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Review of 

The Farm to Table Cookbook

The Art of Eating Locally

By Ivy Manning, photography by Gregor Torrence

Sasquatch Books, Seattle, Washington, 239 pages, $29.95

It’s been a long winter and In Good Taste has tried to wait patiently for Ivy Manning’s The Farm to Table Cookbook, The Art of Eating Locally. Finally we received a promotional copy to review and as with spring it was worth the wait!

Unlike New Year’s resolutions that die a quiet death the end of January, spring entices us to change our buying and eating habits which will improve our health and our environment. We are lucky to have a plethora of farmer’s markets at almost every doorstep to fulfill our seasonal culinary explorations. With Manning as a guide we are taught how to buy and cook the best foods for each season.

The book is divided by our seasons which helps the novice to understand what is at its peak, any given time. There are little seasonal icons featuring how to choose a particular food. The ingredient is described including its various names and varieties. Flavor, ripeness, and some additional uses are also included in this very informative area.

Meet the Producer is a unique introduction to each chapter. It brings farmers and food artisans alive. We met Pat Morford of River’s Edge Chévre in the spring. Her cheeses can be found at many of the farmer’s markets or through phone, fax, or internet. Her farm and production is small and hand crafted, well worth seeking it out for the price.

In June, Michael and Jill Paine from Gaining Ground Farm are featured. Manning interviews the couple and we find out about the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in which you buy your supplies in advance, and when they are harvested, you collect the food. This is a win win way for everyone. The farmer is paid up front and knows how many he is growing for. As a customer you receive the freshest possible ingredients. Since the farmer decides what is to be harvested each given week, it is up to the cook to do some research on an unfamiliar ingredient. This is where Manning’s book is an excellent addition!

Fall is nut season and Barb and Fritz Foulkes are the go-to hazelnut farmers with their business Freddy Guys. Their story takes us from a tanking hazelnut commodities market to a snappy retail website, and local farmer’s markets to sell their nuts. “Does she ever get tired of the work? I can come home after my day job and get on a tractor and mow and sing at the stop of my lungs! It just feels really good to be out there on the land.” This is the pride and love that you support when you buy from your local food producer.

Finally Meet the Producer introduces us to chef-owner Marco Shaw who has a unique relationship with Dancing Roots owners Shari and Bryan Dickerson. As the rest of the area hunkers down for another rainy winter, Shaw and Dickerson are pouring over seed catalogs for the next year’s crop. Shaw has input on what he would like to create with right from the beginning. Fife’s reputation is based on sourcing its food from a 100 mile radius. By partnering with Dancing Roots and other local producers Fife is able to fulfill its dream of serving creative seasonal dishes.

Pacific chefs and their seventeen restaurants also weigh in with some signature dishes. From Bluehour’s fall recipe of Beet and Cardoon Gratin to Wildwood’s two winter selections of Grilled Fuyu Persimmons with Frisée and Orange-Brown Butter Dressing and Petrale Sole with Smoked Mussels Hash and Horseradish Vinaigrette; Pacific chefs show their chops along with Manning’s own inspired recipes.

And now you wonder what did I like? Since spring is the season and the markets are just waking after their winter slumber, I found the lettuce to be a refreshing ingredient. Manning’s Thai-inspired recipe, Spicy Minced Pork in Lettuce Bundles is a toothsome challenge to P.F. Chang’s ubiquitous lettuce wraps. Manning finely minces lean pork and mixes it with sautéed aromatics and a sauce of sesame oil, soy sauce and chili paste. Fresh herbs and lime juice finish the bundles. Wrapping the pork mixture in soft butter lettuce makes them easy to assemble. They were yummy!

My husband is not a “greens” kind of guy. Anything that cooks down to look reminiscent of spinach is left on the plate. Manning’s Asian “greens” recipe using only four ingredients (greens, sesame oil, soy sauce and furikake) cradled my chicken and hazelnut stir fry with rice. He never detected the lurking dish!!

The best reward for all of our rain is wild mushrooms and I look forward to “my mushroom man” whose stand is at the cusp of the Portland Farmer’s Market on Saturday. This entrepreneur and mighty forager brings the best to swoon over and to buy. Halibut Cheeks with Morel Mushrooms is a seasonal celebration of the best. I’d never had halibut cheeks until moving to the Pacific Northwest but it didn’t take long to be a lover of these chewy cheeks. Via Manning, Chef Pascal Sauton offers a classic recipe of sautéed halibut cheeks and a sauce of shallots, brown butter, vermouth, morels and crème fraîche.  Sublime!

Dandelion Greens, Italian Sausage, and Fontina Cheese Pizza? Bring it on!! I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and take on the 100 mile challenge!

 I’m going to have to wait for summer to try Sweet Corn Chowder with Tomato and Basil a lighter version of my old standby or Pesto Pasta Genovese with the usual pesto ingredients and the addition of Yukon gold potatoes and green beans. We’re barely out of winter and I lust for Butternut Squash and Bacon Stuffed Crepes or Hazelnut Polenta Cake with Winter Fruit Compote. This book makes me want to dial a season every time I open it!

Sometimes it’s hard to tame your taste buds to a seasonal venue but with Manning and her selection of chefs, producers, suppliers, it is easy to step back and appreciate the seasonal evolution of our food supply. Slow down, smell the aromas and along the way forge relationships with those who feed our bodies and ourselves.

Read! Eat! Enjoy!

Judith Bishop

www.ingoodtastestore.com

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