The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook

By Andrea Chesman

Book Overview

What to do with a basketful of luscious tomatoes? How to prepare an armload of summer squash? Where to turn for new sweet corn preparations? These are the questions vegetable-lovers grapple with as they pick fresh-from-the-garden produce in their own backyards or from the ever-expanding farmers markets. Garden-fresh vegetables are so beautiful, yet their freshness so fleeting. Andrea Chesman is a cook and gardener who knows what it s like to be staring down pounds of vegetables and panicking about how to use them all before it s too late. Simple. Delicious. Planned to fit the season. That s the approach Chesman brings to the 175 recipes she s developed for "The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook." The vegetables are organized seasonally by crop-readiness, with attention paid to combining vegetables that ripen together. All the favorites spring salad greens, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, peas, potatoes, and more are included, along with the more unusual artichokes, endive, rutabagas, and edamame, to name a few. Popular techniques such as roasting and grilling accentuate the flavor in recipes such as Grilled Chicken and Asparagus Salad, Soy- Sesame Grilled Eggplant, and Maple Roasted Carrots. There are many vegetarian options, but even when combined with meat, vegetables get top billing. From Egg Rolls to Borscht, Caponata to Sweet Potato Pie, "The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook "has dishes destined to please every palate. To address those nights when the mounds of vegetables are just too overwhelming to try a whole new recipe, Chesman includes fourteen master recipes for simple preparation techniques that can accommodate whatever is in the vegetable basket. Readers need only to learn the basics of preparing a creamy quiche, a bubbly gratin, a basic stir-fry, or a zesty lo mein, and then it s easy to create new meals every month around the freshest assortments of seasonal vegetables. " The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook" is sure to become a favorite for everyone who wants to enjoy their vegetables fresh, local, seasonal, and simple."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580175341
• ISBN13: 9781580175340
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Storey Publishing
• Length: 501 Pages
• Weight: 2.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 8.2" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Vegetable Cookbook!

Very large cookbook, full of great veggie recipes. It isn't solely vegetarian but I have been able to adjust the non-veg recipes just fine. Informative sections on each vegetable, garden and storage requirements, tons of info! I love that I can go to the farmers market and pick up whatever is there and come home and find a recipe in this book.

I Love This Book!

This book is great! It divides up the vegetables by season, and the recipes are so simple! Most of the vegetables really are ones you would grow in a home garden, and the seasonings and other ingredients are ones you probably have on hand anyway, so you don't have to spend hours shopping for specialty items. The recipes are easy and generally quick to prepare, as well as being healthy, with several making use of the grill. I've tried lots of recipes from this book and so far all have come out well except the lamb-stuffed eggplant, which was too dry. The leek and potato gratin, however, more than made up for it. You'll never use another box of dehydrated au gratin potatoes again!

The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook

Excellent cookbook that goes month-by-month for what's ready in the garden. Also gives a short guide at the beginning of each chapter on how to grow a particular vegetable along with a little history and helpful tips. A lovely book to read as well as to cook from.

A seasonal arrangement assures an easy, solid reference.

Any who have a summer garden know the routine: it's feast and then sudden famine when everything ripens at once, and too often vegetable cookbooks hold the same types of dishes. If you have garden bounty and are seeking something fresh and new - something which embraces ethnic flavors and different seasoning combinations - then THE GARDEN-FRESH VEGETABLE COOKBOOK is for you. No, it doesn't hold the spicy color photos of less comprehensive guides: it focuses on the recipes which are easy enough not to need color embellishment. Try Chicken and Broccoli in Mornay Sauce, 'Zapple Pie' made with summer squash, or Eggplant Pizza. Dishes are accompanied by sidebars of information and gardening tips, from discussions different cultivars and historical insights to the evolution of plant names. A seasonal arrangement assures an easy, solid reference. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Great vegetable collection

Author of more than a dozen cookbooks, Chesman describes herself as "a cook who gardens" rather than "a gardener who cooks," but her latest title will interest anyone who likes vegetables, whether from the backyard, the farmers market, or the supermarket. She organizes her recipes by season, from spring's first asparagus through tomatoes, "the star of summer," to winter squash and pumpkins; each chapter opens with information on growing, cooking, nutrition, and other useful facts. She also includes "Master Formulas," recipes that can be varied according to the vegetables in season.

Refreshing...

I've only tried one recipe so far. However, I opened the book last night in the kitchen and was still reading it an hour later. The book is crammed with useful information on the life and times of veggies. The recipes are clear, concise and appealing. Not only that, but this woman can write!