Fresh from the Farmers' Market: Year-Round Recipes for the Pick of the Crop

I loved this book. It inspired me to try to go to our local farmer's markets (although they aren't the best in UT) find and try new fruits and vegetables.

If you frequent farmer's markets or order fresh fruit and vegetables through an organic co-op, this book is really helpful. The section on the various vegetables and fruits and how to choose the freshest ones is invaluable. I especially liked the information on storage. For instance I always wondered why my cauliflower never seemed to taste as good when store bought or stored for a week. Outwardly the florets look okay, but as the author explains--fresh cauliflower means the best eating experience is the same day! As the cauliflower ages it gets a grainier texture. This is not a cookbook for those that are hurried and short on time. This is a cookbook for when you can savor making and eating the foods you have purchased. I loved the fingerling potato salad with fennel. I'm not terribly fond of fennel, so the second time round I adjusted the parsley and instead of fennel used dill. It was great. The autumn squash risotto with white truffle oil is another favorite of mine. I've experimented with various squashes and oils. Each time the recipe has come out different but great!

I'm a huge fan of Janet Fletcher's. Her recipes sing to me. So I wasn't surprised to find that I like her farmers' market book more than others in that genre. Fletcher has a distinctive way of choosing and combining foods to create the biggest bang of flavor from the fewest number of ingredients. That's pretty much the way I prefer to cook and eat. The Fennel and Prosciutto Gratin is sooo good. Her pastas are always a hit (the Penne with Green Cauliflower, Anchovies and Bread Crumbs is delicious and very typical of Fletcher's style), as are her soups. The Asparagus with Scramble Eggs has suggestions for several other ways to serve these two surprisingly harmonious foods which are not often combined in the US. The Persimmon "Ice Cream" is a persimmon-lover's dream. The book is arranged by season, and each chapter starts with descriptions of the best foods of the season as well as how to select and store them. Of course these recipes are best when using ingredients at their seasonal primes, but I would happily make these recipes at any time of the year.

I loved this book so much at my neighbor's that she bought it for me, even though it is out of print (Thank You!). Even though I live in New England, and it is written from California, it amazes me how all those unusual vegetables at the farmer's market are in it. I've cooked brussels sprouts with walnut oil, the fried baby turnips and green beans, and a host of other things. There is a lot of Italian influence, and everything's fried in butter. Yummie.

This is a lovely book, though I haven't yet tried many of the recipes. I use it not only for the recipes, but also for ideas on what to grow in my garden. It's also changed the way I cook corn: the roasted corn and garlic soup started me roasting corn in the husk instead of boiling it. Delicious!