshingly frank memoir, she tells her story—and with it the story of the vegetarian movement—or the very first time.

From her childhood in Big Ag Northern California to working in the kitchen of the then-new Chez Panisse, and from the birth of food TV to the age of green markets everywhere, An Onion in My Pocket is as much the story of the evolution of American foodways as it is the memoir of the woman at the forefront. It is a deeply personal look at the rise of vegetable-forward cooking, and a manifesto for how to eat well.

She has had a fascinating life

But for me the book didn’t flow well.. and if I hear the words ZinZa or austere again it will be too soon.

Fabulous!! Loved it!!

Deborah’s book detailing her life story is fascinating. I learned so much about the evolution of vegetarian cooking, the restaurant business, and farmers’ markets, to name a few. What made it extra special was the narration by Deborah Madison herself. Every thought and experience is beautifully articulated. She speaks as if talking to the listener personally. Having lived in California and even briefly in Davis, roughly the same time Deborah did, made the book even more relatable. Can’t rate this book high enough. I will definitely be trying more of her recipes.

Excellent story about food and nourishment

I liked listening to Deborah Madison reading this book to me and the insight about how to convert a meat dish to a vegetarian recipe. I also enjoyed hearing her thoughts about how the set and setting of a meal effect nourishment.

Complete Joy

What a fun and interesting read. I bought the hardcover for my son for Christmas but really didn't want to wait for him to finish it so I did it my listening to it. Fun, fun listen

I had no idea!!

What a surprise after all these years and all the cookbooks I have by Deborah Madison and never knew how interesting and surprising is her life story. Thoroughly enjoyed the memoir and love and respect her all the more!