Recipes from America's Small Farms : Fresh Ideas for the Season's Bounty

Rating:
Summary: THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE HERE
Review: This is one of the finest from-the-farm cookbooks I've seen-- for organization, for content, variety, and appeal. I love the way the book is set up: first the basics we all need to give fresh produce the t.l.c. it deserves, then the vegetable recipes by category: leaves, cabbages, the whole huge onion family, stalks and stems, seeds and pods, fruits treated like vegetables (tomatoes, for example), roots and tubers. There's even a chapter on fresh herbs. I find the recipes both unusual and irresistible and can't wait to try the Bruschetta with Braised Greens, the Wild Arugula Salad with Mushrooms, the Striped Bass and Scallops with Braised Cabbage and Germolata, the Onion Biscuits, and oh, so many more. This cookbook is not only a "keeper," it's one that stays on my kitchen counter. A TAR HEEL FOOD LOVER

Rating:
Summary: different and delicious!
Review: This lovely cookbook lives up to its subtitle -- it's filled with all sorts of "fresh" and terrific ideas for making the most of seasonal vegetables and fruits. The recent publicity about obesity and American youngsters makes it clear that all parents (myself included) have to find enticing ways of teaching our kids to eat right. This book is loaded with ideas, and getting kids to understand that it's tastier and healthier to eat what's just been harvested -- instead of ripening on a truck or flash-frozen -- is important on any number of levels. This book isn't just for the dedicated vegetarian but for everyone. I've already tried a couple of recipes -- zucchini tacos and Swiss chard gratin-- and they were different and delicious.
It's fun to read too -- with info on every vegetable and fruit as well as all the different ways to clean, cook, and keep them fresh. I enjoyed the farmers' stories and was happy to learn about community-supported agriculture -- where people buy shares in the harvest. The book has spurred me on to join a local CSA-- community-supported agriculture is just what America needs.