Fresh from the Garden: Cooking and Gardening Throughout the Seasons with 250 Recipes - Hardcover

Meyers, whose The Seasonal Kitchen (1973) moved a new generation to cook with each season's bounty, extends her reach to the kitchen garden. Drawing on her experience in American and European gardens, she offers pointers on planting, growing, harvesting, storing and preparing more than 25 fresh "jewels of nature." Organized by season, chapters on individual vegetables begin with a discussion of the vegetable's best uses and preparation tips, recommended varieties, advice on storage, optimal gardening results and harvesting; recipes follow. In Summer's "Carrots," for instance, readers who garden in heavy soil are advised to grow "shorter, stubbier varieties"; we learn that winter squash should be cured in the sun or a warm place for 10 days, then moved to cool, dark storage. Recipes range from such variations on classics as "Spicy Catalan Gazpacho" and "Pan-Seared Salmon with French Sorrel and Lemon Mayonnaise" to updated standbys such as "Corn-Studded Polenta with Parmesan," "Provencal Ragout of Eggplant, Fall Vegetables and Sausage" and "Carrot and Pineapple Muffins." Meyers blends authority, conviviality and expertise in 250 recipes, suggesting, for instance, that adding stale rye bread to the blanching water will remove the bitterness of Belgian endives. Informative headers recommend variations and simple meal planning to round out another solid Meyers contribution to the kitchen- and beyond.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Meyers's most recent cookbooks are Spur of the Moment Cook (Morrow, 1994) and The Art of Seasonal Cooking (LJ 9/15/91), but she is probably best known for The Seasonal Kitchen (LJ 8/73), a book that was ahead of its time and has become a classic. Now she's combined a gardening guide and a recipe book to offer another seasonal work, from "New Beginnings" to "The Last Hurrah." Each section is organized by ingredient, with information on selection, storage, and preparation in addition to gardening/harvesting advice; most of this information will be useful to any cook, even those who find their produce in the supermarket. The recipes, 250 in all, are fresh and bright: Ginger Pickled Asparagus; Spicy Corn, Shrimp, and Red Pepper Salad; Grilled Onions in Mint Butter. Recommended for most collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.