Recipes from Americas Small Farms or Shabby Chic

Recipes from America's Small Farms: Fresh Ideas for the Season's Bounty

Author: Joanne Lamb Hayes

Recipes from America’s Small Farms gathers the most exciting, original, and authentic recipes—using the freshest ingredients—from those who know best how to set a table anytime of the year. Favorite recipes from farmers across the country and members of Community Supported Agriculture—a national organization that facilitates direct farmer-to-consumer sales of produce—will inspire home cooks everywhere. Also included are recipes from high-profile chefs such as Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), Peter Hoffman (Savoy), Roxanne Klein (Roxanne’s), and Kevin von Klause (White Dog Café).

Readers will find it easy to locate recipes, organized by food family, that call for the vegetables and fruits that are in season, readily available, and simple to use. Recipes like Creamy Turnip Soup; Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Herbs, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Tapenade Toast Points; Greek Zucchini Cakes; and Hiroko’s Fusion Choy with Tahini-Soy Dip give common produce exotic appeal.

The book includes a chapter on meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood, and there are vegan recipes throughout. Each chapter provides details about the history, characteristics, and nutritional qualities of specific fruits and vegetables. Cooking techniques, useful sidebars, and a glossary make this book an indispensable resource.

Library Journal

Hayes and Stein both live in Manhattan, but as members of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project, they enjoy fresh produce delivered weekly from a small farm in upstate New York. A national movement whose specifics vary from place to place, CSA works to connect small farmers and communities, so the members have the benefit of great ingredients, and the farmers have a reliable sales outlet. The authors begin with a general introduction to preparing and cooking vegetables, then present dozens of recipes from farmers and other CSA members, as well as from chefs who support CSA. The recipes are organized into such categories as "Luscious Leaves" and "The Cabbage Clan." Although these are vegetable recipes, not vegetarian per se, the book makes a nice complement to Deborah Madison's Local Flavors, which celebrates farmers' markets across the country. For most collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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Shabby Chic: Sumptuous Settings & Other Lovely Things

Author: Rachel Ashwell

Rachel Ashwell uses her signature style to make any event a special occasion.

This beautiful, accessible book proves that entertaining need not be expensive. Making every day into an elegant extravaganza is a matter of inspiration and imagination, and shopping is a great way to get inspired. Travel with her to unique locations like a Chinese grocery store, local antique mall, a flower market, or a flea market to search for the perfect accents that will give your event unexpected charm without breaking the bank. Use the treasures you find to jazz up average items – sometimes it's as easy as adding a little paint, ribbons, or flowers. Decorate the chairs, create a themed meal, or custom design menus and place cards. When it comes to setting a scene, Rachel is an expert and with her easy how–to advice, you can be too. She has practical ideas for any occasion – baby showers to weddings, birthday parties to bar mitzvahs, even old–fashioned family dinners.

Publishers Weekly

Over the last decade, since opening a home furnishing store in Santa Monica, Calif., Ashwell (Shabby Chic; The Shabby Chic Home; etc.) has built an empire around a decorating style that involves equal parts flea-market salvaging, craft work and mix-and-matching from different ethnic cultures. In this uneven fourth book, she instructs readers on how to create striking settings for entertaining and special events. While there are some useful ideas here for anyone who wants to create a unique party on a budget-for example, hanging flower-adorned thrift-store hats on the backs of chairs or mixing vintage pieces of glassware with more ordinary tumblers for a funky effect-the usefulness of other do-it-yourself sections, such as a page devoted to instructions on how to make a traditional English maypole, may elude the average reader. Some might also be alienated by the celebrity sheen of other projects, which range from the makeover of a Pasadena, Calif., restaurant for Jennifer Lopez to a birthday party designed for Pamela Anderson's six-year-old son. Although this book is a bit more glitzy and produced than Ashwell's previous works, her old-fashioned yet fashionable style is appealing when she focuses on basic decorating tips. Newcomers to the shabby chic aesthetic might do better to seek out previous volumes in Ashwell's oeuvre, but confirmed fans will probably find something to enjoy in her ideas on how to transform a party space into something unusual and memorable. (Mar. 1) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.