Fresh Food Nation by Martha Holmberg

Fresh Food Nation by Martha Holmberg is really the ultimate gardener's cookbook. I wait all June for things in my garden to grow. July I sample and enjoy the slim pickings. In August my garden is bursting and crazy.. and suddenly I am out of ideas for cooking these things. I get totally overwhelmed by the abundance and creative ideas just fail me. I have a feeling this cookbook will be getting a lot of use come August.

This books manages to stay creative and original throughout. I think this is largely due to the fact that the recipes are all from different farmer's and CSA members across America. This really makes the book unique. Each recipe also has a CSA showcase, where a farm with CSA membership is highlighted. I loved reading the little tid-bits about each farm and what they produce. I sort of daydream about expanding my garden and selling some of my abundance at the Farmer's Market someday.

What you can expect to find in this book-- Starters & Salad with creative recipes like Cantaloupe-Lime Salsa and Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with Basil-Cilantro Puree. When my cukes are out of control I am going to bust out the recipe for Solar Dill pickles.

The Soup section is next, and filled with an abundance of soups that make the most of seasonal ingredients. I love how each recipe was so full of produce!

Pasta & Grains features an ingenious recipe for Radish Leaf Pesto with Linguine-- I would have never thought to make a pesto from radish leaves.

 The Main Dish section was varied with both meat and vegetarian recipes. I bookmarked a lot of recipes from this section. Specifically the Stuffed Poblano Casserole with Black Beans Corn, and Rice. I have poblano's growing right now-- awaiting to be made into this delicious casserole.

The next section is Sides which are all just small little extras- A lot of them would make a great lunch. Most of these recipes were pretty simple, but looked delicious. This section featured a recipe for Grilled Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto. I just loved this idea for using the whole carrot to create an amazing side.



Finally we have the dessert section, which doesn't disappoint. I can see myself whipping up all the the treats in this section. The Cardamom Carrot Cake, specifically, because I am a cardamom nut. The other recipe I cannot wait to make is the Chocolate-Beet Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It looks delicious-- and how fun to freak out my family when I tell them there are beets in their cake ;) I love beets, but it seems nobody believes me when I tell them how delicious they are!

This cookbook is such a neat way to celebrate farmer's and fresh produce. If you want to seize the season by enjoying fruit and veg, pick up a copy of this!


I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review