Nutrition
Local Bounty
Seasonal Vegan Recipes
By Devra Gartenstein
By now most of us know
the many benefits of eating local foods in season.
• Ripe produce is at the peak of its flavor and nutritional value
• Less fossil fuel is needed to transport local fruits and vegetables to
your table
• Small scale farmers tend to use less pesticides and many are organic
growers
• Foods in season are abundant and cheaper
• Because seasonal offerings change over time variety occurs naturally
• Buying locally supports local economies and people in your neighborhood
The tricky part is we often don't know what to do with the foods that are coming
out of the ground all around us. Local Bounty Seasonal Vegan Recipes by
Devra
Gartenstein solves this problem for most of what is available in my neighborhood
and I'm betting in yours too. Her easy, creative, mouth watering recipes and
general advice will replace the fear of those unknown fruits and veggies with
the
fun
of
learning
new and wonderfully delectable dishes.
The book starts by introducing
various vegetable "families" that help to identify some
of the new foods you'll be looking at while at the same
time giving lots of simple cooking tips that you can apply
to these broad categories of foods, like cabbages, greens,
onions etc. More simple tips are given in the section on
cooking techniques which demystifies the differences between
braising, sauteing, roasting and grilling and steaming.
Her one page chart on ethnic seasoning combinations also
makes it easy to combine herbs and spices for desired
flavor effects.
The bulk of the book is full of
seasonal recipes. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter each has its own chapter
with
a one
page introduction that lists what you can expect to find at that time of year.
The recipes tend to be
simple with shortish ingredient lists and clear, easy instructions
for preparation. The emphasis is on the veggies and fruits, so unlike many vegan
and vegetarian cookbooks it is not full of grain and soy based concoctions. Here
are two recipes from each season:
Spring: Beet Greens with Young Garlic, Roasted Leek and Carrot Soup
Summer: Fennel and Arugula Pesto, Stuffed Baby Pattypans
Fall: Velvety Squash with Roasted Garlic, Kohlrabi Slaw
Winter: Portuguese Kale and White Bean Soup, Savoy Cabbage with Cashews
Local Bounty has lots of soups, salads, sauces and hearty
vegetable dishes, as well as a few well chosen seasonal desert recipes; probably
way more recipes than most of us will make in a single year. For 6 months, starting
in early June,
most
of
my
food
will come
from
a
local
farm
run
as
a
CSA
or
Community
Supported Agricultural project. Figuring out how to make use of some of what
I
get
each
week has been tricky until now. I can't wait to try out a lot of these recipes.
I only wish I had had this book sooner.
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