In writing his superb book, Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land (new in paper, W.W. Norton), Vashon Island farmer/cheesemaker/dinner host Kurt Timmermeister has shown that he has grown himself into quite a writer. This often-humorous account of how he transformed himself from a Seattle restauranteur to the nuts and bolts of going about making a farm has been a reader favorite since it first landed on Elliott Bay shelves. "Anyone interested in where real food comes from will love this book. I was charmed by Kurt Timmermeister's story of becoming a farmer and found myself fascinated as he describes how he learned to install bees in a hive, establish an orchard, milk cows, and make cheese, and that slaughtering chickens is no party." – Jerry Traunfeld. "It is wonderful to have a farmer tells his story with such honesty and eloquence." - Alice Waters.