The respect we have for Edna Lewis is intense. (Aioli-intense. Aris-intense. Tahini-intense.) She’s the official queen of the south: a spokesperson whose food is so deeply rooted in a time and place that it’s almost unnecessary cook it yourself. Rather, it’s best devoured in written form, by way of spooling stories of her idyllic, hard-won childhood in a closely knit farming community Freetown, Virginia — therein lies the pleasure of The Taste of Country Cooking.