The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally

by Ivy Manning, Gregor Torrence (Photographs)

The farm-to-table movement is flourishing. Farmers markets and greenmarkets are popping up in cities and neighborhoods across the country. Shoppers are no longer restricted to the same 30 items in the produce section of the Kroger or Safeway. This cookbook invites you try Escarole Caesar Salad, a Dandelion Greens-Italian Sausage-Fontina Cheese Pizza, and Kohlrabi Salad with Pea Shoots. Farmers markets also introduce cooks to artisan cheesemakers, and the recipe for End of Summer Quiche plays up the tangy character of locally made goat cheese. Ivy Manning, cooking teacher, chef, and writer—has gathered many of the recipes in her book from leading restaurants in Portland and Seattle that are notable practitioners of fresh local ingredients. Organized by seasons. each section also has an illustrated produce primer that introduces and explains the culinary qualities of spring greens, heirloom tomatoes (summer); pears and (fall), and winter squash.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2004

About the author

Ivy Manning is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance food and travel writer, food stylist, and author of The Farm to Table Cookbook. Her work has been featured in Cooking Light, Sunset magazine, Fine Cooking, ediblePortland, Food & Wine magazine and on Culinate.com. Additionally, Manning is a regular contributor to the Oregonian FOODday section with her Vegetarian Flavors column.

Her most recent book, The Adaptable Feast: Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table (Sasquatch Books, 2009) guides readers through the uncharted territory of cooking for mixed-diet families. Mannings book shows busy home cooks how to make delicious meals that feed everyone in the family, from meat eaters to vegetarians or vegans, without dirtying every dish in the kitchen.

Manning attended the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, followed by an externship at the award-winning Paleys Place restaurant. Ever since, Manning has been cooking, writing, and teaching culinary classes.

Mannings interest in writing and cooking has led her to travel the globe studying the cuisines of every country she visits, including cooking trips to Thailand, Italy, France, Mexico, and the South Pacific.

When her bags arent packed, she is writing; blogging (ivysfeast.blogspot.com); cooking for her vegetarian husband, Gregor (the photographer for her books); and petting her retired greyhound, Mini."

Reviews

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snobby and way more complicated than I wanted. I love food that is more simply prepared

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love reading cookbooks in general, and this was no exception. The cookbook is organized by season, and each season opens with a two page profile of a local farmer - their story, their wares, etc - followed by recipes centered around local ingredients that are in season. It's probably important to note that the focus is Portland, Oregon, so if you're trying to do strictly local, the ingredients the author uses may not be in season (or even available) in your region. She also isn't totally strict about going local - recipes include lemons, for example, which as far as I know are never in season in Portland.

Regardless, this is a pretty, enjoyable cookbook that I hope will inform our exploration of our own region!

[Sumi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked the book up because of the words "the art of eating locally", but only a couple of the recipes (such as the goat cheese ravioli with roasted red pepper sauce) appealed to me. The art of eating locally undoubtedly requires having a wider range of foods one is willing to eat and this book seemed to find all the foods I won't eat (okra) or am still in the midst of learning (and failing) to like (butternut squash).

What I wished the book had more of was the 'Meet the Producer' articles. There were only four, one for each season and yet that was what made the book worth the read. I enjoyed reading about the people who try to bring flavor back into food ingredients.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed perusing this book and studying its recipes and stories. Ivy Manning is based in Oregon, so her descriptions of seasonality match those of my home in Seattle. The book is sectioned into the four seasons, with the story of a local farmer heading each. The recipes are well written, the photographs look good enough to be eaten and the idea of eating locally is incredibly important. I highly recommend it.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting ready to make the chicken chilaquiles this week. Yum!
Nice that the recipes are organized by season.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

wonderful corn chowder recipe - added two pinches of red pepper instead of one

[Jenny McDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too snobby and complicated, although I did photocopy a few recipes from the summer section for parts of the recipes I wanted and something fine-looking for corn chowdah. Mmmmm. Tasty pictures though.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful photography. Little content other than recipes - most of which involve meat.

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. Too fancy.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The recipes are too complicated to use except for very rare special events.