A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook [Paperback]

Marian K. Towne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1996

"... speaks eloquently to anyone who resolves to live close to the earth, and to eat well and frugally." —Indianapolis Monthly

"Marian Towne has done a superb—and witty—job!" —The Weedpatch Gazette

This marvelous cookbook, the product of 50 years of cookery according to seasonal principles, contains hundreds of recipes for more than 90 different fruits, vegetables, and herbs (including such wild crops as mulberries, pawpaws, and violets), locally grown and used at their peak of flavor and freshness. Take it with you as you stroll through the local farmer's market, or consult it after bringing in the harvest from your own garden.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Divided into four parts corresponding to seasonal harvest times, Towne's book reminds readers that knowledge of seasonal cooking was not invented in California. Towne (Bread of Life) offers recipes for 94 fruits, vegetables and herbs. Sprinkled throughout are prefaces about each fruit or vegetable. Towne's hints for gardening, shopping and storing often make good horticultural sense and display a homey ingenuity: nasturtiums should be planted near tomatoes; vidalias can be stored in pantyhose in the basement. Among the best recipes are Fresh Apple Fritters and Grape Sauce for Fowl. Cream, sour cream, cheddar and, occasionally, Velveeta (one wonders what the natural season for that is) are used liberally. Although the book is well-organized and offers interesting gardening facts (including a section on starting seedlings), recipes like the prosaic Rhubarb-Strawberry Molded Salad and Curried Creamed Radishes are unlikely to inspire readers to reorganize their gardens.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook is the product of more than fifty years of cooking according to seasonal principles. Marian Towne has organized A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook according to growing seasons, from spring to winter, and alphabetically within each season. Towne's friend, neighbor and gardening buddy Ellen Walsh enlivens the text with charming sketches. There is culturing, harvesting, and storage advice sprinkled throughout (and even a section on starting seedlings). A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook gives many different ways to use produce, from appetizers to desserts, thus using the harvest to the fullest without boring a family. The recipes will help cooks use well what nature and hard work can provide, offering handy, quick and numerous ways to use a particular crop. In addition, there are anecdotes bout recipes and their origins, as well as nutritional information. Ingredients listed are available to most growers and shoppers in the Midwest. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1st ed edition (April 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253210569
• ISBN-13: 978-0253210562
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,340,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for all home gardeners!, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook (Paperback)

This is possibly one of the best kept secrets on cooking out of your garden. The recipes are delicious and most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen. The seasonal format simplfies finding a recipe (and there is an alphabetical listing included also). The author has included throughout the book priceless pieces of history and wonderful bits of humor. "Mrs. Maendl's Dill Pickles" is a recipe that is "as much fun to read" as the pickles "good to eat"! When people ask me about them, I HAVE to tell them I made them exactly as the recipe states. Read it and you'll understand! Marian Towne has come up with the perfect solutions for all those fresh fruits and veggies we painstakingly grow. I even managed to use up a considerable amount of zucchini without my children noticing! Even if you are not a gardener, you'll want to run to the next Farmer's Market after seeing this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coming soon to my bookshelf, June 20, 2008

By 

S Keeton (NW Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook (Paperback)

This afternoon I checked A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook by Marian K. Towne out from the local library. I will most definetly be adding it to my personal library. In the interest of full disclosure I should say that I have not yet used any of the recipes but I am completely charmed by the book after spending a over 90 minutes exploring the book.

The 294 page book is divided into four sections with one for each season. Each section focuses on commonly grown as well as less common and wild ingredients which reach their peak during that specific season. The inclusion of the less common and wild foods is one of the many ways that the book appeals to me.

Spring focuses on asparagus, chard, chives, dandelions, lettuce, mint, mulberries, parsley, peapods, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries and violets.

Summer focuses on basil, beans, beet greens, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, chokecherries, collards, corn, cucumbers, currants, daikon radish, daylilies, dill, eggplant, elderberries, gooseberries, grape leaves, ground cherries, kohlrabi, mesclun, mustard greens, nasturtiums, okra, peaches, raspberries, summer savory, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini

Autumn focuses on apples, beets, broccoflower, broccoli, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, garlic, grapes, horseradish, kiwi fruit, lima beans, onions, pawpaws, pears, peppers, persimmons, plums, popcorn, potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes (green), turnips, winter squash, yams (sweet potatoes).

Winter focuses on herbs that can be grown in pots (marjoram, oregano, rose geranium, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme), kale, leeks, maple syrup, parsnips, rutabagas, soybeans, sprouts, and watercress.

The entry for individual items generally begins with a few paragraphs of general information (e.g., nutritional value, uses, and preparation) and some also include personal anecdotes and memories related to the item. The recipes include both the basics (e.g., steaming asparagus in the microwave) to the innovative (e.g., asparagus shortcake). The entries for a given item often wrap up with a list of additional ideas for use. Some items such as parsley offer suggestions for preserving a surplus. The book's charm is further spiced by the illustrations provided by Ellen Walsh. As a final selling point, the book includes an exhaustive index and a modest list of resources ranging from books to seeds to kitchen equipment.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the gardener or CSA member, May 28, 2011

By 

Gwen (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook (Paperback)

I received this as a gift over a year ago, and it became my go-to source last summer whenever my garden or CSA share provided more of something than I could handle. The recipes are quick, simple, and delicious as-is; but they are also a solid foundation for experimentation. I've learned that in cooking from local & seasonal ingredients, I would rather have a simple recipe I can play with than a 20-ingredient scavenger hunt.

I made the asparagus soup for dinner last night, and my rhubarb custard pie should be coming out of the oven right about...now!