The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes and Stories from the Market and Farm [Paperback]

Amelia Saltsman (Author), Deborah Madison (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2007

One of Cooking Light Magazine's Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years!

For more than a quarter century, the Santa Monica Farmers' Market has inspired both renowned chefs and home cooks, making it a regional market with national presence. One of the largest markets in the state, it stands at the forefront of a national trend toward cooking with local and seasonal ingredients. For more than twenty years, Amelia Saltsman has shopped its stands, talked with its farmers, and cooked its magnificent produce for family and friends. The result is The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook, a celebration of the market s excellence and its hardworking farmers. What s the difference between white and green zucchini? What are amaranth, sapote, and ramps? With Amelia as your guide, you ll learn the answers to these questions and more. You'll also find advice on how to select and store produce, stories about farmers and their crops, chef and farmer cooking tips, and more than 100 of Amelia's simple, tempting recipes including: -- Fava Bean and Pea Shoot Salad -- Classic Tomato Soup with a Goat Cheese Swirl -- Black Cod with Green Tomatoes -- Roast Leg of Lamb with Oil-Cured Black Olives and Herbs -- Seared White Nectarines with Burnt Honey -- Meyer Lemon Sundaes with Cara Cara Oranges and Tangelos With a foreword by acclaimed cookbook author Deborah Madison, a design by Ph.D and photos by Anne Fishbein.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sure, the farmer's market can provide the freshest food available, but how can you tell? And once you've found the perfect heirloom tomatoes, what do you do with them? Cooking teacher and television host Saltsman provides plenty of answers to those questions in this compilation of recipes that shrugs off complex preparation to focus on using seasonal ingredients to their fullest. Saltsman offers tips on buying (how to pick the best corn and eggs, for instance) as well as which vendors to seek out at her local farmer's market in Santa Monica, should you decide to make the trip. Meat, fowl and fish make appearances, but the star of this book is the produce. Saltsman provides a wealth of variations for familiar favorites like tomatoes, mushrooms and squash, and uses more exotic fare to spike some standard dishes: sapote, for instance, is a citrusy, custard-like South American fruit that makes a great twist on crème brulee. Cooks will get a lot of mileage out of Saltsman's simple yet innovative uses for fresh fruit, like a memorable tart made of seared nectarines and peaches, burnt honey and fresh berries, or a savory-sweet salad made with mixed cherries, toasted almonds, greens and aged goat cheese. In her first book, Saltsman proves that minimal effort, coupled with high-quality food, can produce extraordinary results.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years: We looked through basketfuls of market-based cookbooks before picking The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook as best in field. Beginners and confident locavores alike will love every bite. --Tiffany Vickers Davis, Cooking Light Magazine

When you cook food that is locally grown and in season, the importance of shopping at farmers' markets becomes crystal clear: that's where you'll find ripe, tasty ingredients. Amelia's book is an amazing resource to have with you, a complete season-by-season handbook to guide you through the bounty of the market. --Alice Waters, Chez Panisse

When a masterful cook with a strong scholarly bent sets out to create a portrait of her farmers' market, this is what you get--a book far beyond the usual. Amelia Saltsman gifts us with dishes we want to cook and insights into the little known and familiar we are discovering in our own markets. This is the book to keep in the kitchen and then stash on the back seat of the car on Saturday mornings. --Lynn Rossetto Kasper, host of NPR's "The Splendid Table"

The farmers' markets are one of our nation's greatest resources, and knowing how to cook from them can unlock their deep treasures. Amelia Saltsman gives us the key. The recipes are simple and straightforward and reading them makes you want to run right out to your nearest farmers' market and transform the best of America's farming into your family's favorite meals. --Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW's "Good Food"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Blenheim Press; 1st edition (June 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979042909
• ISBN-13: 978-0979042904
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Organic Cooking

More About the Author

Amelia Saltsman is the award-winning author of The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes, and Stories from the Market and Farm. In 2006, Amelia founded Blenheim Press in order to produce her first book. Described by Alice Waters as "an amazing resource" and by Deborah Madison in the book's foreword as "a seamless work," The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook tells the story of passionate, small California growers and their extraordinary crops, and is a great market guide and cookbook. The book has received numerous awards including the Santa Monica Library 2008 Green Prize for Sustainable Literature and the Writers' Digest Grand Prize for Self-Published Books.

Amelia is a familiar voice on KCRW's "Good Food," and her work has appeared in such publications as Bon Appétit, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and coming soon, Cooking Light. She is the host and producer of the local cable cooking show "Fresh from the Farmers' Market," and serves on the California Certified Farmers' Market Advisory Committee. She is the editor of the publication of the Culinary Historians of Southern California, and enjoys teaching food writing to elementary and middle schoolers through the Young Writers' Conference.

Amelia is passionate about getting everyone out to their local farmers' markets to shop seasonally and cook simply and deliciously for their families. These days, when we are so concerned about food safety, our children's health, the economy, and having enough time to get dinner on the table, Amelia offers a simple and tasty solution: "Look for great flavor at your farmers' market. When the raw ingredients taste good, it's the most obvious indicator that our food has been grown carefully and locally, and that it's at its freshest and most nutritious."

Inspired by her neighborhood Santa Monica Farmers' Market, one of the largest and most important growers' markets in the nation, Amelia has shopped its stalls, talked with its farmers, and cooked its magnificent produce for more than 20 years. A Los Angeles native, Amelia and her husband, Ralph Saltsman, raised their three children on the Westside and now enjoy watching their granddaughter's budding appreciation for the market's delicious bounty.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious, Accessible recipes July 12, 2007

By Betty Mallorca

Format:Paperback

This book is almost as good as actually trailing Amelia around the Santa Monica market to learn what's in peak season, and to be introduced to the farmers that grew it. Amelia's recipes are simple and direct; even fledgling cooks can use them with great success. I'd eat anything that Amelia's cooked! Read this book; you will learn a lot about all sorts of interesting, delicious things.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure of a cookbook for every season! December 11, 2007

By Judy Bart Kancigor

Format:Paperback

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family
I actually DID trail "Amelia around the Santa Monica market to learn what's in peak season, and to be introduced to the farmers that grew it" (see previous review) when I wrote about this wonderful book for the Orange County Register. But there were frequent interruptions, because Amelia Saltsman - writer, cooking teacher, producer/host of her own TV show - is the undisputed queen of the Santa Monica Farmers Market and instantly recognized by shoppers and farmers alike. This cookbook is as much an homage to the farmers, their histories, and their commitment to excellence as it is a collection of fuss-less, original and artful recipes inspired by the amazing varieties they produce. Fava Bean and Pea Shoot Salad. Fresh Porcini and Potato Soup. Slow Baked Quince with Honey and Cognac. Recipes that showcase ingredients over method, with Saltsman guiding us from the familiar to the exotic, as you can see by the following excerpt from the Register:

"People are overwhelmed by choice," she said, "but don't know how to proceed. The only way farmers are going to grow these varieties is if people know how to cook them."

A delivery man whizzed by carrying mounds of bush-like, herby-looking bouquets. "Fresh garbanzo beans," Amelia informed me. "You can find unusual things at the farmers' market that you would never find anywhere else. It's not that they're so rare - they're just rare here. In Mumbai you could find them all the time. And even the very ordinary things sing with great flavor, the simplest things - carrots, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes - it makes all the difference in the world."

Shopper Sue picks up a lavender and cream-colored, teardrop-shaped eggplant and asked Saltsman, "What do I do with this?"

"That's a Rosa Bianca - it's very creamy inside," Saltsman informed her. "Cut it in cubes and sauté it - it gets tender quickly - or roast it in thick slices. It just melts in your mouth."

At Windrose Farms I'm struck by what appear to be tiny white, faintly striped melons, which turn out to be lemon cucumbers. "They are so sweet," she rhapsodized. "You can only find them in farmers' markets. Cut them, and inside it looks exactly like the juice vesicles of a lemon."

But the main reason to shop at a farmers' market is the taste, she said. "Because the ingredients are so fresh, they will keep for a surprisingly long time, because they're picked at their peak. Their entire shelf life is spent in your home, not being shipped."

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Custard from the Garden" September 2, 2007

By Margaret Martindale

Format:Paperback

THE SANTA MONICA
FARMERS MARKET COOKBOOK
"Custard from the Garden"
By Amelia Saltsman
With a foreword by Deborah Madison
A review, interview by Marty Martindale
Various attractions draw visitors year `round. Some are bold, deeper-diving roller coasters, sedate museums, mighty cliffs and deep, deep canyons. However, appearing on more attraction lists these days are farmers' markets, and Santa Monica's Farmer's Market has become a special destination for a new breed of pleasure seekers.
"Open up all your senses," urges Saltsman, "look for colors, smell the aromas, feel for ripeness, taste the sweetness and listen carefully to the farmers." Saltsman. "Shopping at a farmer' market is a communal, rather than a solitary experience and one that asks us to use all our senses and be a bit adventurous. Small farmers -- wiling to grow for flavor, wait until the crop is completely ripe, then get it to market within 24 hours of harvest - this is their passion, and they want to excel."
In her book, Amelia successfully shares her enthusiasm for everything market. She's quick to refer you to her Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Primer, pages 102 to 105. "This is a perfect example of how you can take the same simple technique, use the basic seasonings of olive oil, salt and pepper to dramatically heighten natural flavors ... from caramelized carrots to custard-centered summer squash." She's quick to recommend her Prosciutto and Persimmon Appetizer made with crushed, toasted peppercorns, also her Nettle & Potato Frittata.
Here's a glimpse at some of Amelia's 100 farmers' market recipes:
* Winter Squash Puree with Shaved Parmesan: Onion, garlic, sage, red pepper flakes, olive oil, squash, stock, cheese, pumpkin seed oil and bruschette
* Grilled Fig and Market Ham Salad: Balsamic vinegar, figs, olive oil, ham steak, raw almonds, dandelion greens, lemon and Camembert-style cheese
* Pummelo, Fennel and Radish Salad: Fennel, radishes, grapefruit, fennel fronds, black olives, chives, mizuna, olive oil and lemon
* Romanesco with Green Olives and Capers: Romanesco or cauliflower, green olives, capers, Italian parsley, lemon zest, olive oil, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and garlic
* Roasted Okra with Fresh Peanuts: Okra pods, chopped peanuts, olive oil, red pepper flakes and one lemon
* Garlic, Smoked Tomatoes and Chipotles: Tomatoes, chipotles garlic, sweet potatoes, olive oil and cilantro leaves
* Farfalle with Five Herbs and Cherry Tomatoes: Farfalle, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, cherry tomatoes, Italian parsley, basil leaves, spearmint leaves, wild fennel fronds and chives
* Chicken Legs with Kumquats, Prunes and Green Olives: Prunes, kumquats, olive oil, chicken, onion, garlic white wine, green olives, chicken stock and optional Harissa
* Roasted Seasonal Fruit: Assorted or single fruit, red grapes, honey, lavender, muscat wine and yogurt cheese
* Dried Plum and Toasted Almond Cream Tart: Plums or pluots, cognac, raw almonds, heavy cream, sugar, flour, salt, unsalted butter and egg yolks

Marty Martindale can be reached at: [e-mail].