“Bright, beautiful vegetables and fruits top the dust jacket and the title screamed to me “EATING LOCAL” – this is something I had to have. The book is written by food journalist Janet Fletcher highlights 10 thriving farms, who support farmers markets and thousands of CSA members across America. The more than two hundred photo images by Sara Remington take you to the land and into the homes of these local American farms. Highlighting the importance of the CSA programs (Community Supported Agriculture) to the livelihood of these farms, it strives to help the reader make the most of those produce that stump them when they open their weekly CSA box or pick-up their share.”" ––Cute Fan Girl Goes Localhttp://bit.ly/dKLEET
“The text is lavish with color photos of surprisingly good looking young farmers, both male and female, and expectedly handsome produce. All these glamor shots amuse, but it is the simple but ingenious recipes that are so valuable. … Every recipe works.” ––San Francisco Examiner http://bit.ly/fchgaO
““Eating Local” might just as easily be named “Eating Well.”” ––Madison.comhttp://bit.ly/c5EjLM
“Best reason to stick close to homeEating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers by Sur La Table and Janet Fletcher. It’s earthy, beautifully-photographed, and reminds you how some of the simplest foods can be the tastiest.”
“Best sweetsBon Appétit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful by Barbara Fairchild (Andrews McMeel). Fairchild’s parting gift (though Bon Appétit is moving to New York, she’s staying in L.A) is beautiful, and I’ve only just scratched the surface. If you were stranded on a desert island with one dessert book… you get my drift.”
Who doesn’t love the amazing flavor of a freshly picked peach or the unmatched sweetness of just-harvested
peas? In Eating Local, cookware mecca Sur La Table and seasoned journalist Janet Fletcher show readers how to use more local, fresh ingredients in their kitchens. The 150 recipes focus on incorporating locally grown ingredients from farms engaged in community supported agriculture (CSA) as well as farmers’ markets. This cookbook is organized alphabetically by main ingredient to help readers figure out what to make with the arugula from their CSA box or the abundance of strawberries at peak season from their local farmers’ market. Eating Local also takes readers on an editorial and photographic journey to ten farms across the country. On these noteworthy farms, hard work and a passion for sustainability yield wholesome products for eating and living locally.
Contents
Foreword iv
Introduction vii
Vegetables 19
Dancing Roots Farm, Troutdale, Oregon 68
Genesis Growers, St. Anne, Illinois 88
Golden Earthworm Organic Farm, Jamesport, New York 94
Red Fire Farm, Granby, Massachusetts 124 Read More…
From Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers by Sur La Table, Janet Fletcher
The big green gate is open at Skip Connett and Erin Flynn’s Austin farm, although perhaps you can’t see it. Until Erin finds time to build it, welding the scrap metal she has been slowly amassing, the gate remains just a vision, like so many of the ambitious plans the couple have for Green Gate Farms. “Skip and I talk about our dreams for the farm so often that sometimes we see things that aren’t there yet,” Erin admits.
In the meantime, the farm’s name helps convey their intentions—to operate a sustainable, open-door venture that embraces the community, involving anyone who cares to participate in farm life. Local artists will come here to sketch, Erin imagines. Children will come to study the bugs or learn about seed saving. Austin’s high-tech engineers, who spend their workdays in cubicles, will come to decompress in a rural setting only eight miles east of downtown.
The five acres that the couple leases are remnants of a once-thriving agricultural corridor—a “green gateway” from rural growers to city markets. Their petite farm nourishes about seventy-five local families who participate in its CSA, and many more people who shop at its weekend farm stand.
On a morning in early June, plumes of amaranth, like burgundy feather dusters, dance in the breeze near rows of lemon basil, Hungarian hot wax peppers, and Honey Bear acorn squash. On bushy okra plants, mature pods stand stiffly upright like rockets ready to launch. Eaten raw, they are nutty and sweet, like young green beans, their blossoms enchanting yellow cups with maroon hearts.
From Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers by Sur La Table, Janet Fletcher
When summer delivers too many zucchini, many people reach for a zucchini bread recipe. Here’s one with a difference: wisps of grated carrot for color, and nuggets of moist candied ginger for spice. The idea comes from Annie Baker, a respected pastry chef in California’s Napa Valley. Makes two 8-inch loaves
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1⁄2 cup minced candied ginger
3 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 3⁄4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely grated carrots
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini
1 Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Coat two 8-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
From Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers by Sur La Table, Janet Fletcher
Grilling intensifies the flavor of peaches by caramelizing their natural sugars. Baste the peaches with butter, honey, and bourbon as they grill to give them a sheen. Serve them with juicy pork chops that have been brined to season them all the way through. Serves 4
Ingredients
BRINE
1 1⁄2 quarts water
6 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
4 bone-in pork loin chops, about 3⁄4 inch thick
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 teaspoons honey
2 large freestone peaches, such as O’Henry or Elberta, halved and pitted
1 Make the brine: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt. Set aside until completely cool.
Janet Fletcher trained at the Culinary Institute of America and at the celebrated Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California. Her food writing for the San Francisco Chronicle has received three James Beard Awards. Janet has also written on wine and food topics for national magazines, including Saveur, Food & Wine, Metropolitan Home, Fine Cooking, and Bon Appétit. She is the author or coauthor of twenty cookbooks, including Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying; The Cheese Course; and Fresh from the Farmers’ Market. A collaboration with Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking, won an International Association of Culinary Professionals cookbook award. She is also collaborating with Rosetta Costantino on a book about the cooking of Calabria that will be published in 2010. A certified master gardener who maintains a large edible and perennial garden, Janet lives in Napa Valley with her winemaker husband.