Customer Reviews

Simply In Season: Recipes that celebrate fresh, local foods in the spirit of More-with-Less (A World Community Cookbook)

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I've always liked the idea of living more simply. My copy of the Mennonites' MORE-WITH-LESS COOKBOOK that I've cooked with for more than 25 years is tattered and a little burned on the edges. (Note to self: don't leave your cookbook close to a burner). So I was delighted to see Herald Press add SIMPLY IN SEASON to their cookbook line. It offers a diverse selection of interesting recipes while helping raise awareness of eating more responsibly.

The focus is to eat simply. Eat a diversity of food. Eat foods that are in season. Why? It's better for us, the economy...and better for the Earth.

I live in the Chicago suburbs, where my pocket handkerchief-sized yard and small vegetable garden means I buy most of my produce and all of my meat from the supermarkets. I'm always dithering. Should I buy organic? Family farm-produced? Is the cheapest chicken the best buy? With this in mind, I found that the best portion of the cookbook were the short essays sprinkled through the pages that urge readers to think carefully about their food choices. What is genetically-modified food? How can we eat more locally? What does it look like to use food to build community?

SIMPLY IN SEASON answers these questions and more. It offers both practical steps and short inspiring testimonials that will help us think more about our grocery shopping. Support locally-owned grocery stores, restaurants and cooperatives. Buy fairly traded coffee, chocolate, and tea. If you garden, share vegetables with a neighbor. Participate in a community kitchen program in which groups cook meals together, saving money and time.

The comb-bound cookbook is formatted in five sections: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and All Seasons. Each recipe in a particular section highlights one or more vegetables or herbs associated with that season. The measurements are given in both American units (cups) and metric (milliliters). Some recipes give both baking and microwave directions.

If you do much cooking, you'll find some familiar favorites; from Apple Cake to Stuffed Zucchini. I discovered that Autumn's cold Broccoli Salad (with its note - "This recipe is known to turn broccoli-haters into broccoli-lovers") is mostly identical to the one my husband's mom makes for family gatherings. It's delicious!

More unusual produce makes appearances. I was delighted to find three summer recipes to help me make the most of my backyard okra crop (Okra Curry, Fried Okra, Okra Saute). Another pleasant surprise was two regional recipes for south Indiana's persimmons (a smaller and more astringent fruit than the Asian ones you find in the grocery store). My grandmother, a native Hoosier, made a persimmon pudding every fall and I took up the mantle of baking it after she died. Most cooks won't have access to this particular fruit, but can find canned pulp through various outlets on the Internet (the recipe might have benefited from an endnote here).

There's also some international recipes, including Rösti, a Swiss-inspired potato dish, and the Middle Eastern-style Turkey Lentil Pilaf. If you like more of this sort of cooking, you might check out Herald Press's EXTENDING THE TABLE, which focuses on ethnic recipes and sharing resources with the global community.

I chose two recipes to test with my family, both from the winter section. The Au Gratin Cabbage looks beautiful in the pan, although after the first bite, both teens left a lot on their plates ("too strong"). Unless your family is wild about cabbage, skip this one. Our dessert test of Spicy Baked Apples fared much better, although I realized I had used a tablespoon of cinnamon instead of a teaspoon when I took the first bite (make that "VERY Spicy Baked Apples!"). Use the brown sugar instead of the maple syrup for a sweeter taste. Delicious.

Only a few technical troubles have cropped up as I've used the cookbook. Occasionally, the index doesn't work ("rhubarb" sends you to the Four Fruit Crisp on page 149, but there's no rhubarb to be found). More unusual ingredients could benefit from definition and description (kombu seaweed?) and ideas on where to purchase (the persimmons). There's some good supplementary information on such things as tempeh and seitan in a short section on "Alternative Proteins" on 340.)

Rich, four-color graphics, a terrific layout, and color-coded page edging (to help you find your seasonal recipes quickly) make this book a better visual treat than MORE-WITH-LESS. I found the "key ingredient" index helpful (if you have a bumper crop of kale and don't know what to do with it, or a leftover bag of carrots that need using). Likewise, the "index to writings" section helps you locate topics of interest (cooperatives, fair trade food, stewardship). The comb binding seems stronger than my ancient MORE-WITH-LESS's spiral treatment, which has suffered over these 25 years. (There's also a paperback edition that's less expensive). I won't quit using MORE-WITH-LESS, but I'm looking forward to another 25 years supplementing it with SIMPLY IN SEASON.


--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. [...].

Please don't race to the kitchen with this cookbook. First, sit down and enjoy reading Simply in Season. Within its pages you will find philosophy, an ingrained dependence on God, wonderful ideas, a challenging new way of considering food, and, of course, a lot of tasty, tempting recipes which will feed the body and spirit with nutritious food.

How can one cookbook do all this? Begin with the preface which introduces this as a community (meaning both local and world-wide) cookbook, looking at both cooking and the complexities involved in getting our food. A section about the basics of storing fresh foods, from apples through to winter squash, with a special page for herbs comes next. Only then do we meet the recipes, classified by the four seasons and the foods pertaining to those seasons. Each recipe has a bit of extra wisdom. Under Maple Walnut Scones you meet a discussion about the philosophy of early spring maple sugar making. Accompanying Curried Beans and Potatoes you read about the Gunthorps and their happy, naturally raised hogs, ducks, and chickens. Vegetarian Groundnut Stew brings you a short quote about the joys of eating according to the seasons; and Sunflower Chip Cookies introduces the thought: eating is a moral act.

Your imagination and appetite will be piqued with fresh herbs and spices, seasonal vegetables and fruits, international ways of cooking. Wide assortments of grains and dairy products are introduced. Foods such as tofu, tempeh, venison, seitan, and bulgur all have delicious, very workable recipes. There are hints for equivalents and substitutes, ideas for becoming an active participant in furthering the fresh food movement, and suggestions for further reading.

The authors bring us these recipes from wide backgrounds. Both women are Mennonites, a group well-knows for its wonderful philosophy about food. Registered dietician, nutritional consultant, and market gardener Mary Beth Lind feels that food is a part of her spirituality, her kitchen and garden are places to feel God's presence and enter into prayer. Magazine editor, cookbook author, and avid farmers' market shopper Cathleen Hockman-Wert believes our lifestyle choices have a deep effect on God's creation and other people.

Simple to understand and make, the recipes are delicious, and nutritious, turning a meal into a welcome event. I found Nova Scotia Hodgepodge, traditionally made from the thinning of vegetables early in the season, redolent and tasty with early onions, green beans, potatoes, carrots, peas, and a generous sprinkling of fresh herbs. The suggestion under Blueberry Coffee Cake is, "try it warm with milk poured on top." I can vouch for it--that's a delicious, satisfying way to enjoy this cake. From the Middle East comes Turkey Lentil Pilaf, savory with mint, cinnamon, and garlic, wrapped up in brown rice and garnished with feta cheese and tomato. It really does hit the spot on a cold evening. Make the dinner international and accompany the turkey lentil dish with Taco Soup, a combination of venison, tomato juice, corn, beans and chili powder served over corn chips and garnished with sour cream.

Simply in Season truly is a book to enjoy, learn from, use, and cherish. The recipes and ideas are understandable to capable cooks, children and adults just beginning to cook, and those of us who feel dunces when it comes to cooking. Read it, absorb it, and cook from it - have fun with Simply in Season. - Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com

This is the cookbook I have been looking for for some time! I am not a gardener and not very knowledgeable about which produce is in season when, but since becoming a vegetarian I have been searching for a cookbook that would help me plan my meals according to what fruits and vegetables are in season at various times of the year. This cookbook does exactly that, and in an incredibly well-organized and easy-to-follow manner!

The opening of the book includes a colorful description of various fruits and vegetables, discussing when they are in season, what to look for when purchasing them, how to store them, and even simple ways to cook them. The rest of the cookbook is color-coded by season, with wonderful (and mostly quite manageable) recipes including the various produce items that are in season during that time of year. The recipes focus on fresh and healthy ingredients and range from breakfast foods to desserts. I will certainly look forward to every season of the year now and the bounty of foods that each season brings.

"Simply in Season" is the third "World Community Cookbook" produced by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). The others were "The More-with-Less Cookbook" (emphasis on economical recipes) and "Extending the Table" (recipes from around the world). "Simply in Season", as you will guess from the title, is wholly about cooking and eating seasonal - and therefore at least potentially local - foods.

After an initial 'Fruit and Vegetable Guide', the book is arranged by season, and each season has recipes for:

* Breads and Breakfast
* Soups
* Salads
* Sides
* Main Dishes
* Desserts
* Extras

After the spring, summer, autumn and winter sections, there's an "all seasons" section with some useful all-year recipes (pie crusts and the like).

This is not a vegetarian cookbook as it includes seasonal meat (lamb in spring) and other meats, but many of the recipes do not call for meat. Basically, it's how to use the fruits of your garden or other local and seasonal foods (maybe bought from a farmstand, farmers market, or CSA). It's the best cookbook of this type that I have ever read - and they've got the seasons right. I hate it when I read an ostensibly seasonal recipe that includes, for example, fresh peas plus fresh tomatoes. At least in my neck of the woods, the two are definitely not happening at once. But 'Simply in Season' is actually accurate about what foods are in season when.

The recipes emphasize healthful cooking and healthful foods. Recipes were sent in by contributors, then each recipe was tested at least two (and usually more) times by testers. The authors spent nearly two years collecting 1600 recipes from more than 450 contributors, then winnowed the recipes down to the best 307 - and those are included in this cookbook. Contributor(s) for each recipe are identified by name and location.

"Simply in Season" is particularly strong in having recipes for unusual seasonal foods: ground cherries, persimmons, rhubarb, and the like. Lots of zucchini recipes, of course. The recipes almost all sound very good to me, and the level of difficulty is about right: I'm not willing to spend an awful lot of time cooking these days. Many of the recipes enable you to make the main dish from/with your garden's bounty - this is always helpful to me. And it has some splendid sounding desserts too!

Like the preceding two cookbooks from MCC, the book also includes little homilies and 'stories' which - in this case - are mainly about the virtues of growing and eating local food. A few of the 'stories' are explicitly religious, but the majority are not. If you object to anything even vaguely spiritual, this may not be the cookbook for you - although really: you could just ignore those parts. For myself, I'm glad to see anything published that may help to inform people about the reasons to support local farmers and sustainable farming. Eat local food, change the world!

I recommend 'Simply in Season' most highly - especially to gardeners, but also to everyone who wants good, healthy, and delicious food.

I got this book in a box set with two other World Community Cookbooks. This is the one I use the most, and there are great recipes for every season-enough to inspire readers to adopt local grown, in-season cooking practices. Doing so is supposedly good for the planet, because if enough people do it it means less gas burned to transport produce across country or from overseas. This is a great recipe book for CSA subscribers or habitual farmer's market shoppers.

So far I've used the book for winter and a little bit in the fall and spring. My favorite recipes are the cinnamon bread, the black bean and sweet potato burritos and the roasted winter vegetables with garlic yoghurt dip. The only thing I didn't like was the wild rice vegetable bake. So far for spring I'm really happy with the ginger salad dressing.

I love the format of this cookbook - following the seasons and using fresh produce for each season. I have used quite a few of the recipes and made some of them my own by changing a few things - they adapt quite easily. My daughter and her family raise a large garden each summer and she stole my book!! I bought another for myself right away because it can be used year round. Highly recommended!

While this book has a seasonal focus, it is so incredibly dairy and wheat-centric, one might think it was the product of the Dairy and Wheat Councils. I've never seen a book before that had such a high proportion of recipes that call for milk, dry milk, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, buttermilk, wheat, and soy. You would expect to see these in recipes--- but not in almost everything! If you cannot have wheat or dairy, chance are that you won't be able to use a large segment of recipes in this book. If anyone in your family has food allergies (wheat and dairy being the most frequent), don't waste your money. I found the recipes often dated, unimaginative, imbalanced nutritionally, and a huge disappointment. Even their chili recipe called for sour cream. Swiss chard with milk? Good grief. So-called "Hearty Broccoli soup" has an entire quart of milk plus 1 cup cheese but only 2 cups of raw broccoli. That would be more aptly named "Milk Soup with Broccoli". I expected this book to be far more garden, fresh produce focused but it isn't. This book has been VERY over-rated.

I received this cookbook in December 05. It is now Spring, 07 and I have cooked my way through it. I love it. This book has given me so much more confidence in my cooking abilities. I don't fret when friends come over for dinner because I know I have my SIS Cookbook in hand.

The recipes are simple, easy to prepare with not a lot of ingredients. Typically, they are pretty quick to put togehter. I love that they use in season ingredients and that they are healthy recipes.

The Maple Parsnip Soup and Red Lentil Coconut Curry are two of our favorites! Enjoy!

For anyone interested in healthy recipes that are in sync with the seasons I highly recommend this cookbook. I bought it in winter so thus far I have only cooked meals out of the winter section and they have been great (ie. sweet potato black bean burritos). It feels good to be cooking with produce that is in season, I feel like I am doing what I can to help my local economy and also decrease the amount of pollution from my food being flown around the world. There are some religious undertones to the book, I think the authors are Mennonites, I personally don't mind it because it is just a quote or two, but some people may not like that. All in all, great cookbook; buy it!

The newest title in the "World Community Cookbook" series from Herald Press, Simply In Season: Recipes That Celebrate Fresh, Local Foods In the Spirit Of More-with-Less is the collaborative effort of culinary experts and experienced kitchen cooks Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. Each recipe was selected with a six-point standard as reflected by the use of fruits and vegetables in their season: Freshness (foods harvested the same day as they are purchased); Taste (the fresher the food is, the more the flavor); Nutrition (fresh, fully ripe produce contains the most nutrients); Variety (local farms can offer a greater diversity of produce strains); Environment (locally produced, foods aren't exposed the hazards of being grown abroad); Local Health (buying from local farms and farmer's markets supports the local economy and increasing the fiscal and social well-being of the whole community). From Strawberry Bread; Spinach Squares; Green Bean Sides; and Broccoli Gratin; to Apple Lentil Salad; Savory Tempeh and Vegetables; Hearty Oatmeal Pancakes; and Middle Eastern Meat Loaf, the kitchen friendly recipes are organized by season (including a section for "All Seasons") and are guaranteed to please any palate and satisfy any appetite.