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The Cook's Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Selecting, Growing, and Savoring the Tastiest Vegetables of Each Season: A Cookbook
From the critically acclaimed author of Saving the Season comes an accessible, comprehensive, and inspiring guide to growing your own garden and incorporating home-grown produce into everyday cooking—no matter how much or how little space you have.
For Kevin West, the surest path to a successful garden leads through the kitchen door. And preparing for a fantastic meal of home-grown vegetables—the kind of meal that leaves you not only satisfied, but grateful—is just what he wants to help you learn to do.
In The Cook's Garden, West gives readers the tools and confidence they need to grow food for their own meals. From gardening basics and advice on harvesting, to delicious recipes showing how to make the best use of produce in any season—including primers on freezing surplus vegetables, making pantry staples such as canned tomatoes, and effectively using stored produce—this book promises to inspire anyone, even if their growing plot is as small as a window box in a city apartment. West’s erudite yet practical guide is interwoven with meditations on the beauty, poetry, and spirituality inherent in growing and preparing one’s own food.
The Cook's Garden guides readers through jumpstarting their gardens and revolutionizing their kitchens—while also nourishing their minds and souls.
For Kevin West, the surest path to a successful garden leads through the kitchen door. And preparing for a fantastic meal of home-grown vegetables—the kind of meal that leaves you not only satisfied, but grateful—is just what he wants to help you learn to do.
In The Cook's Garden, West gives readers the tools and confidence they need to grow food for their own meals. From gardening basics and advice on harvesting, to delicious recipes showing how to make the best use of produce in any season—including primers on freezing surplus vegetables, making pantry staples such as canned tomatoes, and effectively using stored produce—this book promises to inspire anyone, even if their growing plot is as small as a window box in a city apartment. West’s erudite yet practical guide is interwoven with meditations on the beauty, poetry, and spirituality inherent in growing and preparing one’s own food.
The Cook's Garden guides readers through jumpstarting their gardens and revolutionizing their kitchens—while also nourishing their minds and souls.
496 pages, Hardcover
Published August 26, 2025
10 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Kevin West
151 books5 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 17, 2025
Love the recipes. This book is a little too wordy for me, personally. That’s not to say it isn’t right for others. I’d appreciate more simple, easy to follow/read charts vs all the wordy explanations. I’d like less text, or maybe bold and highlight the important points. It is chockfull of great information and explanations. I definitely enjoy the recipes. It’s a book I’d consider giving as a gift to a fellow gardener. Thanks NetGalley for the review copy.
August 17, 2025
This book is for gardeners and cooks. I love that it begins by addressing what YOU may want to plant in your garden; your tastes, your growing conditions, the amount of time you have to spend on your garden.
One of my favorite things in this book is a “growing cuisine” table. This table lays out the signature flavors (herbs, etc.), signature vegetables, and additional vegetables. Do you like Mexican food? You may want to plant chilies, cilantro, garlic, onions, and oregano as your signature flavors. For the signature veggies, you may want to grow calabacita, corn, tomatillos, and tomatoes. Additional vegetables may include epazote, Mexican oregano, and chayote. Several cuisine types are included. There are another several tables that an avid gardener will find interesting and useful.
Another very useful section, particularly for new gardeners, or gardeners who want to expand their crops includes a discussion of better (and worse) backyard crops.
Helpful sections include discussions of soil, compost, deciding what type of garden you want (in-ground, raised bed, containers, etc., sewing and planting, upkeep, harvesting, and planning your next garden. There is also a useful glossary.
Useful instructions for planting your seeds, starts, etc. are provided for the various types of vegetables, as well as growing tips, and some recipes.
I’ve never seen a book quite like this and I think it’s an outstanding resource for both beginners and more advanced gardeners to plan, prepare, and plant their gardens.
One of my favorite things in this book is a “growing cuisine” table. This table lays out the signature flavors (herbs, etc.), signature vegetables, and additional vegetables. Do you like Mexican food? You may want to plant chilies, cilantro, garlic, onions, and oregano as your signature flavors. For the signature veggies, you may want to grow calabacita, corn, tomatillos, and tomatoes. Additional vegetables may include epazote, Mexican oregano, and chayote. Several cuisine types are included. There are another several tables that an avid gardener will find interesting and useful.
Another very useful section, particularly for new gardeners, or gardeners who want to expand their crops includes a discussion of better (and worse) backyard crops.
Helpful sections include discussions of soil, compost, deciding what type of garden you want (in-ground, raised bed, containers, etc., sewing and planting, upkeep, harvesting, and planning your next garden. There is also a useful glossary.
Useful instructions for planting your seeds, starts, etc. are provided for the various types of vegetables, as well as growing tips, and some recipes.
I’ve never seen a book quite like this and I think it’s an outstanding resource for both beginners and more advanced gardeners to plan, prepare, and plant their gardens.
August 20, 2025
{This is a review of a partial ARC}
If you plan to have a garden next summer, pick up this book now and start preparing!!
This is an amazing guide for new and expert gardeners. There is so much information that can be helpful no matter your experience level.
The book goes through how to prep your garden plot, what to plant (I loved the Thanksgiving garden, kids garden, and gardens based on cuisine!),how to compost, where to buy seeds (shout out to my personal favorite southern exposure seed exchange), and how to care for the plants. But most importantly, there are some awesome looking recipes to use once you've successfully nurtured and harvested produce from your garden. The smashed cucumber chicken salad looked especially delicious.... which is convenient as it's the only thing I successfully grew this year.
I'm so excited for this book to be released I can get my hands on a completed copy!
If you plan to have a garden next summer, pick up this book now and start preparing!!
This is an amazing guide for new and expert gardeners. There is so much information that can be helpful no matter your experience level.
The book goes through how to prep your garden plot, what to plant (I loved the Thanksgiving garden, kids garden, and gardens based on cuisine!),how to compost, where to buy seeds (shout out to my personal favorite southern exposure seed exchange), and how to care for the plants. But most importantly, there are some awesome looking recipes to use once you've successfully nurtured and harvested produce from your garden. The smashed cucumber chicken salad looked especially delicious.... which is convenient as it's the only thing I successfully grew this year.
I'm so excited for this book to be released I can get my hands on a completed copy!
October 23, 2025
This is half gardening guide and half cookbook. In The Cook's Garden Kevin West helps you plan out your garden, and then cook what you've grown. The first half about gardening goes over all the basics - soil, compost, sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings, planning out your garden, and harvesting. I really liked that he also included a glossary too for newer gardeners. In the second half with the vegetable recipes each chapter focuses on one vegetable or vegetable family. There is information about growing and harvesting that vegetable, then recipes using it. This is a wonderful book that combines both gardening and cooking. There are lots of great photos and plenty of helpful tips. Whether you're new to gardening or more seasoned, you can find inspiration in this unique cookbook.
February 3, 2026
This book is a phenomenal guide to vegetable gardening. It is loaded with fundamentals, simple recipes for the not-so-simple harvest, and is beautifully written and designed. West has done immense research, practice, and collaboration with many others and it shows! I cannot wait for spring to get here to start planting!
An unexpected bonus was West's Christian perspective and appreciation of nature as intentional creation, with purposeful and beautiful design.
An unexpected bonus was West's Christian perspective and appreciation of nature as intentional creation, with purposeful and beautiful design.
September 3, 2025
Netgalley ARC- A lot of words, some pictures more of a gardening guide than how to cook the produce. While there are a few simple recipes, a lot of real estate is spent on how to grow, when to grow, etc.
September 28, 2025
If you are new to gardening and want textbook information from soil to plate, this is the book for you. If you're just looking for some recipe ideas, these are basic. This book, for its intended audience, is fantastic. But if, like me, you've been gardening for awhile, then this may or may not be quite what you want to read. Pick it up and give it a browse to find out.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews