Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Michel Nischan (Author), Mary Goodbody (Author), Susie Cushner (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2005

In this follow-up to Taste Pure and Simplewinner of the James Beard Cookbook AwardMichel Nischan takes his philosophy of healthy cooking from garden to kitchen. Inspired to provide his growing family with meals as full of flavor as those he'd enjoyed at his mother's table, Michel planted a garden of his own. The result was a delicious array of recipes based on the best the gardenor, if you're not that fortunate, the organic produce in the farmers' market or grocery storehas to offer. Sweet tomatoes and bitter lettuces, peppery radishes and succulent strawberriesthese are but a handful of fruits, herbs, and vegetables that, served alone or combined with quality meats and poultry, ripened cheeses, or whole grains, inspired these 80 seasonal recipes, each one as good for the body as it is for the palate. Including a superb chapter on extending the harvest, full of fruit preserves and jams, pickled vegetables, sauces, salsas, flavored oils, spice mixes, and even a few refreshing drinks, Homegrown Pure and Simple is a book that not only conveys the sheer joy of feeding family and friends well, but also takes healthy cooking to an excitingand deliciousnew level.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Warm, enthusiastic and sweetly dedicated to the author's garden-devoted mom, this volume celebrates the bounty that can come from a home garden (assuming the involvement of a dedicated gardener) with simple, mostly very healthy recipes. Following an introduction to his own garden, Nischan—author of the James Beard Award–winning Taste Pure and Simple and former chef of New York City's Heartbeat restaurant—organizes recipes into straightforward chapters on salads, soup, main courses, side dishes, "extending the harvest" (jams, pickled veggies, infused oils), breakfast and desserts, all interwoven with garden-related anecdotes. The recipes are appealing, with many options for both vegetarians and carnivores. Sugar Snap Peas with Fennel, Onions, and Grilled Peach Dressing; Grilled Lamp Chops with Home-Dried Tomatoes and Citrus Yogurt; Pistachio Pork Loin Chops with Pumpkin Sauce; Oregano Chicken with Grilled Kale and Heirloom Tomatoes; Shiitake Mushroom and Koshihikari Rice Cakes; and Roasted Pear and Spoon Bread Tart with Cranberry, Orange and Jalapeño Glaze are all a few gourmet steps above standard homey garden fare—and color photos by Susie Cushner add to the book's sophisticated feel. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

Warm, enthusiastic and sweetly dedicated to the author's garden-devoted mom, this volume celebrates the bounty that can come from a home garden (assuming the involvement of a dedicated gardener) with simple, mostly very healthy recipes. Following an introduction to his own garden, Nischan author of the James Beard Award-winning Taste Pure and Simple and former chef of New York City's Heartbeat restaurant organizes recipes into straightforward chapters on salads, soup, main courses, side dishes, "extending the harvest" (jams, pickled veggies, infused oils), breakfast and desserts, all interwoven with garden-related anecdotes. The recipes are appealing, with many options for both vegetarians and carnivores. Sugar Snap Peas with Fennel, Onions, and Grilled Peach Dressing; Grilled Lamp Chops with Home-Dried Tomatoes and Citrus Yogurt; Pistachio Pork Loin Chops with Pumpkin Sauce; Oregano Chicken with Grilled Kale and Heirloom Tomatoes; Shiitake Mushroom and Koshihikari Rice Cakes; and Roasted Pear and Spoon Bread Tart with Cranberry, Orange and Jalape o Glaze are all a few gourmet steps above standard homey garden fare and color photos by Susie Cushner add to the book's sophisticated feel. -Publisher's Weekly

"Easily the most appealing new American cookbook is Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food From Garden to Table, by Michel Nischan and Mary Goodbody. The recipes have been gathered from many cultures, but somehow they all seem homespun, perhaps because of the book's rustic design. I was especially drawn to the recipe for crispy striped bass with tomato and onion sauce." -New York Times Sunday Book Review --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811844722
• ASIN: B000UJZS30
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What we all need to read, December 2, 2005

By 

Jennifer A. Wickes "Food Writer" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table (Hardcover)

Delicious, appetizing recipes fill this book, all of which were made from the freshest organic ingredients, giving a pure simple taste. An excellent second book by Michel Nischan, winner of a James Beard cookbook award in 2004 for his book, Taste Pure and Simple.

Michel Nischan grew up in Illinois where his mother grew most of their fruits and vegetables. His love of food coninued as an adult where he became the executive chef of Heartbeat in the W Hotel (NY-1997). Nischan is a contributor to numerous magazines including: Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Cooking Light, and much more. He has also appeared on various television programs. He is the founding member of New American Farming Initiative. He currently lives in Connecticut with his wife and five children.

Mary Goodbody is a food writer who has worked on over 45 cookbooks.

Susie Cushner is a photographer whose work has appeared in Real Simple, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living and more. She has worked on numerous books: The New England Table, The Cape Cod Table, The Pleasures of Slow Food and The Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook.

Michel Nischan yearned for the days where his mother grew all their vegetables in their garden when he was a child. With the tragic findings that two of his five children were diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes (at ages five and two), his focus on his cooking changed. He decided that not only should he and his family eat healthier, but also his restaurant customers. This book has been inspired by his children and his desire for fresh pure ingredients without the use of cream, butter, processed starches or processed sugars. Michel has made it his mission to educate people on eating and cooking healthier.

This is more than a cookbook, but also a book filled with cooking and gardening tips, planting seeds, storing produce, sterilizing jars, choosing knives, and handling food. There is an excellent glossary in the back of the book, as well as a list of sources if some items are hard-to-find in your area. And I must comment on the gorgeous photographs throughout this book.

This book has even received kudos from the American Heart Association and Alice Waters.

The book is broken down by the following chapters: My Garden and How It Grew; Salads; Soups; Main Courses; Side Dishes; Extending the Harvest; Breakfast and Breads; Desserts. The recipes are wonderful. They are simple to make and extremely tasty. In fact, I never even noticed, initially, that the book had no recipes laden with fat and sugar! Some of my favorites in this book were: Osaka Mustard Greens Salad; Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Sage Garnish; Baked Fresh Ham with Roasted Apple and Almond Salad; Skillet-Browned Broccoli and Cauliflower with Pan-Toasted Garlic; Homemade Applesauce; Butternut Squash Muffins; and Sweet Corn and Toasted Almond Rice Pudding.

In our society, where everything runs at such a fast pace, I think it is time to slow down, and appreciate life and family. Eat healthier. Buy this book!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This isn't your usual vegetable cookbook, December 6, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table (Hardcover)

Vegetable gardening and recipes seldom blend so seamlessly as in Homegrown Pure And Simple: Great Healthy Food From Garden To Table. Here's a compendium of dishes spiced with color photos by Susie Cushner throughout which celebrate both gardening and cooking. This isn't your usual vegetable cookbook, either: Grilled Lamb Chops with Home-Dried Tomatoes and Citrus Yogurt and Pistachio Pork Loin with Pumpkin Sauce are dishes not to be found in any cookbook. That's because author Michel Nischan has served up healthful haute cooking at a range of upscale restaurants: so these are largely his own inventions.

4.0 out of 5 stars Ham!, December 23, 2009

By 

Fun Cooking - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table (Hardcover)

I used the recipe in this book to make my first ham. It was a great success and everyone enjoyed the apple and onion salad that the recipe recommended serving with the ham. It's been a fun book, but I think it will be most useful in the summer when more vegetables are in season.