Saturday, July 14, 2007

Seasonal Foods Cookbooks

OK - so you found your own Farmers Market, you got brave and adventurous and bought something new that you have never seen before or at least have never used in the past. So how to find recipes? Remember to ask the grower! Many of them have oodles of experience making quick and easy meals with their vegetables. Of course you can go to an internet search engine and type in xxxxxx recipe and see what pops us. However, if you are vacationing somewhere (camping, at a cabin, etc) where you are buying and cooking your own food, have an internet meltdown, or simply enjoy or even prefer browsing through cookbooks, you'll want one or two of your own that specialize in vegetables.

Two that I own and love are the following:
From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (available on Amazon)
A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen: Easy Seasonal Dishes for Family and Friends by Jack Bishop

Last night I was looking at a beautiful purple and green kohlrabi that I had bought (simply because it was so beautiful) wondering what to do with it. Surprisingly, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen did not list kohlrabi in the index, but From Asparagus to Zucchini had an abundance of recipes, so I grated it to make a modified coleslaw using all kinds of grated raw veggies tossed with a tahini salad dressing. (yum, yum - there was a small portion remaining that I think I'll go eat right now!)

Although I have not seen it, Deborah Madison also has a book that my colleagues from the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition (HEN) Dietetic Practice Group love called Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Market.

Check one or two out from your local library or just find a recipe from one of your own favorite cookbooks. Buy a new vegetable and get eating!

Bon appétit!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

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