Fruit and Vegetable Books

William Weaver's 100 Vegetables And Where They Came From text picks a hundred vegetables from around the world and shares their stories of development and consumption. Read here about the Pennsylvania Winter Luxury squash which can be eaten like an apple, or the Botswana cowpea, which is a creamy dish in Africa. Excellent folklore for vegetable fans.

100 Vegetables and Where They Came From text treatment of the vegetable picks a hundred vegetables from around the world and shares their stories of development and consumption. Read here about the Pennsylvania Winter Luxury squash which can be eaten like an apple, or the Botswana cowpea, which is a creamy dish in Africa. Excellent folklore for vegetable fans.

A Tour Through Our Extraordinary Culinary Heritage. A fascinating history of vegetables from around the world & onto our platters for supper.

You will find sidebars extolling the virtues of efficiency & flavor of just about every plant W3 hunts down, together with hints for gardeners about spicing up beverages & other mildly improper culinary secrets.

From the Aji Dulce Pepper (Capsicum chinense) from Venezuela - smoky flavored without the "hot pepper overkill and the sensation of fiery lava flowing through the body" ... to the Zwollsche Krul Celery (Apium graveolens) found in the salt marshes of the Netherlands - a curly leaf celery that falls under the general English category of smallage - parsley & such - used boiling or stewing.

Part of the history of the plants we've cultivated for hundreds of years(What was the Lumper Potato?) is also part of the history of our language of cooking. You will find terms such as landrace or smallage.

The plants which W3 pursues are noncommercial or "backyard" varieties that have been under cultivation for a very long time. They are the real ingredients of peasant cookery & often provide regional cookeries with their distinctive flavors.

Which vegetable delicacy did our Third President set upon his table for his guests? Would you know what Cardoon is? W3 knows & now so do I!

Enough already! Talk about digging for the roots of our roots! A garden book for cooks or a cook's guide to ancient gardens - either way - if you like veggies, you're going to want your own copy of W3's latest!

This book amazes me: The author has managed to combine two activities I don't usually do (cooking and seed propagation) with two of my least favorite subjects (history and social studies) in a reference-style format compelling enough to read in bed.

Mr. Weaver has a flair for culinary description combined with an unabashed enthusiasm for both plants and people. When he describes a plant's origins, he doesn't just state a place and a time, he takes you there, he tells you how he found it, he describes the husbandry behind it, and THEN he tells you what it's like to eat it. And what it goes well with. And how it might look in a garden. And what its virtues are. And so on, invoking an exotic world of color and taste such as never graced your local grocer's vegetable shelves!

So:

...If you've ever enjoyed thumbing through cookbooks to savor the taste of imagined dishes...

...If you've ever enjoyed reading a travel journal and experiencing people and customs through the eyes of others...

...If you've ever enjoyed browsing through seed catalogs and plotting away the winter with dreams of exotic varieties (--all yours for the mere price of a seed packet!)

...Or if your shopping for anyone with an interest in "foodways"...

...Then this book is well worth the price.

In one sense this is a popular book, easy to read with helpful line drawings of the vegetables (gracefully rendered by Signe Sundberg-Hall). Weaver even gives phonetic guidance on how to pronounce the names of the vegetables, which include peppers, beans, potatoes, lentils, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, etc. Part of the book is a celebration of those names and an appreciation of their history. While reading this I made a mental note to get to my local Whole Foods or Begonia Farms store more often and try something new and exotic!

In another sense this is an advanced book for gardeners and culinary experts, not because the book is technical, but because for most people most of the vegetables presented will not be found at the local supermarket, nor will their seeds be found at the local garden and seed store. Additionally it is not always clear to this amateur how these exotic varieties differ from their more prosaic fellows at the local A&P. Weaver helps by attempting to describe the taste (hard to do!) and advises on things like texture, color and spiciness (e.g., wear gloves when cooking Aji Lemón peppers, and don't breath the fumes!). He includes some recipes and advice on complementary foods to go along with the featured veggies. He gives some recipes, sometimes from the culture of origin. For gardeners there are five pages of seed catalogue stores and their web addresses. For botanists he includes the botanical names and the plant's family name. No fungi, by the way. There are varieties from "every continent, except the frozen one," e.g., "Shungiku Edible Chrysanthemum," from Japan, "Pepino Dulce Melon" from South America, "Jaune du Poitou Leek," from France, even the "Petaluma Gold Rush Bean," from my native California. Among the exotic names I found some terminology new to me. Some vegetables are referred to as "heirloom" varieties and/or "cultivars." Weaver uses the term "landrace," which I couldn't find in any of my dictionaries, defined on page two as a noncommercial or "backyard" variety in cultivation for a long time. Weaver has himself cultivated all the varieties presented here on his farm in Pennsylvania where he grows three thousand or so vegetables on a rotating basis. His knowledge about vegetables and his love for them is very impressive. His appreciation of the culinary arts is evident. This is a pretty little book from Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill that would make a nice present for someone you know who loves cooking or gardening.

Reading this book is like visiting the village of Dixon, NM, which has been Stan Crawford's home for many years. At first it doesn't look as if there's much of anything there: clusters of old adobe houses, small farms, a combination grocery/gas station, a few lowriders cruising the main drag, big old cottonwoods, willow thickets along the river, and fences festooned with Old Man's Beard. But if you stay a while and explore, you'll discover fascinating people, an amazing array of small businesses (from herbalists and food producers to weavers and fine jewelers), and a community lifestyle that hasn't entirely lost its connection with the rhythms of the seasons. Crawford is not only a dedicated farmer (and a pillar of the Santa Fe Farmer's Market), but a fine writer and a clear-eyed observer; the various chapters of the book present a vividly described, thoughtful picture of his life and his surroundings. I found the chapter on Los Alamos rather weak (it's just the usual "ain't bombs awful" arm-waving), but the rest of the book is an unmitigated pleasure. Forget the Hollywood version of New Mexico; this is the real thing.

Anyone who enjoys whole foods cookery, herbal healing, and organic gardening will appreciate Crawford's observations. Those with a philosophical bent will appreciate them even more. His reflections on a life lived close to nature are a bit like those of Thoreau or Jefferson, but Crawford appears to also be very much the guy who brings fresh produce to your local farmer's market.

Few of us have probably given much thought to the growing of garlic bulbs, which really consist of "cloves" that can be divided and planted or used to season everything from marinara sauce to stir fries. You might have noticed the green sprouts that begin to emerge from cloves of garlic kept too long in your refrigerator, but Crawford suggests garlic plants are difficult to grow because their life course is different from that of many other plants. Garlics have adapted to life in stressful places where rainfall is not always forthcoming but when they need moisture, they need moisture. To avoid death, the bulbs spend a good part of the year "resting" or dormant. In a chapter called "Waiting" Crawford says that's exactly what the garlic farmer does. Much of the year, garlic like other bulbed plants are in hiding, and the farmer must be patient and wait until they are ready for the harvest.

But Crawford's interaction with plants isn't only about garlic. He relates how he "tasted the landscape" as a child in his native California-peeling and chewing the white pulp of anise growing by the side of the road in winter; sucked the syrup of nasturtiums, smelled the pepper tree berries, and searched the orchids for loquats, limes, and mandarin oranges. Today, children are not so fortunate. Pollution, chemicals, other noxious matter have made much of the landscape dangerous. Crawford toyed with both conventional and organic farming. He says he wishes to ask those who enquire whether his products for sell at the weekly market are "organic" if they lead organic lives. Do they earn their money in organic ways. He says, "Perhaps in the poisonous desert of the city there is little else you can do besides seek out what you hope is "pure" food. In addition to being informative and philosophical, Crawford's book is provocative.

This is one of the best-written books that I have ever read. Each word is well-chosen, effective, and yet easy to read. At one point in the book, he alludes that he has written poetry previously. Each of the 39 chapters is a few pages long, presenting a brief essay on something related to garlic farming in New Mexico. There's an obvious love and care that he gives to his work (both garlic farming and writing), and he's able to show respect for others who have not chosen this path. The book also presents some information about how garlic is grown, but it's by no means a gardening book. It's a descriptive story of the cycles of the growing season. Like in his other excellent book, Mayordomo, the author also shares his community with us - talking about how farming, farmers markets, irrigation, and such intertwine a community, even one that contains members who originally went there to "get away from it all."

When Henry David Thoreau left the comforts of civilization to build his own house with his own hands and deliberately live close to nature, his experience at Walden Pond became a classic in American literature. Even today, many of us trapped in the mundane horrors of urban life long to escape, as he did, to a small plot of land somewhere outside the realms of commerce, overcommercialization, and petty-minded consumerism.

Novelist Stanley Crawford had the courage to do more than dream about it. He left California for the rigorous, simple life of a New Mexico garlic farmer and, like Thoreau, has written a wise and thought-provoking book about his experiences. His account spans a year in the life of garlic, tying topics as diverse as the nuclear bomb and the challenge of maintaining community to the rhythms of building one's own house from adobe and learning to plant and harvest responsibly.

After closing the cover of this book, I was ready to drive to New Mexico and seek out Crawford in the Farmer's Market, to buy my own bulbs of top-setting garlic and somehow bring some of the beauty of his life into my own. I may never stand in Santa Fe behind his pickup, buying a woven garland of organic garlic to hang in my kitchen, or perhaps I will travel there and stammer some foolish words about his writing as I hand him a handful of crumbled dollar bills. In some sense, the physical journey has become irrelevant: Crawford's New Mexico has already illumined my heart and wakened me to the rhythms of my own life. I don't have the strength or the patience to tend a field or a garden, manufacture adobe or create a home, brick by brick. But I, too, have a place in the world, and eyes to see--A Garlic Testament is one of those books that wakes us from habitual slumber and reminds us, as Thoreau so aptly put it, to advance confidently in the directions of our dreams, and to put the foundations under our castles in the air.

I've enjoyed this book for several years and often suggest it to people wanting to grow garlic or sell at farmers' markets. It is an excellent resource, providing a first-hand experience in both garlic, small-scale farming, and direct marketing in an easy-to-read format. For people who enjoy plants, this book reads like a novel as we follow the author and his thoughts through the season. I find it quite representative of life on a small farm, with interesting philosophical perspectives on life, family values, farming, and relationship between the farm and the community. It is easy to identify with the grower and I eagerly looked forward to the next chapter. Each chapter captures the picture and thoughts of a particular time, yet the growth of the crop and its place in the larger picture provides continuity between chapters. Highly recommended and enjoyable. Technically accurate regarding garlic cultivation. Good insight into small-scale farming in New Mexico.

Want to grow fruit trees but don't think you have the space? Like to try new vegetable varieties but never remember where you planted them? Kids want to start a garden of their own but you don't want to give up the space? Movable Harvests has your answers to all these dilemmas. There are tips on creating the perfect potting mix and picking the right container as well as basic crop growing instructions. Pest control is addressed on a by-vegetable basis and is split between cultural and chemical controls. Movable Harvests has good ideas for all sorts of crops from fruits and berries to salad greens and root vegetables. You can grow ANYTHING in a container. A final, although short, chapter provides instructions on indoor farming including how to grow your own dwarf banana tree.

I have found this book a wonderful starting point for vegetable gardening in containers. It has chapters on proper containers, soil mixes, all natural ways to deal with pests, fertilizing options, and many helpful suggestions, even has a section for growing indoors. I originally checked it out at the library, and have found it so helpful that I am ordering my own copy!

I am a Gardening Idiot. I like growing things, but I have no idea why some of my plants thrive and some of them drop dead. I decided it would be easier to isolate some of the variables (I play a scientician during the work week) if I grew more things in containers, particularly since I am now getting into more exotic fruits and berries that actually cost real money. The trouble, of course, is that there is a bewildering array of containers and conditions for people like me to choose from.

This book was recommended by someone on the Internet as a great source of information on soil, placement, containers, and cultivars (varieties of a given plant -- don't laugh, I didn't know what it meant) that are best suited for container gardens. For example -- dwarf fig trees are fiction. You can, however, restrain a fig tree's growth. You just don't feed and water it as much, and you put it in a big pot. (Eventually I suspect that you will have to either kill it or move it outside, but I'm not there yet)

My biggest relief is that the book showed me how to meet the somewhat stringent preferences of the Mara des Bois strawberries that I'm growing this season. I didn't realize that strawberry planters are shaped the way they are so that the plants can share the soil (which you feed from the top with organic matter, i.e. compost). The net benefit (which I assume people have known for decades) is that you can manage the soil for a dozen or so plants at once, since their roots are close together and the pH/moisture is pretty much the same for all of them. There are more complicated ways to achieve this (eg. the Earthbox design), but they don't seem to work any better for what I am doing. So the book saved me some needless spend, too.

I paid $3 for this book. If I got as much value out of every $3 I spent, I would be an incredibly happy guy. Even after perusing all the books at the local library (and the Los Angeles Public Library is *immense*), I still think this book delivered for me. I would have paid 5 times as much if I'd seen it in a bookstore, and I would not have regretted it for a second.

Great information and extremely clear guidance for a very reasonable price.

This is the only book I have found that covers growing vegetables in containers. It is a good start. It provides just enough information about the all important-soil recipes, companion plants, container sizes & types, watering, pests, fertilizers and suitable crops. It's not a big book, which is why I can't give it my highest rating. I am still looking for something more in depth and with more personal experiences, ergo the reason for my web site LinLu's Container Gardening -

This book is short, but it packs quite a punch. It contains many photos which are useful in diagnosing diseases, etc. This is a great starting point for the beginning urban gardener (like me) who is attempting to make the most of limited space. The authors keep keep things short, sweet, and to the point. If you're wondering what sorts of containers to use, how deep you should plant various seeds, what varieties thrive best in containers, etc., this is a great place to start. At the very least, it's a nice reference book to have on hand for for the urban gardener.

A must-have book for anyone who loves apples and wonders how they evolved. The history of the early orchards is fascinating. There are around 1600 descriptions of apples that are still available. In addition there are 1300 more descriptions of extinct varieties. There are several pages of color plates of various apples along with names and addresses of nursery suppliers of trees and rootstocks. There is an excellent index.
I was doubly interested in the book because my home county in VA is mentioned several times, as well as the cover photo being from the same county.

This book is obviously a labor of love, but for the person with a few
old apple trees who wants to see what kind they may be, forget it. There
are a few drawings (in color) but most of the apples are only described
by location and unless you own that location, it is meaningless to you.

This book successfully conveys what is lost when an old apple tree is cut down. It emphasizes the importance of apples throughout the history of the south. Furthermore, it provides excellent descriptions of the many varieties of old southern apples. The research that went into creating this book was obviously tremendous.The descriptions include over 1600 varities of apples. Throughout the book, the author is able to relate his great enthusiasm for old apple varieties as well as a profound sense of loss over the destruction of an important part of Southern heritage. "Old Southern Apples" has even inspired me to start my own search for the old varieties of apple trees. This is a resource that no Southern fruit grower should be without.

Great Book. If you like apples, get this book and you'll become passionate about apples. Great history on old apples grown in the old south, most of which are now very rare. This book made this transplanted Yankee feel like an old southern rebel farmer.

This book successfully conveys what is lost when an old apple tree is cut down. It emphasizes the importance of apples throughout the history of the south. Furthermore, it provides excellent descriptions of the many varieties of old southern apples. The research that went into creating this book was obviously tremendous.The descriptions include over 1600 varities of apples. Throughout the book, the author is able to relate his great enthusiasm for old apple varieties as well as a profound sense of loss over the destruction of an important part of Southern heritage. "Old Southern Apples" has even inspired me to start my own search for the old varieties of apple trees. This is a resource that no Southern fruit grower should be without.

I found this book an excellent information source for nutritional information on fruit and vegetable juices. It is well organized and indexed by primary fruit and vegetable and contains a section on spicy elements such as ginger root and garlic which can be used to add zest to the juice. Rather than a purely medicinal type book, it has recipes and illustrations for some really tasty treats. My favorite is a carrot parsnip combination with a little parsley ad lib. I use this book every day and recommend it to anyone who wants good health with good taste.

Frankly, this book was kind of a disappointment. I bought it thinking it would have a lot of interesting recipes in it. "Over 200 recipes" is claimed in the cover. But many of these combinations I could have thought up myself and they are very simple. The soups, smothies, and sorbet sections are very short with few recipes. Also, the English terminology/spellings can be annoying. Nutritional breakdown of every recipe would be helpful, but it is just given for the fruits and vegetables. I am sure the nutrition changes somewhat when you juice something. The color pictures are also not even in the same section as the recipe, which is also annoying. However, the quantities given for the amount of fruits/veggies you need to make the juices will be helpful. It also gives some basic information on each fruit/vegetable and what they are touted for. This is not a terrible book, but just not what I expected. If you want simple recipes and have no creativity, this may be the book for you. If you are looking for in-depth information and better recipes, this is not what you are looking for.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It has a lot of very helpful information regarding the benefits of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. I keep it in my kitchen cabinet as a quick reminder of what each fruit or veggie is doing for my body as I juice it. I also use it when talking to others about the benefits of juicing.

Some basic juicing information is given along with lots of recipes. But some of the information on juicing is taken straight from Jay Juiceman's book, right down to a few unsited direct quotes. The part that bothers me is that she fails to give him any credit anywhere in the book, not even a recommended reading list. So if it's more juice recipes you're after, get this book, if it's more detailed information on juicing, get the book she quietly used as a source _The Juiceman's Power of Juicing_ by Jay Kordich.

This book has really helped me understand the wonderful variety of Asian plant seeds offered by Johnny's and Fedco Seeds. It has an emphasis on the brassicas, probably because the author lives in Britain, and those crops can grow there all year. Keep her climate in mind when you read this book (average of 60 degrees in the summer, minimum low of 20 degrees in the winter, and plenty of rain).

Oriental vegetables, especially the brassicas, seem to be easier to grow and hardier than the traditional cabbages, broccoli, etc., that I've grown side-by-side with them. It is great to have a book that helps sort out the confusing names. For example, I learned that Senposai (a seed I bought from Fedco - called "one thousand treasure vegetable" in Japan) is a cross between ordinary cabbage and komatsuna, and tastes much like ordinary cabbage. Then there is a lot of information on komatsuna, chinese cabbage, pak choi, mibuna mizuna, choy sum, etc., with a chart to help you sort them all out.

In the back, there is all the obligatory information on gardening techniques that is covered better in other books, but with helpful some references to Asian techniques and tools. She speaks with authority on plant protection, telling you specifics on what works for her. There is a nice, but small section of recipes. The growing information and plant name charts are VERY helpful. And finally, the index is thorough.

If you are planning to grow Asian vegetables, especially brassicas, this book is worth consulting.

If it were updated, I would give it five stars.

Joy Larkcom's excellent introduction to growing Asian vegetables is informative, well-designed, and ably illustrated by Elizabeth Douglass. The section on vegetable cultivation and technique in China is particularly interesting. The recipes are helpful to Western gardeners exploring the savoury variety of Chinese greens, peas, and beans for the first time.

Havi Hoffman

`Oriental Vegetables' by English gardening writer Joy Larkcom is the real deal. For foodies like myself, the most important thing to know about the book is exactly what deal it is real. I bought it with a bunch of other books on Asian ingredients without paying attention to much about the book except for the title, being lead to it by Amazon's cleverly surfacing books related to the books you have already chose to buy. Especially do not be deceived by the very nice blurb on the cover from Alice Waters and play extra attention to the subtitle, `The Complete Guide for the Gardening Cook'.

This book is much more about gardening than it is about cooking, and it tackles the subject of gardening very, very well. It does an exceptionally good job on detailing for us the ins and outs of growing the primary subject of the book, oriental vegetables.

The very best news about this book is that it was published 14 years ago, just as commerce between the West and China and Indochina was warming up. This trade has had these 14 years to mature into something that makes the access to unusual seeds even easier. A corollary to this is the fact that the book also predates the blooming of the Internet, so most of the sources Ms. Larkcom gives from the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan will probably be joined by others and be themselves more accessible.

Ms. Larkcom began her inquiry into her subject already an expert on growing vegetables. She enhanced her credentials by making long trips to China and Japan and by enlisting the assistance of a large stable of translators. All of this linguistic help was probably even more necessary for Oriental plants, as the systematic naming of plants in China and Japan is probably far behind that in the west, plus the fact that there are simply so many different species to deal with. I have seen in other horticultural books that China is the source of far more plant species than any comparable region on the earth. Even a cursory look at Ms. Larkcom's table of contents gives weight to this observation. This lists 77 species or groups of species by `common name'. This is substantially less than Elizabeth Schneider's approximately135 species covered in `Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini', but this book is limited to less than a quarter of the world's land mass while Schneider covers the entire world (as seen from western Europe).

If you already own Bruce Cost's classic `Oriental Ingredients', you have not touched the surface of what Larkcom's book can offer. Cost gives us the culinary and economic scoop. Ms. Larkcom focuses on the horticultural.

Ms. Larkcom's favorite subject may very well be the cabbages, as they are her first subject and she lovingly describes them as being very easy to grow in western soils and climates. In her general introduction to these brassicas, she covers climatic factors, stages of use, fitting the oriental brassicas into Western gardens, cultivation, pests and diseases, grouping the oriental brassicas, and specific hybrid brassicas. The introductory section finishes up with an excellent diagram of how oriental brassicas are related. This may do nothing to improve your salads or stir-frys, but it's great in helping to choose substitutes when one species is out of season and a related species is in full bloom.

For each individual species, Ms. Larkcom follows Bruce Cost's practice by giving the most common English name, the biological family, the two part Latin name, other common English names, plus names in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese. Even among the Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, some plants may have several different names. After this linguistic heading, there are paragraphs on background, use, characteristics, types, climate, soil, cultivation, intercropping, pests and disease, harvesting, storage, and varieties. Whew! All this information includes a culinary aspect I have simply not seen elsewhere. This is the fact that several plants go through different stages and while some stages may be commercially less desirable in western eyes, they are really quite highly prized by Oriental users.

After Brassicas, the other major groups of plants are beans, cucurbits (gourds and melons), onions, radishes, water vegetables, tubers, and herbs and wild plants. If I were to take away one plant from this book and give it a shot at growing in my back yard, it would probably be the radishes. The rich assortment of oriental radishes is in strong contrast to the variety available in even a better than average American megamart.

The biggest surprise I found was that ginger received a light coverage as an herb and its relative, galangal is not mentioned at all. I am certain this is because neither of these two plants is easy to grow in home gardens, and growing is what this book is all about. This reinforces the fact that for the foodie with a black thumb, this book needs a companion with a culinary focus to fill out one's picture of Oriental veggies.

The main body of the book dealing with individual plants is supplemented with an excellent chapter on growing techniques. I am not as familiar with the soil as I am with the stove, but from what I can see, this chapter is first rate, covering techniques which you may not find in your average Better Homes and Gardens title. This is followed by a chapter on cooking which is even better than what I saw in other books on vegetables where the emphasis was more on cooking than in this horticulturally slanted book.

The appendices to this book alone are worth the price of admission with its excellent tables of gardening terms, growing calendars, plant names, and bibliographies. While there is some danger that the references to suppliers may be out of date, I do recognize several current major players such as W. Atlee Burpee and Johnny's Selected Seeds.

If any of this interests you, this book is for you!

The author focusses on China and Japan, paying far less attention to Korea, Southeast Asia and the South Asian region. This probably accounts for the omission of galangal (as noted by one reviewer above) and for the omission of important herbs such as rau ram (Polygonum odoratum), alluded to only vaguely by a Polygonum entry which says (roughly) "there are many oriental polygonums; you can find them sold in stores".

However, she goes into *exhaustive*, blinding detail on a whole range of arcane Japanese and Chinese vegetables. I learned critical things about okahijiki and yomogi from reading this book, as well as the procedure for blanching mitsuba, and read about a veg I had not heard of before - Chinese artichoke - when I've reached a point where few things surprise me. On the better known vegetables - edible chrysanthemum, gobo, ong choy, Chinese celery, celtuce - she gives helpful information and detailed growing instructions, and an overview of actual Asian growing practices, which I have not found elsewhere. Sadly it is not possible for Kitazawa Seed to cram all this information onto the back of seed packets and into its catalogue headings; if it had, several prior sowings of mine would have grown better.

Finally, the author includes information on the CORRECT method for sprouting mung beans, which people (like me) who have been cursed with ratty bean sprouts will welcome!

I was very disappointed with this book. The picutures used at the front of the book could have been spaced through out the book appropriately, as an introduction for each section. When persons look at a cook book they are expecting to see pictures of some of the dishes. Pictures speak volumes and make you want to recreate the dish. I will use it as a reference book only.

This book is almost as good as actually trailing Amelia around the Santa Monica market to learn what's in peak season, and to be introduced to the farmers that grew it. Amelia's recipes are simple and direct; even fledgling cooks can use them with great success. I'd eat anything that Amelia's cooked! Read this book; you will learn a lot about all sorts of interesting, delicious things.

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family
I actually DID trail "Amelia around the Santa Monica market to learn what's in peak season, and to be introduced to the farmers that grew it" (see previous review) when I wrote about this wonderful book for the Orange County Register. But there were frequent interruptions, because Amelia Saltsman - writer, cooking teacher, producer/host of her own TV show - is the undisputed queen of the Santa Monica Farmers Market and instantly recognized by shoppers and farmers alike. This cookbook is as much an homage to the farmers, their histories, and their commitment to excellence as it is a collection of fuss-less, original and artful recipes inspired by the amazing varieties they produce. Fava Bean and Pea Shoot Salad. Fresh Porcini and Potato Soup. Slow Baked Quince with Honey and Cognac. Recipes that showcase ingredients over method, with Saltsman guiding us from the familiar to the exotic, as you can see by the following excerpt from the Register:

"People are overwhelmed by choice," she said, "but don't know how to proceed. The only way farmers are going to grow these varieties is if people know how to cook them."

A delivery man whizzed by carrying mounds of bush-like, herby-looking bouquets. "Fresh garbanzo beans," Amelia informed me. "You can find unusual things at the farmers' market that you would never find anywhere else. It's not that they're so rare - they're just rare here. In Mumbai you could find them all the time. And even the very ordinary things sing with great flavor, the simplest things - carrots, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes - it makes all the difference in the world."

Shopper Sue picks up a lavender and cream-colored, teardrop-shaped eggplant and asked Saltsman, "What do I do with this?"

"That's a Rosa Bianca - it's very creamy inside," Saltsman informed her. "Cut it in cubes and sauté it - it gets tender quickly - or roast it in thick slices. It just melts in your mouth."

At Windrose Farms I'm struck by what appear to be tiny white, faintly striped melons, which turn out to be lemon cucumbers. "They are so sweet," she rhapsodized. "You can only find them in farmers' markets. Cut them, and inside it looks exactly like the juice vesicles of a lemon."

But the main reason to shop at a farmers' market is the taste, she said. "Because the ingredients are so fresh, they will keep for a surprisingly long time, because they're picked at their peak. Their entire shelf life is spent in your home, not being shipped."

THE SANTA MONICA
FARMERS MARKET COOKBOOK
"Custard from the Garden"
By Amelia Saltsman
With a foreword by Deborah Madison
A review, interview by Marty Martindale
Various attractions draw visitors year `round. Some are bold, deeper-diving roller coasters, sedate museums, mighty cliffs and deep, deep canyons. However, appearing on more attraction lists these days are farmers' markets, and Santa Monica's Farmer's Market has become a special destination for a new breed of pleasure seekers.
"Open up all your senses," urges Saltsman, "look for colors, smell the aromas, feel for ripeness, taste the sweetness and listen carefully to the farmers." Saltsman. "Shopping at a farmer' market is a communal, rather than a solitary experience and one that asks us to use all our senses and be a bit adventurous. Small farmers -- wiling to grow for flavor, wait until the crop is completely ripe, then get it to market within 24 hours of harvest - this is their passion, and they want to excel."
In her book, Amelia successfully shares her enthusiasm for everything market. She's quick to refer you to her Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Primer, pages 102 to 105. "This is a perfect example of how you can take the same simple technique, use the basic seasonings of olive oil, salt and pepper to dramatically heighten natural flavors ... from caramelized carrots to custard-centered summer squash." She's quick to recommend her Prosciutto and Persimmon Appetizer made with crushed, toasted peppercorns, also her Nettle & Potato Frittata.
Here's a glimpse at some of Amelia's 100 farmers' market recipes:
* Winter Squash Puree with Shaved Parmesan: Onion, garlic, sage, red pepper flakes, olive oil, squash, stock, cheese, pumpkin seed oil and bruschette
* Grilled Fig and Market Ham Salad: Balsamic vinegar, figs, olive oil, ham steak, raw almonds, dandelion greens, lemon and Camembert-style cheese
* Pummelo, Fennel and Radish Salad: Fennel, radishes, grapefruit, fennel fronds, black olives, chives, mizuna, olive oil and lemon
* Romanesco with Green Olives and Capers: Romanesco or cauliflower, green olives, capers, Italian parsley, lemon zest, olive oil, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and garlic
* Roasted Okra with Fresh Peanuts: Okra pods, chopped peanuts, olive oil, red pepper flakes and one lemon
* Garlic, Smoked Tomatoes and Chipotles: Tomatoes, chipotles garlic, sweet potatoes, olive oil and cilantro leaves
* Farfalle with Five Herbs and Cherry Tomatoes: Farfalle, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, cherry tomatoes, Italian parsley, basil leaves, spearmint leaves, wild fennel fronds and chives
* Chicken Legs with Kumquats, Prunes and Green Olives: Prunes, kumquats, olive oil, chicken, onion, garlic white wine, green olives, chicken stock and optional Harissa
* Roasted Seasonal Fruit: Assorted or single fruit, red grapes, honey, lavender, muscat wine and yogurt cheese
* Dried Plum and Toasted Almond Cream Tart: Plums or pluots, cognac, raw almonds, heavy cream, sugar, flour, salt, unsalted butter and egg yolks

Marty Martindale can be reached at: mm@FoodSiteoftheDay.com.

I have read several sections of books on sprouting, and have sprouted off and on, for 20+ years, but this is the best, most detailed, and therefore most helpful of everything I've found. I think teaching someone to sprout from a book is a little like learning to tie your shoes by book: it is easy once you've done it a while, but very difficult if you are a rank beginner. This book is written completely enough for the true beginner, but with LOTS of information for those wanting to "take their sprouting to the next level" by trying scores of different seeds. I finally learned WHY I didn't have success with some types of seeds, and WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT! The only disappointment is that the nutritional information seems mere assertions, with no charts of which sprouts yield what amounts of which nutrients; still, the book is very worth owning. And, by the way, sunflower sprouts are divine on a salad!

Great, no-nonsense narritive. I'd read it even if I wasn't into sprouting. Mark Mathew Braunstein is quirky and knowledgeable without being mystical or condescending. I was a little shocked, however, to hear his take on alfalfa sprouts.

Mark did a great job of updating this book! It is packed with a whole lot more info (not that the 1st edition wasn't packed as well) and is layed out beautifully. All I said in my review of the 1st edition still goes, but I now kinda enjoy the puns and the additional info makes this book even more indispensable. This is the BEST BOOK ON SPROUTING that currently exists! When all is said and done this is what remains: We (The Sproutpeople) have grown over 180 tons of sprouts (by hand) - from over 70 types of seed - since 1993, and when we have a question that we don't know the answer to, we pick up THIS BOOK!

As a professional sprouter I have plenty of experience - and - have read every book under the sun on sprouts. Mark's book is full of terrible puns but when it comes to information on a wide variety of seeds is better than any other I have seen. It still suffers from the same problem as all the others - it states THE WAY to sprout. I have found that there are many ways to sprout and very few hard and fast rules. The result is that newbies follow the written advice and refrain from experimenting - thus limiting their sprouting experience and, I fear - the joy of that experience. It seems to me that everyone who writes books on sprouting must have read a book before they ever sprouted and that they eventually pass on the same misinformation they originally took as fact. I on the other hand didn't read a book until I'd sprouted for a year or more, and when I did I read that things that worked well for me couldn't possibly work at all. So, take what you read with a grain of salt and know this: seeds want to germinate (sprout). If you expose them to moisture they will do it, so sprouting is nothing more than making the the conditions good. Experiment freely. Happy Sprouting :-)

Not as much substance to this book as I was hoping for. More recipes than content.

This review pertains more to Amazon.com's role, than to the book itself. This was the second time I have bought a book from this site. I am pleased to say that they have arrived in a timely way, well-packed, and looking more like new than "slightly used," as represented. Now my plan is that whenever I consider purchasing a book, I go to Amazon.com because, as much as all of the above, I know that the price is RIGHT!

I love all Susan Lark's books that I have purchased but especially this one I am already seeing the results since incorparating this book into my diet. Thank you amazon for the low price that I was able to purchase the book for.

This book is chock full of reliably delicious recipes which are composed of ingredients that so many of us are trying to incorporate into our diets. The dishes induce a feeling of satiety and health as they please your palate. Recipes are not difficult at all, nor filled with esoteric ingredients. This is a terrific cookbook.

This book is a collection of short articles on garden plants, pests, and diseases. The articles are organized in alphabetical order. Each of the plant articles begins with a short description, and then goes on to include information about planting (when, where, how), germination, care, harvesting, storing, pests and diseases, as well as tips for the kitchen and garden. In general, these articles use only the common names for the plants, and scientific names are not included. The pest articles (mainly about insects, but there are also some articles about pesky mammals and birds), are generally shorter, and include a description of the problem, how to recognize it, and how to combat it (organically). There are also a few articles on such topics as mulches and composting. Arkin includes a wide range of herbs as well as garden vegetables and fruits, and she includes notes on companion planting in the tips sections of the plants articles. The book also includes a chart of when to plant where (in the continental United States), and a garden glossary. There are decorative collage-type illustrations at the beginning of each letter of the alphabet, but no utilitarian diagrams or drawings.

This book is a collection of articles on commonly grown vegetables, herbs and fruits. Nothing in here for the gardening pro, except some good storage and cooking tips.

The Essential Kitchen Gardener is a must have book for beginning gardeners and gardeners who have had bad experiences in the past. It contains a wealth of information about when, where and how to grow vegetables and herbs; along with great information on the pests and diseases that attack our gardens. What I liked most was the information about harvesting, storing, and using each vegetable and herb!!