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Simply in Season, A World Community Cookbook
Editors Note:
This is one of those times when, even thought this is not a strictly vegetarian
resource, (and that is not the total focus of Garden Simply
anyway) it is an essential one. Learning to 'eat with the seasons is vital to sustainability
and developing local buying habits. We highly advocate the principles along those
lines in this book! Or maybe I just like it because it has 'Simply' in the title! 
Description:
One of essential aspects of household sustainability is learning to eat with the
season. It is also one of the hardest, given the way our just-in-time agribidness
system tempts us with out of season foods. Thus, this new cookbook, from the
Mennonite Central Committee, on eating withthe season, is an important
contribution to "kitchen permaculture".
Robert Waldrop
http://www.oklahomafood.coop
http://www.bettertimesinfo.org
Spiral-bound: 352 pages
(I'd recommend the spiral bound edition, which has heavy plastic covers.)
'Simply in Season' is the third 'World Community
Cookbook' produced by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
The others were 'The More-with-Less Cookbook'
(emphasis on economical recipes) and 'Extending the Table'
(recipes from around the world).
'Simply in Season', as you will guess from the
title, is wholly about cooking and eating seasonal - and
therefore at least potentially local - foods.
After an initial 'Fruit and Vegetable Guide', the book is arranged by season,
and each season has recipes for:
- Breads and Breakfast
- Soups
- Salads
- Sides
- Main Dishes
- Desserts
- Extras
After the spring, summer, autumn and winter
sections, there's an 'all seasons' section with some useful
all-year recipes (pie crusts and the like).
This is not a vegetarian cookbook as it includes
seasonal meat (lamb in spring) and other meats, but many of
the recipes do not call for meat.
Basically, it's how to use the fruits of your garden or other local and seasonal
foods (maybe bought from a farmstand, farmers market, or CSA). It's the best
cookbook of this type that I have ever read - and they've got the seasons right.
I hate it when I read an ostensibly seasonal recipe that includes, for example,
fresh peas plus fresh tomatoes. At least in my neck of the woods, the two are
definitely not happening at once. But 'Simply in Season' is actually accurate
about what foods are in season when.
The recipes emphasize healthful cooking and healthful foods. Recipes were sent
in by contributors, then each recipe was tested at least two (and usually more)
times by testers. The authors spent nearly two years collecting 1600 recipes
from more than 450 contributors, then winnowed the recipes down to the best 307
- and those are included in this cookbook. Contributor(s) for each recipe are
identified by name and location.
'Simply in Season' is particularly strong in having recipes for unusual seasonal
foods: ground cherries, persimmons, rhubarb, and the like. Lots of zucchini
recipes, of course. The recipes almost all sound VERY good to me, and the level
of difficulty is about right: I'm not willing to spend an awful lot of time
cooking these days. Many of the recipes enable you to make the main dish
from/with your garden's bounty - this is always helpful to me. And it has
some splendid sounding desserts too!
Like the preceding two cookbooks from MCC, the book also includes little homilies
and 'stories' which - in this case - are mainly about the virtues of growing and
eating local food. A few of the 'stories' are explicitly, 'religious', but the
majority are not. If you object to anything even vaguely spiritual, this may not be
the cookbook for you, although really: you could just ignore those parts.
For myself, I'm glad to see anything published that may help to inform people
about the reasons to support local farmers and sustainable farming. Eat local
food, change the world!
I recommend 'Simply in Season' most highly - especially to gardeners, but also
to everyone who wants good, healthy, and delicious food.
Oh yes, one last point: see page 153 for an excellent dessert recipe...
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The Mediterranean Herb Cookbook
Description:
This month I chose to feature a cookbook. The Mediterranean Herb Cookbook is an
excellent culinary resource for herb information and recipes. The book is not so
much a cookbook of authentic Mediterranean recipes, but more of a collection of
ideas and recipes that are true to the Mediterranean style of cooking. By that I
mean cooking that uses fresh vegetables, fruits and grains, seasoned with one or
more of the herbs native to the Mediterranean. The key to this style of cooking
is simplicity. Soups, salads, grilled fish, olive oil and fresh herbs are the
staple ingredients. I also found the methods in this book easy to follow and the
ingredients readily available.
The recipes in this book include; soups, salads, sauces, marinades, herb oils,
beverages, breads and sweets and more. Not only are the recipes great, there`s
also an extensive listing of commonly used herbs along with information on each
herb. If you`re wondering what the taste of a certain herb is or how to grow a
particular herb, its all in the book. The photography is also worth mentioning.
The food is beautifully presented with a simplicity typical of the Mediterranean.
If you are interested in growing useful herbs and would like a great resource
on how to use them once you`ve grown them, this is a great book for you.
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Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook
by Steve Meyerowitz, Sproutman®
Description:
Steve's been around a long time and he KNOWS his stuff. I can't recommend a
better book to teach you how to enjoy eating such healthy food! If you
like the idea of eating healthy all year round and "gardening" is NOT reserved
for only the pleasant months of spring, you'll so benefit by owning this book!
Excellent resource book.
Turn nuts, vegetable seeds, grains and beans into gourmet food! Sprouted breads,
cookies, crackers, living soups, dressings, dips, spreads, sautes, alternative
non-dairy milks, ice-creams, even sprouted pizza and bagels! Chapters on making
sprout bread, food dehydrating, juicing, natural sodas, alternatives to dairy
and salt, smart vegetarianism. Glossary of healthy foods. Includes Questions
and Answers and seed resources. Over 150 illustrations, photos & Charts.
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