Book Review: Cooking From the Garden edited by Ruth Lively

Cooking From the Garden
Edited by Ruth Lively
Copyright:  2010
Publisher:  Taunton Press, Inc.
Pages:  307
Content:  cookery, fine gardener
Edition:  E-book
Source:  Temporary copy provided by NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review




Chapters:
FOB: Table of Contents
Chapter One:  Starters, Snacks and Drinks
Chapter Two:  Breakfast, Brunch and Egg Dishes
Chapter Three:  Sauces, Salsas and Vinaigrettes
Chapter Four:  Salads
Chapter Five:  Breads and Sandwiches
Chapter Six: Soups
Chapter Seven:  Side Dishes
Chapter Eight:  Pasta, Grains, and Breads
Chapter Nine:  Main Dishes
Chapter Ten:  Desserts and Sweets
Chapter Eleven:  Preserving
Seasonal Menus, Equivalency Charts, Recipe Index by Chapter, Index

I received an ebook version of Cooking From the Garden and wish it were a hard cover copy that I can utilize in the kitchen.  The recipes in Cooking From the Garden are a compilation of what is considered the best of those previously published in "Kitchen Gardener" (1996 - 2001).  "It's the fresh ingredients that make any dish a success", says the editor.  Neither the recipes nor the ingredients are speciality items. The ingredients are readily available from the garden and/or the local supermarket.  Nothing fancy, just good wholesome cooking. 

There is so much good in here, with ingredients one usually has on hand, and utilizes produce from the garden in new and exciting ways including ideas for eggplant, squash, parsnips, and more. Some of the recipes I am excited about include:  Sweet Potato Sugar Bread, Leek and Potato Soup, Fall Harvest Soup (I do love a good soup in the fall, when days take on a crisp cool edge, nothing warms you like soup!), Steamed Carrots with Sesame Vinegar, Green Beans Sauteed With Radishes and Rosemary, Roasted Cauliflower (who knew roasting cauliflower brought out a nutty flavour?), Briami (that's a Greek vegetable dish), Tuscan Beans, Berry Trifle, Blackberry Summer Pudding, and I could go on and on.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about the variety of dishes I will be trying this summer!

The one thing I miss, and I must see in a cookbook, is lush photography.  There are no photos of the dishes one can create here.  The cookbook is set out in an organized fashion, with a lot of helpful tips like "sweating your vegetables" and "matching the pasta shape to the sauce", along with tips on harvesting. Each chapter sports its own title page with artistically rendered pictures.  The index is concise and the table of contents breaks the book down by categories as indicated above. There's no problem finding an appropriate recipe, even in the e-book format.  Really, the only complaint I have is the lack of photography. 

If I come across a hard-copy of Cooking From the Garden, I'll be sure to buy it.  I am sold on this cookbook despite the lack of photos!!

Rated 3.5/5 (for lack of photos)