the art of simple food II

Spring is coming eventually...the Groundhog told us that it was and so does the little bit of extra light pushing back sunset every day. If you're ready for warmer weather and contemplating a garden, Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food II:  Recipes, Flavor, and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Garden is a lovely book to read now to get yourself into the growing mindset.  Because it's not really about vast plots of land, it's about the appropriate attitude of cultivating and preparing food in a more personal and organic manner.  From herbs to lettuce, garlic, onions, vegetables, berries, melons and citrus, Waters details the bounty of the seasons along with wonderful recipes like Golden Jubilee Tomato Soup with Spiced Yogurt, Julienned Gypsy Pepper Salad, Wild Plum Jam Turnovers and Blackberry Souffle.  To preserve your harvest, recipes and guidance for home canning and making your own liqueurs are also featured.  Namely Vin d'Orange, Crab Apple Liqueur and Hazelnut Liqueur....please pass the bottle, thank you.

As a well-known cookbook author, chef and owner of Berkeley's Chez Panisse, Alice Waters has long been taking the basic concept of food and giving it new breadth and life.  She advises first-time gardeners to start small -- that the new kitchen garden can be "as simple as putting a seed in the ground and watching it grow." Whether you work with a pot of basil on the windowsill, heirloom tomatoes on the fire escape, zucchini on an apartment rooftop, or a suburban sprawl of romaine, eggplant and sweet potatoes (and/or your own personal cornfield or orchard), the main idea as Chef Waters explains is to nurture "the vital link between taste, cooking, and gardening".  She offers resources for seed "lending libraries" and urban gardening networks, as well as information on techniques like double-digging and crop diversity. And if you find that you don't have a green thumb, try your local farmers' markets and turn their harvest into a summer of culinary adventures -- just as long as we celebrate the earth and how to use it best for our health and enjoyment.