Simply Organic: A Cookbook for Sustainable, Seasonal, and Local Ingredients

by Jesse Ziff Cool, France Ruffenach (Photographer)

The world is changing, and along with it, so must our eating habits. Author and restaurateur Jesse Ziff Cool has compiled over 30 years of knowledge about organic, local, and sustainable food into one magnificent cookbook. With 150 enticing recipes, Simply Organic encourages home cooks to embrace organics as a lifestyle rather than a fad. Cool organizes her chapters seasonally to ensure that the freshest, ripest ingredients enhance the flavors of dishes like Filet Mignon with mashed Potatoes and Leek Sauce in early spring to Pumpkin Raisin Bread Pudding in autumn. Inspiring profiles on farmers and producers reveal how these individuals are working to create a sustainable future every day.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2008

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super great cookbook if you participate in a CSA or want to cook with the stuff in your garden. Everything is simple but gourmet. So far:
Exotic Mushroom Soup: Excellent. Especially with crostini. I substituted a splash of red wine vinegar for the Madeira.
Lasagna with Chard: Excellent. Now I have 2 chard recipes that my kids will eat. Woo hoo!
Spring Vegetable with Arugula Pesto: None of us liked this, making the total number of arugula recipes that my kids will eat still 0.
Ricotta-Green Onion Gnocchi: Mixed reviews, but maybe due to the fact that the cook was 10 years old. We will try it again.
Asparagus Risotto with Truffle Oil: Excellent. But how couldn't it be?
Watercress with Strawberry Vinaigrette and Cheddar Croutons: The kids loved the croutons (we used smoked gouda), but watercress is about as successful as arugula. I thought adding extra strawberries to the salad helped and that the dressing was a nice change from reliable vinaigrette.
Eggplant and Parsley Fritto Misto: Excellent. Salty. Would be good as an appetizer with someone's favorite summer drink.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is appealing to me because I do like to eat what is in season and fresh -this book is broken up into the four seasons with recipes for the foods produced during that season. Most of the recipes look good. I only have tried a couple summer ones and I am not complaining. worthy book I am keeping!

[Meredith Kadet Sanderson]

Pretty pictures, PLUS! organized by season. I will be testing it soon.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of eating food in season, and locally, and enjoyed shopping for the recipes and finding everything at my farmers market. I only had the book 2 weeks, from the library, so only tried a few recipes. And, unfortunately, wasn't too impressed with them. Regardless, I'd like to check it out again later in the summer and try out some more.

[Tayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous book with delicious and fairly simple to prepare recipes. I love the set-up as well - instead of dividing the recipes by course or type they are sorted by season, which I am a big fan of. Highly recommend it!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed that this book was organized by season. Sadly, it is another local eating book from California, which does not really help the rest of us. Lots of yummy looking recipes though, including meat.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really love this cook book. The concept is wonderful, the meals are great, and the pictures are very beautiful. I love how it's put together. I only wish they had more veggie/vegan/raw meals :)

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this cookbook is organized seasonally! I dog-eared many, many recipes to try and really enjoyed broadening my understanding of foods that can paired together.