The Gardeners' Community Cookbook

by Victoria Wise

A big, ripe cornucopia of a book by gardeners who cook and cooks who garden, Smith & Hawken The Gardeners' Community Cookbook celebrates both the Smith & Hawken gardening community and Second Harvest, the largest charitable hunger relief organization in the United States. Over 300 contributors from all 50 states share the fruit and vegetables of their labors--the secrets of their tomatoes and their tomato sauce. There are herb growers. Patio gardeners. Farmers. And famous chef/gardeners and writers, such as Deborah Madison, Alice Waters, Barbara Kafka, Ken Hom, Paula Wolfert, Thomas Keller, and Barbara Damrosch, who forces Belgian endive in buckets under the kitchen sink during bitter Maine winters.

And what they offer are over 400 recipes that give a cross section of creative American garden cooking. Here are garden-to-table dishes: Spinach and Strawberry Salad; Mexican Bruschetta. Seasonal inspirations: Curried Zucchini Soup; Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo; Asparagus Mushroom Flan. Prime pickings: Chicken and Chives; New Mexico Chard Enchiladas. And harvest put-ups: Green Tomato Chutney; Sweet Red Bell Pepper Pickle.

Compiled and written by Victoria Wise, this is the cookbook to meet like-minded neighbors and friends you never knew you had, exchanging ideas and recipes just for the pleasure of it.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Gardening, Food and Drink

468 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love to experiment with fresh produce, this is a cookbook for you. Same goes for anyone frustrated with too many tomatoes or zucchini in their garden. And even though it's not strictly vegetarian, this book contains far more interesting vegetarian fare than every other vegetarian cookbook I've come across. Plus the carrot cake and papaya bread will knock your socks off!

Too many cook books de-emphasize vegetables, but this one places them on reverent display. It also runs the gamut from simplistic to several day complicated headache type recipes. It also contains plenty of catch all recipes so you can never wonder what to do with all those leftover bits.

The margins are another part of this book which shines. Look to them to answer any sort of selection, preparation or growing tips.

Favorites: Apple pie with cheddar cheese crust (best apple pie crust ever!); Chocolate zucchini cake with sour cream frosting; Papaya tea bread; Baby zucchini and squash blossom fritatta;

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best variety of recipes for gardeners

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to eat this book!!! Lots of good sounding eats, and the green boxes with the little snippets of info were nice. Looses a star for not having pictures of the recipes. Cookbooks need pictures.

[Ivonne]

19.95

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for garden type recipes