Great cookbook, well organized with a wealth of information

books:


	• Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables Andrea Chesman Storey Publishing, LLC, 2007 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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Great if she shares your tastes...

We've tried LOTS of these recipes. Most are not something I'd make again just because I am funny about food (and especially veggies). My biggest complaint is that she doesn't list how much salt and pepper to use (she suggests seasoning to taste in each recipe). I almost always end up either over-salting or under-salting whatever I'm making. There were some AMAZING recipes in there, though, including roasted green beans and roasted cauliflower (with a butter and garlic sauce... yum!). I keep trying these recipes as I'm attempting to eat foods that are in season!

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How to cook what you've grown - a must-have

If you're like me you love the idea of growing vegetables and herbs and promptly went out and created a backyard garden. However, whereas you decided to grow a few tomatoes and they were great for awhile, you found yourself with a dozen tomatoes, loads of zucchini and herbs that grew taller than you thought they would - and you don't know what to do with them.

Fortunately, this book is the solution to those of you who don't know what to do with all of your home grown vegetables; It is specifically designed for that purpose.

A friend of mine gave me this book and after glancing through it I was completely blown away at the contents. By subject, it starts with the vegetable that matures first in a normal harvest year and gives information on it, maybe a bit of history and then several recipes. Don't know what to do with all your tomatoes? This will give you some ideas rather than letting them rot in the compost.

Not only that it also talks about basic sauces, herbs and mixtures that you could pay a fortune for but you could make with everything in your yard! Pesto is a good start as basil grows like a wonderful weed and I was able to create four pints with all of my remaining basil of the season. Or, the very expensive Herbes de Provence is actually a mix of 8 herbs that you can mix yourself, store and even give to friends. Helps you save a buck! Or try making herbed croûtons from scratch. It's easier than you think.

This goes over every vegetable you can think of and is simply loaded with easy recipes and even seemingly complicated gourmet dishes. A few examples: colcannon, lamb-stuffed eggplant, cheese and vegetable crepes, ratatouille, creamed spinach, latkes, hummus, kung pao chicken, snapper on a bed of leeks, baked tomatoes with goat cheese... the list is endless. It even tells you what to do with celery outside of spreading peanut butter on them.

If you grow your own vegetables this is a must-have! I believe every summer I'll be perusing this on a weekly basis. Five stars - hands down.

PS. The cheesy zucchini puffs are a MUST! Great way to get rid of too much zucchini, kids gobble them up and I've had nothing but rave reviews of this recipe and four requests for it already.

Again, a great buy!

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Great cookbook, well organized with a wealth of information

Somebody gave me this cookbook as a retirement gift, after I told her about my experience with buying a CSA (community-supported agriculture) share. The share meant I had tons of kale, more peppers than I knew what to do with, beets which I never really liked much, and tatsoi, which I knew nothing about -- a lot of veggies, in other words. This cookbook has given me lots of ideas on how to cook unusual things, fennel for instance, things I don't normally eat, like swiss chard. Things that I get every week in my CSA share. Sprinkled throughout are little stories about gardening, tips on how to select and prepare vegetables. Why, I even like beets now (roasted beets sauteed with butter and orange juice concentrate -- yummy!) So if you have a CSA share and don't know what to do with all that strange stuff, get this book for lots of tasty suggestions.

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An old book in a new cover...really!

I bought this book thinking it was a new book by Andrea Chesman. I was sorry to find out it is merely The Garden-Fresh Vegetable re-published in paperback with a new design on the cover. It does not say that on this page anywhere. I am not saying this book is only really like the Garden-Fresh Vegetable, it actually is the same book with a different cover. Softcover or hardcover, it is a great book.

When height-of-the-season farmers' market offerings are irresistible; when backyard gardens are exploding with what appear to be hundreds of perfect tomatoes; or when the same old methods for cooking green beans or corn don't offer enough flavor, Andrea Chesman is ready with a bounty of creative recipes that bring out the best in fresh produce.

Chesman knows what it's like to be facing pounds of perishable vegetables, and as she developed 175 recipes that place garden freshness center stage, she followed these guidelines: Simple. Delicious. Harmonized with the growing seasons.

The vegetables are organized by crop-readiness, with many recipes following the wisdom that vegetables that ripen together taste good together. Popular techniques such as roasting and grilling bring out the flavor in recipes such as Grilled Chicken and Asparagus Salad, Roasted Leek Tart, Soy-Sesame Grilled Eggplant, and Maple Roasted Carrots. Main-dish and side salads abound: Beet and New Potato Salad, Warm Mushroom Salad, Spinach Salad with Feta and Pecans, Everyday Tomato-Cucumber Salad. And the deep flavors of autumn are celebrated in Braised Belgian Endives, Holiday Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Cranberries, and Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake.

Serving Up the Harvest is an inspirational collection for everyone who wants to enjoy fresh, local, seasonal vegetables with every meal.

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