The tradition of the sexy wall calendar is robust--New York firefighters, the Warwick rowing team. Ciara Ryan chose to build upon this artistic form in 2010 to support Bóthar, an Irish charity that works through local community groups to help overcome hunger, poverty and environmental decline. For this project, she selected her subjects carefully: Irish farmers.
After online success, Ryan's Irish Farmers is now available from Griffin Books, a novelty in hardcover that also benefits Bóthar. In it are many exemplars of sturdy Irish stock, handsome men carrying goats, tussling with deer, shearing sheep and serenading a field of cattle. And each offers a few fun factoids about himself. Jamie, for example, "can crack an egg with no hands," an eyebrow-raising talent that will no doubt come in handy if he's hungry for some Full Irish Slab Pie--a dish Imen McDonnell calls "the Irish pièce de résistance" in her Farmette Cookbook (Roost Books). It is a lattice-topped piecrust bursting with fried eggs, pork sausage, bacon, sautéed mushrooms and broiled tomato halves, perfect for "feeding a pack of hungry farmers, or visitors from abroad embarking on a pilgrimage to the ancient mountain of Croagh Patrick."
Rich with regional favorites like the Boxty potato cake, as well as Irish twists on international fare like Hot-Smoked Burren Salmon Tacos, The Farmette Cookbook is all about buying local, organic produce, free-range livestock and sustainability no matter where you live. Rural living and hearty home cooking are sexy as ever. Whether you want to roll up your sleeves and get to work, or just admire the view, these books make it clear that the Irish know just where to start. --Dave Wheeler, associate editor, Shelf Awareness