Must-have information and amazing recipes for cooking with the freshest, tastiest organic produce With hundreds of farmer’s markets and an increased interest in organic fruits and vegetables, today’s home cooks need an accessible reference for shopping and cooking organic. Melissa’s World Variety Produce is the nation’s leading distributor of specialty fruits and vegetables and the professional chef’s go-to source for new and unusual produce. Their products have been certified organic for over 10 years. In Melissa’s Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce, the team from Melissa’s compiles vital information on fresh, seasonal organic produce with the best recipes for getting the most out of your organic finds. This inspiring, mouth-watering resource is packed with delicious recipes and gorgeous full-color photos, making it a must-have for anyone who wants to incorporate organic produce into flavorful everyday meals. Inside, you’ll find more than 400 recipes, including quick-prep recipes and deliciously easy variations, as well as a special section of meatless options for vegetarians. Covers 56 of the most commonly available fruits and vegetables, arranged alphabetically for quick reference Includes overviews of each food, what to look for when shopping, tips on buying and storing produce, produce varieties, serving suggestions, and complete nutritional information in the standard USDA format Offers “Cook’s Notes” and tips, suggested variations, meatless options, and complete nutrition profiles for each recipe For home cooks who want the latest and most comprehensive information on shopping and cooking with the best organic produce, this book is an invaluable guide.
Editorial Reviews
Review
[ STARRED REVIEW ] In this invaluable guide to fresh produce, food columnist Thomas ( Melissa’s Great Book of Produce ) proceeds alphabetically through 56 popular fruits and vegetables, offering tips on varieties, buying year-round, and proper prep and storage. The real bounty, though, is the recipes-more than 400-that give readers copious suggestions for those persimmons, leeks, or eggplants that look so tempting at the market, and so perplexing on the kitchen counter. While obvious applications such as salads are included, Thomas’s recipes are anything but phoned-in: cooks with too many cherries can use them in Cherry, Chocolate and Toasted Almond Ice Cream or as a relish for a grilled pork tenderloin; fresh ginger can be used to liven up Chicken Sate with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Raita; and even the spinach-averse will reconsider when facing Linguine with Baby Spinach and Blue Cheese, complemented by toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, and prosciutto. Thomas even ventures beyond mains and sides to include a tasty Kiwi Martini and White Sangria, as well as a Nectarine Barbecue Sauce, basic carrot vinaigrette, and easy-to-accomplish pickled shallots. (Apr.) ( Publishers Weekly , April 19, 2010)
From the Inside Flap
Today?s farmers? markets and grocery stores are bursting with an abundance of fresh organic fruits and vegetables of every type. But to take full advantage of the organic produce in your local market, you need to know what?s in season, the differences between varieties, how to tell if it?s perfectly ripe, and which recipes make the best use of it. Melissa?s Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce is a handy, comprehensive guide to making the most of every season?s organic bounty. Organized alphabetically for quick reference, this beautifully illustrated book covers all you need to know about the 56 most commonly available organic fruits and vegetables?from apples to turnips and everything in between, including herbs. It shows you how to select, cook, and store organic produce and also includes more than 225 delicious and unique recipes like Green Bean and Beet Salad, Tea-Poached Asian Pears, Spicy Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Raita, Baked Radicchio Stuffed with Leeks and Goat Cheese, Roasted Red Radishes, Heirloom Tomato Salad with Mangos and Blue Cheese, and much more. Plus, each recipe includes important nutritional information and ?Cook?s Notes? that help make every dish a smashing success.Whether you?re a professional chef or just a home cook who loves working with the best ingredients, this is the ideal companion for every trip to the market or to the kitchen.
From the Back Cover
The ONLY guide you?ll ever need forshopping and cooking organicThe freshest organic produce makes the most flavorful meals. But there are so many delicious options at today?s markets that it?s tough to know where to begin. Melissa?s Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce is the definitive guide to shopping and cooking with the very best organic fruits and vegetables. This information-packed resource includes:
Overviews of the 56 most commonly available fruits and vegetables, including all varieties
More than 225 recipes with variations, quick-prep ideas, and meatless options for vegetarians
Shopping tips, including what to look for at the market, how to store it, serving suggestions, and complete nutritional information
More than 100 gorgeous full-color photographs
Melissa?s World Variety Produce is the country?s leading distributor of specialty fruits and vegetables, marketing thousands of items. Joe and Sharon Hernandez, produce pioneers with a combined experience of over half a century, created Melissa?s World Variety Produce, Inc., in 1984. They seek out and test new and unusual produce from around the world. Using ?baby? vegetables is just one of the trends they have introduced to chefs around the globe, branding those tender-tiny veggies with the Melissa?s label. The Melissa?s brand is named after Joe and Sharon?s daughter, who takes an active role in the company.
About the Author
Cathy Thomas is the award-winning food columnist at the Orange County Register. She also writes for magazines, teaches cooking, and has studied with chefs around the globe. She is the author of Melissa’s Great Book of Produce (Wiley) and lives in Huntington Beach with her husband, Phil McCullough.
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