Richard Frisbie :: An Endless Harvest

An Endless Harvest - book review   

    Subtitled: Preserving and Using Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs, this is a book that really delivers what the cover promises. This is so much more than a cook book I hesitate to call it one. The author sets out to tell the reader what vegetables are in season when, and how to prepare, store and preserve them. It is a sustainable agriculturist's dream, and a must for anyone navigating the produce aisles, farmer's markets and garden rows wondering just what to do with everything they see.

    The author, Betty Levine, is a resident of the Hudson Valley region of New York State. She organized this book according to the fruits and vegetables available season-by-season there (zone 5) but suggests they will probably follow in the same sequence if not the same season where you live. If they do differ, the table of contents also lists each vegetable so you can winnow down to the exact information you seek regardless of season.

    So many aspects of this book are actually a collaborative effort. Each entry is illustrated with a beautifully detailed line drawing by Emanuel Schongut. Besides the drawings, many of the recipes were perfected and contributed by the CSA shareholders and friends of Betty Levine. The cooperation and sense of community that CSAs and the modern Eat Local & Slow Food movements stand for are readily apparent. Reading the pages of An Endless Harvest envelopes the reader in that community, filling one with the sense of wellness and proactive living it generates. The book simply makes sense!

    If you have a large garden, or a share in a CSA, this book is for you. Not only will it help you plan your weekly meals by showing which produce will be in abundance when, but it also covers the various preservation techniques when your bounty is too great to consume each week, with the best techniques for freezing each vegetable explained in detail. In addition, each alphabetical entry includes several recipes for healthful main and/or side dishes complete with variations and substitutions to best suite your time, ingredients and tastes. Not a vegetarian? Don’t worry, meat is included when appropriate in the main dish recipes. Betty thought of everything! There is even a complete explanation of the Community Supported Agricultural movement and how it can benefit you.

    The author grew up in rural North Carolina at the beginning of the Great Depression. Her family had a large organic garden, a fruit orchard, chickens and a milk cow. From an early age she learned to make use of everything by canning and storing for the winter months. She became manager of a CSA in Woodstock, NY, in the 1990s. This book is the result of years of answering member questions about how to use the produce their shares earned them.  

An Endless harvest
ISBN 978-0-9791658-0-1
8.5x11 116 pages index Paper $15.95
To Order
Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:

RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food. It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. Together we’ll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up the sometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up with my other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- I look forward to hearing from you.

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BIO - Richard Frisbie writes culinary travel articles, is a columnist for his local newspapers, and is a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications, GoNomad and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.

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