Customer Reviews

From Asparagus to Zucchini

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I joined a CSA this year in the throes of the winter greens season. It was a challenge to find a variety of recipes for kale and chard and all of the other greens I never looked at twice in the supermarket. I was excited when I discovered this cookbook because I thought it would make it easier to work backwards from the items I have in my fridge.

My issue with this cookbook is that the recipes incorporate ingredients that I don't find especially healthy or palatable. Several use Bisquick or similar pre-packaged items that aren't in line with the healthier lifestyle the CSA promotes. I love the idea of this cookbook - and I wish that somebody would release a similar book with healthier recipes.

This is a great resource for easy delicious recipes. Easy to browse by vegetable. Include storage, freezing, and other instructions. I belong to a CSA and this has been my go to recipe book to incorporate all the vegetables into my weekly menu. Have made dozens of recipes from this over the past few years, never made one I did not like.

420 recipes and 100% are original. Tons items you'd find at your local farmers' market are covered in this book. Easy to browse through with neat little veggie descriptions.

Definitely add this to your cookbook collection!

We got this book shortly after starting our first CSA season and it's been so helpful! The cooking and storage tips are great. I've made several of the recipes this summer and have not been disappointed. My favorite so far is "Roasted Beet Salad." I was surprised to read the review that said the recipes call for pre-packaged items. I haven't read the book cover to cover, but just flipping through it now, I do not see those type of ingredients in the recipes.

I love this book. I am a University Extension horticulturist and work with local producers in promoting locally grown foods. It was good to see information on buying and eating local produce/products and on CSA. The recipes are great too. So many people do not know how to prepare fresh produce and this book provides many recipes on how to do that.

This is a wonderful recipe book, especially for Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) members or folks who love to shop seasonally at a Farmer's Market. We belong to a CSA and once those tomatoes (or zucchini or corn, etc. etc.) start rolling in, this is the go-to book to find new and different ways to use all that lovely fresh produce. Organized by vegetable, just flip to whichever vegetable you have before you and you will find information on the best way to store it for the short or long-term, other information, and 10-15 recipes. The recipes often recognize that you may be dealing with bulk amounts and can be expanded as needed. Simple and nutritious information for those of us who enjoy vegetables but may not have had the "farm wisdom" handed down to us.

When I decided to invest in a CSA for the first time, I found myself drowning in lettuce, squash, and other vegetables and herbs that half the time I didn't even recognize. Sadly, many weeks I could not get to all of them before both getting a new week's worth of vegetables and having to discard the first. So, I went without for a year. Last year I subsisted on both what my garden brought and what I acquired at the farmer's markets. I did realize that I was not really branching out of those chosen few loves and missed the variety the CSA gave.

This book is produced by the Madison (WI) Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition, obviously a group that knows what they are talking about! They call it a "recipe-resource book," which I think is an apt description, as this is more than just a cookbook. Each vegetable is listed alphabetically and includes about 4-10 recipes contributed by members of the CSA, plus additional tips for cooking and storage. This is a definite boon when you get hints about storing your greens in a bag with a paper towel to lengthen storage time, or herbs that you can dry, freeze, or preserve in oil. A "Seasonal Combinations" chapter shows you how to use multiple vegetables and herbs that may be in season at the same time and has a separate section of kid-friendly recipes.

I found the resources in the back of the book to go far beyond what you expect in a cookbook, showing the true range of what CSAs will do. Contacts for finding farmer's markets, cookbooks, and other reference works for gardening and composting are included. While some of the organizations listed are located in the Midwest states, there are several from all over the United States and internationally. The only enhancement I could picture for this book would be color photographs to better show the less-familiar vegetables and replace the black and white illustrations. However, the illustrations remind me a lot of my older Moosewood Collective cookbooks and does not detract from the book at all.

If you have ever picked up a new vegetable at the market and wondered how to prepare it, this is the book for you. It really covers almost all veggies from A to Z with easy-to-follow recipes.

This book is great, nice variety of simple to complex recipes to use up all those fruits and vegetables you get, great for those wanting to eat locally or in season

This book is great. It's easy to browse or find exactly what you're looking for. Provides useful basics on storage and prep for lots of veggies. Nice offering of recipes. I love the large size. It lies flat when I open it so my hands are free for cooking!