New Feature: Cookbook Spotlight!

Really amazing cookbooks never fail to inspire me. Since I started cooking, my cookbook collection has expanded from a sorry edition of The Joy of Cooking to probably about thirty awesome books with a stunning variety of topics. This Christmas, thanks to my mom, I added about 4 more, all of them wonderful. For the first book in this series, though, I thought I would highlight a delicious little book that focuses on seasonality and locality, two of the most important attributes of foods for their nutritious value, their taste, and their health for the environment.

In Earth to Table, Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann share their experience of starting a restaurant based on CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and working on the farm, attempting to grow their own food. They divide the recipes into the four seasons, highlighting ingredients, farmers, and cooking methods along the way. Aside from the dazzling array of recipes (many of which contain meat, though of course the reader would only use locally-sourced pork, chicken, and beef for fear of risking the integrity of the book), the authors provide entertaining and informative insight into the state of industrial agriculture today and, more importantly, the state of local farms and farmers. They also include a list of in-season ingredients at the beginning of each section. It's all fascinating, really.

Of course, any meal made up of local ingredients is going to taste fantastic. Local ingredients are just so much better than anything you can find in the grocery store. They taste real. If you have never been to your local farmer's market and sampled an apple or taken home some kale to saute on the stove, you are seriously missing out. There's no time like the present to try it. And for those of you who have, you will understand why I so appreciate this book that focuses on preserving and utilizing the natural flavors of the ingredients. So simple, so delicious.

What I want to make now: (okay, let's face it, I want to make everything)
Winter: Salt-Baked Arctic Char, Roasted Root Vegetables, Apple Cider Muffins, Oatmeal Molasses Bread
Spring: Gnudi with Ramps, Morels and Fiddleheads, Maple Shoofly Pie, Milk and Honey Bread
Summer: Heirloom Tomato Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella, Zucchini and Eggplant Carpaccio, Shortcakes with Chantilly Cream and Macerated Strawberries, Cherry Clafoutis
Fall: Heirloom Beet Salad with Feta and Pumpkin Seeds, Potato and Rosemary Pizza, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Sweet Mediterranean Pizza (with honey!)

Website: www.earthtotable.ca/

~Caitlin