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Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables
Named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by The New York Times and Bon Appetit
A how-to cook book spanning 29 types of vegetables: Author Abra Berens—chef, farmer, Midwesterner—shares a collection of techniques that result in new flavors, textures, and ways to enjoy all the vegetables you want to eat. From confit to caramelized and everything in between—braised, blistered, roasted and raw—the cooking methods covered here make this cookbook a go-to reference. You will never look at vegetables the same way again.
Organized alphabetically by vegetable from asparagus to zucchini, each chapter opens with an homage to the ingredients and variations on how to prepare them.
With 300 recipes and 140 photographs that show off not only the finished dishes, but also the vegetables and farms behind them.
If you are a fan of Plenty More, Six Seasons, Where Cooking Begins, or On Vegetables, you'll love Ruffage .
Ruffage will help you become empowered to shop for, store, and cook vegetables every day and in a variety of ways as a side or a main meal.
Take any vegetable recipe in this book and add a roasted chicken thigh, seared piece of fish, or hard-boiled egg to turn the dish into a meal not just vegetarians will enjoy.
Mouthwatering recipes include Shaved Cabbage with Chili Oil, Cilantro, and Charred Melon, Blistered Cucumbers with Cumin Yogurt and Parsley, Charred Head Lettuce with Hard-Boiled Egg, Anchovy Vinaigrette, and Garlic Bread Crumbs, Massaged Kale with Creamed Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Wild Rice, Poached Radishes with White Wine, Chicken Stock and Butter, and much more.
A how-to cook book spanning 29 types of vegetables: Author Abra Berens—chef, farmer, Midwesterner—shares a collection of techniques that result in new flavors, textures, and ways to enjoy all the vegetables you want to eat. From confit to caramelized and everything in between—braised, blistered, roasted and raw—the cooking methods covered here make this cookbook a go-to reference. You will never look at vegetables the same way again.
Organized alphabetically by vegetable from asparagus to zucchini, each chapter opens with an homage to the ingredients and variations on how to prepare them.
With 300 recipes and 140 photographs that show off not only the finished dishes, but also the vegetables and farms behind them.
If you are a fan of Plenty More, Six Seasons, Where Cooking Begins, or On Vegetables, you'll love Ruffage .
Ruffage will help you become empowered to shop for, store, and cook vegetables every day and in a variety of ways as a side or a main meal.
Take any vegetable recipe in this book and add a roasted chicken thigh, seared piece of fish, or hard-boiled egg to turn the dish into a meal not just vegetarians will enjoy.
Mouthwatering recipes include Shaved Cabbage with Chili Oil, Cilantro, and Charred Melon, Blistered Cucumbers with Cumin Yogurt and Parsley, Charred Head Lettuce with Hard-Boiled Egg, Anchovy Vinaigrette, and Garlic Bread Crumbs, Massaged Kale with Creamed Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Wild Rice, Poached Radishes with White Wine, Chicken Stock and Butter, and much more.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2019
530 people are currently reading
1621 people want to read
About the author
Abra Berens
3 books96 followersAbra Berens is the chef at Granor Farm and author of Grist: a practical guide to cooking grains, beans, seeds, and legumes and Ruffage:a practical guide to vegetables. Abra strives to make simple, delicious food that celebrates the Midwest. She has been cooking since 2006, from the storied Zingerman's Deli, to chef driven restaurants in Chicago. In 2017, she left her position as Executive Chef at Local Foods to join the Granor team. As the chef at Granor Farm, Abra combines her love of Michigan, cooking vegetables just-pulled from the ground, and sharing them with others around one big table.
Ruffage is her first cookbook and focuses on vegetables-- how to select them, how to store them, how to prepare them along with hundreds of recipe variations to make it easy to work delicious veggies into your daily repertoire.
Grist is a continuation of the practical guide series and is a reference for incorporating whole grains and pulses into every day meals.
Ruffage is her first cookbook and focuses on vegetables-- how to select them, how to store them, how to prepare them along with hundreds of recipe variations to make it easy to work delicious veggies into your daily repertoire.
Grist is a continuation of the practical guide series and is a reference for incorporating whole grains and pulses into every day meals.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
November 25, 2018
The focus of this book is how to select, store and prepare vegetables using a variety of cooking techniques. The book begins with a glossary and then a discussion of suggested pantry items. (Unfortunately the glossary did not explain to me why the author chose to title the book “Ruffage” rather than “Roughage”. The only place I could find the word ruffage was in an urban dictionary.) The recipes are not specifically vegan or vegetarian, but many of them are for side dishes that do not include any meat or fish. Each chapter of the book covers a different vegetable (or group of related vegetables), arranged alphabetically and ranging from asparagus to turnips. The chapter begins with an essay about the vegetable, followed by some purchase/storage guidance. Next there is one recipe representing each cooking technique (raw, roasted, braised, etc.). Several variations are described after each recipe. There are only one or two photographs of the dishes in most of the chapters. The recipes seemed pretty easy to follow and didn’t have uncommon or hard to find ingredients.
This might be a good cookbook for people who like to read cookbooks, rather than just cook from them, because of the essays in each chapter. I’ve been a vegetarian for about 30 years, so I don’t think I need to own this book. But for someone who wants to add variety to their vegetable preparation this would be a good choice.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This might be a good cookbook for people who like to read cookbooks, rather than just cook from them, because of the essays in each chapter. I’ve been a vegetarian for about 30 years, so I don’t think I need to own this book. But for someone who wants to add variety to their vegetable preparation this would be a good choice.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
May 27, 2019
Part of the reason I gave in and bought Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, by Abra Berens, is that I’m trying to eat more vegetables right now. The other reason is that it’s from Chronicle Books, and I’ve had great success with their cookbooks in the past. Which is why it surprised me so much that I didn’t enjoy the things that I made from this cookbook.
There’s a section called Strong Pantry that includes notes on a number of things such as oils, acids, seasonings, herbs, grains, beans, pasta, dairy, nuts, and condiments. There are some small “recipes” included here such as basic instructions for cooking beans, wild rice, risotto, some dressings, and crispy chickpeas. I was making a recipe for radishes with chickpeas, cumin, and lime (from later in the cookbook), and I will say that the crispy chickpeas are the one recipe in here that tasted delicious, except that the recipe would have worked just as well with about half the amount of oil (I used 3/4 and still had a fair amount of it left over).
The book is then divided by vegetable in alphabetical order: asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, garlic, green beans, greens, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, ramps, squash (summer and winter), sunchokes, tomatoes, turnips, and rutabaga. Each section has just a couple of recipes, but those recipes typically have variations. Usually those variations just list a new set of ingredients and expect you to follow the original recipe but with the change of ingredients. In most cases this works okay, but sometimes it leaves things unsaid. For example, there’s a recipe of shaved summer squash with parmesan, “lots and lots of herbs”, and olive oil, that has a variation of “w/massaged kale, cherry tomatoes + walnuts”. That’s all well and good, except that there’s nothing explaining what they mean by “massaged” kale. Since this is a cookbook imparting basic cooking knowledge, everything like this should be explained. Also, I made this variation, and it wasn’t very good. The sole dressing is olive oil with salt and pepper, so you’re essentially having plain veggies with olive oil, which is not my idea of a good recipe. Maybe it would be worth mentioning in the pantry section on oils as a quick-and-dirty technique, but I expected more from the flavors of that recipe.
Too many of these recipes rely on huge amounts of herbs for their flavor, and it can be overwhelming. The original summer squash recipe is 2 summer squash to 1 cup of herbs. The “w/buttermilk, tomato + herb salad” variation of the cucumber with cumin yogurt and parsley recipe was overwhelmed by herb flavor–yet without that, it would just taste like buttermilk, because it’s barely more than cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and buttermilk. Also the cucumbers are supposed to be unpeeled and blistered, and I found them too bitter. I hate to throw out food, but I just couldn’t finish eating that salad.
There’s a grilled corn on the cob recipe with parmesan butter. You’re supposed to heat oil with chili flakes and steep it in oil for 10 minutes, then blend with softened butter, parmesan, and parsley, then spoon it onto plastic wrap to roll it up like a log. The problem with this is that after 10 minutes, the oil is still hot enough to just melt the butter outright, which means you won’t be rolling it up into a log. Also, the amount of parmesan was too small–it made the flavor too subtle.
Now let’s go back to the radishes with chickpeas, cumin, and lime. I was looking forward to this–I love all of the components of this dish, after all. However, they don’t work well together. Lime juice (and zest) and cumin are basically the dressing. The result was very bitter, and only the presence of the chickpeas made it edible.
Even recipes that had flavor combinations I usually loved came out unbalanced and tasting “too much”–whether it be too much of herbs, too much of oil, too much of bitterness, or something else. I’m shocked to find a Chronicle cookbook that I like so little, but there it is.
Original review on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/05/c...
There’s a section called Strong Pantry that includes notes on a number of things such as oils, acids, seasonings, herbs, grains, beans, pasta, dairy, nuts, and condiments. There are some small “recipes” included here such as basic instructions for cooking beans, wild rice, risotto, some dressings, and crispy chickpeas. I was making a recipe for radishes with chickpeas, cumin, and lime (from later in the cookbook), and I will say that the crispy chickpeas are the one recipe in here that tasted delicious, except that the recipe would have worked just as well with about half the amount of oil (I used 3/4 and still had a fair amount of it left over).
The book is then divided by vegetable in alphabetical order: asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, garlic, green beans, greens, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, ramps, squash (summer and winter), sunchokes, tomatoes, turnips, and rutabaga. Each section has just a couple of recipes, but those recipes typically have variations. Usually those variations just list a new set of ingredients and expect you to follow the original recipe but with the change of ingredients. In most cases this works okay, but sometimes it leaves things unsaid. For example, there’s a recipe of shaved summer squash with parmesan, “lots and lots of herbs”, and olive oil, that has a variation of “w/massaged kale, cherry tomatoes + walnuts”. That’s all well and good, except that there’s nothing explaining what they mean by “massaged” kale. Since this is a cookbook imparting basic cooking knowledge, everything like this should be explained. Also, I made this variation, and it wasn’t very good. The sole dressing is olive oil with salt and pepper, so you’re essentially having plain veggies with olive oil, which is not my idea of a good recipe. Maybe it would be worth mentioning in the pantry section on oils as a quick-and-dirty technique, but I expected more from the flavors of that recipe.
Too many of these recipes rely on huge amounts of herbs for their flavor, and it can be overwhelming. The original summer squash recipe is 2 summer squash to 1 cup of herbs. The “w/buttermilk, tomato + herb salad” variation of the cucumber with cumin yogurt and parsley recipe was overwhelmed by herb flavor–yet without that, it would just taste like buttermilk, because it’s barely more than cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and buttermilk. Also the cucumbers are supposed to be unpeeled and blistered, and I found them too bitter. I hate to throw out food, but I just couldn’t finish eating that salad.
There’s a grilled corn on the cob recipe with parmesan butter. You’re supposed to heat oil with chili flakes and steep it in oil for 10 minutes, then blend with softened butter, parmesan, and parsley, then spoon it onto plastic wrap to roll it up like a log. The problem with this is that after 10 minutes, the oil is still hot enough to just melt the butter outright, which means you won’t be rolling it up into a log. Also, the amount of parmesan was too small–it made the flavor too subtle.
Now let’s go back to the radishes with chickpeas, cumin, and lime. I was looking forward to this–I love all of the components of this dish, after all. However, they don’t work well together. Lime juice (and zest) and cumin are basically the dressing. The result was very bitter, and only the presence of the chickpeas made it edible.
Even recipes that had flavor combinations I usually loved came out unbalanced and tasting “too much”–whether it be too much of herbs, too much of oil, too much of bitterness, or something else. I’m shocked to find a Chronicle cookbook that I like so little, but there it is.
Original review on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/05/c...
July 20, 2019
In Ruffage, Abra Berens leads us through a meticulous guide to vegetables and how to use them. This book goes through various types of veggies one by one, instructing one on how and when to best enjoy it, as well as how not to waste a single piece.
Ruffage is not a cookbook, it is a book that teaches you how to cook. I love this difference, as it means that there are innumerable applications to each section of this book, rather than just a few recipes. We all fall into monotonous eating sometimes – losing our imagination, and forgetting that any given vegetable can be prepared in more than one or two ways or paired with more than one or two things. This is the ultimate un-slump cookery book; it gives new life to old ingredients, and reignites the passion which we have all felt on tasting something simple but exquisite.
Some of the ideas in this book are helpful reminders of forgotten preparation methods, but even more are simple ideas that I have just never even heard of before. For instance, who out there is braising lettuce? I've never even considered the concept, but Berens makes it sound delicious, and you know what? I might just give it a try. I have already, in fact, made a few recipes from this book and each one had been mind blowing and revolutionary in my kitchen. Everyone should try the smoky puréed eggplant (aubergine) with walnut relish on pasta (found on page 191), its completely insane.
Abra Berens shares a lot of her personal journey through this book, and we get to hear what food is like from a farmer's perspective as well as from a chefs. She values fresh, local and organic equally, and passes on a lot of very helpful advice and personal principles. It is refreshing to hear from someone who cares about the planet and about flavour, and isn't willing to compromise on either front. The illustrations and photographs in Ruffage are also exceptionally beautiful, and show both finished recipes and raw vegetables.
More than anything, I found this book to be incredibly freeing. There are so many gorgeous vegetable out there that I never know what to do with, and so just pass up. Ruffage has enabled me to shop without fear, knowing I will be able to find something beautiful to do with difficult or uncommon vegetables, as well as empowering me to shop locally and by whole veggies, not the supermarket ones which are often missing some of the best parts.
I would highly recommend this book to any home cook or aspiring chef, as well as anyone interested in growing their own food. The sections are easy to understand, the text is clear and the photographs are beautiful. 5/5!
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
Ruffage is not a cookbook, it is a book that teaches you how to cook. I love this difference, as it means that there are innumerable applications to each section of this book, rather than just a few recipes. We all fall into monotonous eating sometimes – losing our imagination, and forgetting that any given vegetable can be prepared in more than one or two ways or paired with more than one or two things. This is the ultimate un-slump cookery book; it gives new life to old ingredients, and reignites the passion which we have all felt on tasting something simple but exquisite.
Some of the ideas in this book are helpful reminders of forgotten preparation methods, but even more are simple ideas that I have just never even heard of before. For instance, who out there is braising lettuce? I've never even considered the concept, but Berens makes it sound delicious, and you know what? I might just give it a try. I have already, in fact, made a few recipes from this book and each one had been mind blowing and revolutionary in my kitchen. Everyone should try the smoky puréed eggplant (aubergine) with walnut relish on pasta (found on page 191), its completely insane.
Abra Berens shares a lot of her personal journey through this book, and we get to hear what food is like from a farmer's perspective as well as from a chefs. She values fresh, local and organic equally, and passes on a lot of very helpful advice and personal principles. It is refreshing to hear from someone who cares about the planet and about flavour, and isn't willing to compromise on either front. The illustrations and photographs in Ruffage are also exceptionally beautiful, and show both finished recipes and raw vegetables.
More than anything, I found this book to be incredibly freeing. There are so many gorgeous vegetable out there that I never know what to do with, and so just pass up. Ruffage has enabled me to shop without fear, knowing I will be able to find something beautiful to do with difficult or uncommon vegetables, as well as empowering me to shop locally and by whole veggies, not the supermarket ones which are often missing some of the best parts.
I would highly recommend this book to any home cook or aspiring chef, as well as anyone interested in growing their own food. The sections are easy to understand, the text is clear and the photographs are beautiful. 5/5!
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
February 12, 2022
I went on a cookbook bender at my library and this was my favorite by far. Not just a "here's some recipes" book but more of a "here's how you use this ingredient" book. And nothing crazy out-there without being ho-hum, a very good balance.
The best part: several pages of recipes that were ink illustration (pureed parsnips was one) - they'd make fun wall art!
The best part: several pages of recipes that were ink illustration (pureed parsnips was one) - they'd make fun wall art!
February 15, 2025
i checked this out because i wanted some ideas & variety with our vegetables. we are all about broccoli, zucchini, spinach, green beans & mushrooms. mostly because they are easy & i haven't taken the time to learn how to consistently prepare or incorporate eggplant, fennel, collards, beets, kohlrabi, rutabaga, or parsnips into our meals. except i love to eat them! we are no longer a family with young kids! we can cook what we want!
so far i've tried the smoky eggplant pasta w/pounded walnut relish, mozzarella, and basil & OMG. also, ramps. who knew. the ramp pesto w/chicken, radish, and bread salad is 500 stars. pan roasted squash, pan roasted radishes, mustard braised potatoes w/chicken thighs, grilled peppers w/eggplant. also, many of the recipes are followed by a few variations. i loved that.
it's good to switch things up.
so far i've tried the smoky eggplant pasta w/pounded walnut relish, mozzarella, and basil & OMG. also, ramps. who knew. the ramp pesto w/chicken, radish, and bread salad is 500 stars. pan roasted squash, pan roasted radishes, mustard braised potatoes w/chicken thighs, grilled peppers w/eggplant. also, many of the recipes are followed by a few variations. i loved that.
it's good to switch things up.
November 17, 2018
Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables is not your typical cookbook—it is a how-to-cook book of a variety of vegetables. Author Abra Berens—chef, farmer, Midwesterner—shares a collection of techniques that result in new flavors, textures, and ways to enjoy all the vegetables you want to eat.
From confit to caramelized and everything in between—braised, blistered, roasted and raw—the cooking methods covered here make this cookbook a go-to reference. 140 photographs show off not only the finished dishes, but also the vegetables and farms behind them.
As someone who grew up in the Midwest area, in Minnesota on a farm, it was interesting to see how another Midwestern farmer prepared vegetables. This was a helpful guide that offers excellent vegetable food choices. One of the recipes is "Poached Radishes with White Wine, Chicken Stock and Butter." I never would have thought to poach radishes! I can't wait to try all of these new ideas from this cookbook.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of #Ruffage
Pub Date: 23 Apr 2019
From confit to caramelized and everything in between—braised, blistered, roasted and raw—the cooking methods covered here make this cookbook a go-to reference. 140 photographs show off not only the finished dishes, but also the vegetables and farms behind them.
As someone who grew up in the Midwest area, in Minnesota on a farm, it was interesting to see how another Midwestern farmer prepared vegetables. This was a helpful guide that offers excellent vegetable food choices. One of the recipes is "Poached Radishes with White Wine, Chicken Stock and Butter." I never would have thought to poach radishes! I can't wait to try all of these new ideas from this cookbook.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of #Ruffage
Pub Date: 23 Apr 2019
April 27, 2019
Excellent! Full of great information on what to do with vegetables to make them as delicious as possible. Love the way the book is organized by vegetable to help you work with whatever looks best at the store or ripens in the garden.
I also loved the simplicity of the ingredients in the recipe - she suggests some staples and uses different cooking techniques and combinations to make them special. I also liked the short alternative recipes she offers for each technique.
I read this book on a flight and immediately tried her take on the broccoli salad - and it was delicious!
Her prose is also lovely and makes it a pleasure to read.
This will definitely be one of my favorite, staple cookbooks!
I also loved the simplicity of the ingredients in the recipe - she suggests some staples and uses different cooking techniques and combinations to make them special. I also liked the short alternative recipes she offers for each technique.
I read this book on a flight and immediately tried her take on the broccoli salad - and it was delicious!
Her prose is also lovely and makes it a pleasure to read.
This will definitely be one of my favorite, staple cookbooks!
August 8, 2020
Current rating reflects the book as a book, will be attempting recipes later so review may change...
February 18, 2022
Great recipes. Everything I’ve made from it so far has been delicious.
January 17, 2023
Truly excellent reference guide to veggies! Beautiful photography, too. I'll be reaching for this one quite a bit!
November 30, 2024
I really enjoyed it but it was due back. Seems worthy of owning.
November 14, 2018
Ruffage starts basic, with lots of spice mixtures, sauces, and dressings to delight the palate. Then goes through an a-z listing of vegetable recipes with lots of entire meals - not just veggies or vegetarian stuff - and each veggie gets a preliminary section with how to buy, how to store, and any miscellany that might be relevant. Its a good mix of everything for both beginning cooks and seasoned(pardon the pun) veteran chefs.
November 10, 2019
Not too keen on the recipes but what I did like is the numerous variations of preparing each vegetable from raw, braised, steamed, creamed, charred, roasted, etc...
August 9, 2022
Also a really wonderful book by Berens. The stories she shares at the beginning of each chapter are funny and touching (mostly, there's the few that are just fillers), and I appreciate the layout of the book. I cook based on what vegetables I have so this book serves that purpose perfectly.
February 24, 2019
This was a book that I really enjoyed reading but couldn't finish because of the ridiculously heavy watermarking on every page of the digital ARC I was given for the purpose of review. That's a shame, as I found Berens' writing amazingly well done -- I actually updated my progress in the book to note that it was the first time in my life that reading about broccoli brought me to tears (the author shares a personal family story about her father cooking broccoli shortly after her mother's death).
This book is part cookbook, part vegetable textbook, part pleasure read. Berens clearly knows her stuff and writes delightfully about the many veggies she covers. The recipes tend towards fancy but simple. Each vegetable has a little essay introducing it, several recipes and several adaptations for each recipe. Berens also tells you how to choose, store and cook each one.
There is liberal use of dairy and a fair amount of meat. Vegans may not get as much out of the book but vegetarians should be able to adapt. Gluten free and paleo folks should find plenty to make and eat.
The recipes include measurements in standard and metric units, which leads to more cluttered looking ingredient lists but will be helpful for more people. They are in a font that I found a little annoying but that's just a style thing.
There is a photo for each main recipe, but none for the variations.
This would be a great book to curl up with if you were snowed in somewhere and dreaming of garden season (maybe that's just me), or to finally learn how to do things like cook broccoli properly. It would also make a great guide for what to look for at the farmers' market or to plant in your garden. It is wordy, which I like, but makes for a very long read.
A side note to publishers: Please note that if you provide reviewers with temporary digital ARCs to review your books, you owe it to us to make them legible. I highly doubt there's a huge market for pirated vegetable books. These books disappear off of our ADE shelves in 60 days, so we don't even get a free book out of the deal these days (other than the few publishers who also provide ARCs in Kindle versions, but those tend to be formatted so that they're really difficult to read). We get very little out of this arrangement and provide you with a valuable service for free. You could at least not plaster every page of your ARCs with giant Xs and warnings about copyright. It's unfair to the reviewers and also to the authors whose books can't be given a thorough reading.
This book is part cookbook, part vegetable textbook, part pleasure read. Berens clearly knows her stuff and writes delightfully about the many veggies she covers. The recipes tend towards fancy but simple. Each vegetable has a little essay introducing it, several recipes and several adaptations for each recipe. Berens also tells you how to choose, store and cook each one.
There is liberal use of dairy and a fair amount of meat. Vegans may not get as much out of the book but vegetarians should be able to adapt. Gluten free and paleo folks should find plenty to make and eat.
The recipes include measurements in standard and metric units, which leads to more cluttered looking ingredient lists but will be helpful for more people. They are in a font that I found a little annoying but that's just a style thing.
There is a photo for each main recipe, but none for the variations.
This would be a great book to curl up with if you were snowed in somewhere and dreaming of garden season (maybe that's just me), or to finally learn how to do things like cook broccoli properly. It would also make a great guide for what to look for at the farmers' market or to plant in your garden. It is wordy, which I like, but makes for a very long read.
A side note to publishers: Please note that if you provide reviewers with temporary digital ARCs to review your books, you owe it to us to make them legible. I highly doubt there's a huge market for pirated vegetable books. These books disappear off of our ADE shelves in 60 days, so we don't even get a free book out of the deal these days (other than the few publishers who also provide ARCs in Kindle versions, but those tend to be formatted so that they're really difficult to read). We get very little out of this arrangement and provide you with a valuable service for free. You could at least not plaster every page of your ARCs with giant Xs and warnings about copyright. It's unfair to the reviewers and also to the authors whose books can't be given a thorough reading.
May 14, 2019
On its own, Ruffage is part memoir, part cookbook. Among all her other skills Berens is a gifted writer. Even before I got down to cooking any of Berens' recipes I enjoyed reading about her personal connections to the ingredients, how growing up on the family farm would inform her later career choices and, how the influence of her family permeates each part of this cookbook and her life. Ruffage is ingredient-driven which then leads into recognizing how seasonality affects the cycle in which home cooks find themselves in when using whole food components. While making sustainable choices is important, I appreciate Berens' suggestion that as a home cook you make the best decisions you can but don't fret about it. The beauty is simple -- try to cook with the seasons, using local ingredients.
This cookbook is organized into 29 sections following an alphabetical list of vegetables from asparagus to turnips and rutabaga. Each section offers around 3 recipes with many variations on the original. The vegetables Berens focuses on are ones that are familiar to her Midwestern base. Having grown up in Edmonton, Alberta I recognize what Berens is offering -- with 4 distinct seasons (the "growing season" being the shortest of them all) one needs to eat fresh but also realize that some ingredients can be "cellared" and then used throughout the colder months. In the first part of the book Berens outlines what a "strong pantry" is and likens it to a "quiver of arrows, at your back and at the ready."(28) Having a dependable pantry means three things in her mind: having key ingredients means you're always prepared to tackle a recipe, you can make recipes more quickly because your "tools" are at the ready and, if you can cook meals faster then you're more than likely to enjoy home cooking rather than relying on store-bought or restaurants.
The truth of the matter is that as I've cooked through Ruffage I looked at what I was cooking and kept thinking that all the dishes I made for my family and photographed for this review seemed too easy. I always try a wide variety of recipe to give an accurate idea of what level of home cook would enjoy the book. So, I tried a few more recipes and came to the realization that this is the grand scheme Berens has designed -- practical, easy recipes that you can enjoy any time. Find inspiration at the grocery store, market, or in a CSA box and then use Ruffage as a point of reference and inspiration. Yes, she is a chef, but she keeps the recipes in her book attainable not aspirational. Something else to note is that while Ruffage is a vegetable-centred book it's not a vegetarian/vegan/plant-based book. The book contains some recipes that use meat, fish, dairy, and/or eggs and, with over 100 recipes and over 230 variations there is something for everyone.
The true magic behind Ruffage is how Berens entices the home cook to see ingredients in different ways. For someone who has grown up eating and enjoying vegetables I wasn't sure what there was left to learn but, as with anything, there is always more to learn. Having a few beets in my crisper, I flipped to the section on "Beets" to see what Berens was offering. I love beets with their sweet earthiness. It's those earthy-tones which can affect their palatability to kids (like my 5-year-old daughter) so I was pleasantly surprised that the recipe for Beet-Dressed Pasta w/ Golden Raisins and Poppy Seeds was so well-received. The rich magenta would lure my daughter in, but would she go for the flavour? Yes, in fact, she would and with gusto too. Raisins can be a take-it-or-leave-it affair but since these golden raisins are soaked (with the soaking water being added to the saucy beet puree) I found that the soaking greatly improved and really transformed the raisins dry texture into something supple and chewier.
"Wow! This is a really good salad," my husband exclaimed over dinner last week. I told him that it should be because it's called the Perfect Salad in the book! The freshness of the delicate greens and herbs is enhanced with a simple vinaigrette and the most delightful Garlic Bread Crumbs. I hate having to wash and chop endless salad ingredients, so I found that this recipe suited me very well. And, while the variations for this recipe look mighty tasty (Roasted Strawberry, Pecan, Goat Cheese or BLT version or Roasted Mushroom, Soft-Boiled Egg, Mustard Vinaigrette), I think I'll stick to the classic (which is perfect in its simplicity and taste).
As I mentioned earlier, I was thrown by how simple the recipes seemed because I was reaching for Ruffage during the busy weeknight meal crush and, it was quickly delivering tasty meals that left our bellies happy and my kitchen with very little clean up. Last Friday night I eschewed our weekly pizza night for a Ruffage recipe my brain told me would be challenging: Tomatoes Stuffed with Lentils and Goat Cheese. When I was a kid, you only got to eat something stuffed at parties or on holidays. Whether it was stuffing mushrooms or a turkey, it was only something people would go to the trouble of doing if it involved guests or a special occasion (probably both). Imagine my surprise when I scooped out the tomatoes, mixed the filling, stuffed it back into the tomatoes, and baked them with very little mess and time to read my book before dinner was ready! I served the stuffed tomatoes with generous slices of sourdough from our favourite bakery which was perfect for sopping up the juices from the baked tomatoes. Delicious! And, yet another example of how Berens shows the home cook there are many ways to enjoy an ingredient.
Beautifully photographed by EE Berger and illustrated by Lucy Engelman, Ruffage is a true treasure of a book. I came for the vegetables and recipes, but I stayed for the engaging storytelling. After trying almost a dozen recipes I feel like this cookbook will become one that I rely on for recipes and inspiration for seasons and years to come.
Please note that this is an excerpt of a review posted to www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Raincoast Books and Chronicle Books for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This cookbook is organized into 29 sections following an alphabetical list of vegetables from asparagus to turnips and rutabaga. Each section offers around 3 recipes with many variations on the original. The vegetables Berens focuses on are ones that are familiar to her Midwestern base. Having grown up in Edmonton, Alberta I recognize what Berens is offering -- with 4 distinct seasons (the "growing season" being the shortest of them all) one needs to eat fresh but also realize that some ingredients can be "cellared" and then used throughout the colder months. In the first part of the book Berens outlines what a "strong pantry" is and likens it to a "quiver of arrows, at your back and at the ready."(28) Having a dependable pantry means three things in her mind: having key ingredients means you're always prepared to tackle a recipe, you can make recipes more quickly because your "tools" are at the ready and, if you can cook meals faster then you're more than likely to enjoy home cooking rather than relying on store-bought or restaurants.
The truth of the matter is that as I've cooked through Ruffage I looked at what I was cooking and kept thinking that all the dishes I made for my family and photographed for this review seemed too easy. I always try a wide variety of recipe to give an accurate idea of what level of home cook would enjoy the book. So, I tried a few more recipes and came to the realization that this is the grand scheme Berens has designed -- practical, easy recipes that you can enjoy any time. Find inspiration at the grocery store, market, or in a CSA box and then use Ruffage as a point of reference and inspiration. Yes, she is a chef, but she keeps the recipes in her book attainable not aspirational. Something else to note is that while Ruffage is a vegetable-centred book it's not a vegetarian/vegan/plant-based book. The book contains some recipes that use meat, fish, dairy, and/or eggs and, with over 100 recipes and over 230 variations there is something for everyone.
The true magic behind Ruffage is how Berens entices the home cook to see ingredients in different ways. For someone who has grown up eating and enjoying vegetables I wasn't sure what there was left to learn but, as with anything, there is always more to learn. Having a few beets in my crisper, I flipped to the section on "Beets" to see what Berens was offering. I love beets with their sweet earthiness. It's those earthy-tones which can affect their palatability to kids (like my 5-year-old daughter) so I was pleasantly surprised that the recipe for Beet-Dressed Pasta w/ Golden Raisins and Poppy Seeds was so well-received. The rich magenta would lure my daughter in, but would she go for the flavour? Yes, in fact, she would and with gusto too. Raisins can be a take-it-or-leave-it affair but since these golden raisins are soaked (with the soaking water being added to the saucy beet puree) I found that the soaking greatly improved and really transformed the raisins dry texture into something supple and chewier.
"Wow! This is a really good salad," my husband exclaimed over dinner last week. I told him that it should be because it's called the Perfect Salad in the book! The freshness of the delicate greens and herbs is enhanced with a simple vinaigrette and the most delightful Garlic Bread Crumbs. I hate having to wash and chop endless salad ingredients, so I found that this recipe suited me very well. And, while the variations for this recipe look mighty tasty (Roasted Strawberry, Pecan, Goat Cheese or BLT version or Roasted Mushroom, Soft-Boiled Egg, Mustard Vinaigrette), I think I'll stick to the classic (which is perfect in its simplicity and taste).
As I mentioned earlier, I was thrown by how simple the recipes seemed because I was reaching for Ruffage during the busy weeknight meal crush and, it was quickly delivering tasty meals that left our bellies happy and my kitchen with very little clean up. Last Friday night I eschewed our weekly pizza night for a Ruffage recipe my brain told me would be challenging: Tomatoes Stuffed with Lentils and Goat Cheese. When I was a kid, you only got to eat something stuffed at parties or on holidays. Whether it was stuffing mushrooms or a turkey, it was only something people would go to the trouble of doing if it involved guests or a special occasion (probably both). Imagine my surprise when I scooped out the tomatoes, mixed the filling, stuffed it back into the tomatoes, and baked them with very little mess and time to read my book before dinner was ready! I served the stuffed tomatoes with generous slices of sourdough from our favourite bakery which was perfect for sopping up the juices from the baked tomatoes. Delicious! And, yet another example of how Berens shows the home cook there are many ways to enjoy an ingredient.
Beautifully photographed by EE Berger and illustrated by Lucy Engelman, Ruffage is a true treasure of a book. I came for the vegetables and recipes, but I stayed for the engaging storytelling. After trying almost a dozen recipes I feel like this cookbook will become one that I rely on for recipes and inspiration for seasons and years to come.
Please note that this is an excerpt of a review posted to www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Raincoast Books and Chronicle Books for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
December 9, 2018
Disclaimer: NetGallery provided me with a digital edition of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.
I will absolutely be buying a print copy of this uniquely gorgeous cookbook. To call is simply a cookbook is probably not an accurate description. Berens brings heart to the writing by giving us stories about Jim Harrison, the writer, and his attitude about food. Berens also shares a beautiful story about adopting her mother's cast iron cookware, after her mother's death.
The recipes offer many unique ways to use seasonal veggies and escape the bland. Be warned...they are not all low fat, nor are they low taste. This is also not a primer for vegans. Many of the recipes include animal products.
The photography is rich and inviting.
I must buy a copy of this because some of the recipes had copyright markings over vital elements, which is certainly understandable. I am now dreaming of vegetables that really shine.
I will absolutely be buying a print copy of this uniquely gorgeous cookbook. To call is simply a cookbook is probably not an accurate description. Berens brings heart to the writing by giving us stories about Jim Harrison, the writer, and his attitude about food. Berens also shares a beautiful story about adopting her mother's cast iron cookware, after her mother's death.
The recipes offer many unique ways to use seasonal veggies and escape the bland. Be warned...they are not all low fat, nor are they low taste. This is also not a primer for vegans. Many of the recipes include animal products.
The photography is rich and inviting.
I must buy a copy of this because some of the recipes had copyright markings over vital elements, which is certainly understandable. I am now dreaming of vegetables that really shine.
March 20, 2020
I found a few interesting recipes in this book, but I was so irritated by the language, "massaged kale" or a "glug" of oil, for example, that I couldn't justify a higher rating. The photography was nice enough, but the sketches were not up to the level one might expect, and some of the design features would make the book difficult to actually cook from. I'm an experienced home cook, and a lover of nearly all vegetables, so I am always interested in new ways to enjoy them. This book just did not deliver. Back to the library, and please, enough kale already.
September 9, 2019
I love vegetables, so I was excited to be approved to view an advance copy of Ruffage for #Netgalley. I love vegetable cookbooks! Unfortunately, I had issues using the viewer for PDF formatted Netgalley books, and wasn't able to complete reading it until after it had been released for publication and I was able to access a copy at my local library.
Once I got a physical copy in my hands, I was almost glad that I wasn't able to read this via the viewer. This book is HUGE. According to the cover, there are more than 100 recipes, with more than 230 variations thereof! While that makes it a good value for the purchaser, it would have been really tedious to scroll the entire way (almost 500 pages!) through this book as a PDF.
Ruffage ended up being a nice vegetable cookbook. NOT, however, a vegetarian or vegan cookbook, or gluten free. With all my dietary restrictions, I found less recipes that would work for me than I would have liked. Most recipes feature some sort of animal product, and many feature gluten. Don't get me wrong; they sound delicious. They just probably wouldn't work well for me. But all the basic kitchen information and advice prior to the actual recipes was quite helpful and informative. I read that section thoroughly.
I can't decide how I feel about the formatting. On one hand, it seems really smart. Arranged alphabetically by vegetables, with recipes from various categories of preparation (such as raw, oven-roasted, pureed, grilled, etc) for each vegetable, with a little section at the beginning talking about the vegetable in question. Many recipes include variations: Cucumber with cumin, yogurt, and parsley could also be with peaches, mint, and chili oil, or with buttermilk, tomato, and herb salad, or even with red onion, vinegar, and dill. Not only are these variations great ways to give you options, depending what's in your pantry, but through use, they can teach you, the cook, various methods of preparation and combinations of food that you might not have known or thought of before. There ARE pictures, which sometimes correspond to specific recipes, and other times are just pictures of the vegetable being discussed. There are also black and white illustrations for some of the concepts.
On the other hand, I just didn't find this cookbook format intuitive or easy to use. or especially attractive. Maybe I'm just used to more illustrations, for all the recipes, or glossier pages, or bigger font, or a different layout. Sometimes I found all the variations listed to be sort of overwhelming.
I wouldn't let the formatting discourage you from checking this cookbook out, though, if you are an omnivore who wants to eat more vegetables or prepare vegetables better. The author, Abra Berens, clearly knows her topic, not only as a cook, but also as a gardener, and briefly farmer, herself, and shares lots of tasty sounding vegetable recipes utilizing meat, eggs, fish, and dairy, as well as bread, pasta, etc. I'm sure those with a more conventional diet than I will find many options to try.
Thanks, #NetGalley, for letting me read #Ruffagecookbook in exchange for an honest review.
Once I got a physical copy in my hands, I was almost glad that I wasn't able to read this via the viewer. This book is HUGE. According to the cover, there are more than 100 recipes, with more than 230 variations thereof! While that makes it a good value for the purchaser, it would have been really tedious to scroll the entire way (almost 500 pages!) through this book as a PDF.
Ruffage ended up being a nice vegetable cookbook. NOT, however, a vegetarian or vegan cookbook, or gluten free. With all my dietary restrictions, I found less recipes that would work for me than I would have liked. Most recipes feature some sort of animal product, and many feature gluten. Don't get me wrong; they sound delicious. They just probably wouldn't work well for me. But all the basic kitchen information and advice prior to the actual recipes was quite helpful and informative. I read that section thoroughly.
I can't decide how I feel about the formatting. On one hand, it seems really smart. Arranged alphabetically by vegetables, with recipes from various categories of preparation (such as raw, oven-roasted, pureed, grilled, etc) for each vegetable, with a little section at the beginning talking about the vegetable in question. Many recipes include variations: Cucumber with cumin, yogurt, and parsley could also be with peaches, mint, and chili oil, or with buttermilk, tomato, and herb salad, or even with red onion, vinegar, and dill. Not only are these variations great ways to give you options, depending what's in your pantry, but through use, they can teach you, the cook, various methods of preparation and combinations of food that you might not have known or thought of before. There ARE pictures, which sometimes correspond to specific recipes, and other times are just pictures of the vegetable being discussed. There are also black and white illustrations for some of the concepts.
On the other hand, I just didn't find this cookbook format intuitive or easy to use. or especially attractive. Maybe I'm just used to more illustrations, for all the recipes, or glossier pages, or bigger font, or a different layout. Sometimes I found all the variations listed to be sort of overwhelming.
I wouldn't let the formatting discourage you from checking this cookbook out, though, if you are an omnivore who wants to eat more vegetables or prepare vegetables better. The author, Abra Berens, clearly knows her topic, not only as a cook, but also as a gardener, and briefly farmer, herself, and shares lots of tasty sounding vegetable recipes utilizing meat, eggs, fish, and dairy, as well as bread, pasta, etc. I'm sure those with a more conventional diet than I will find many options to try.
Thanks, #NetGalley, for letting me read #Ruffagecookbook in exchange for an honest review.
January 16, 2024
maybe 3.5 stars. i read this more as a guide than as a cookbook and to be honest, it's unlikely i'd use any or many of these recipes or cook preparations. i'll elaborate. berens has a great writing voice and i enjoyed the storytelling about each vegetable. i also found the reference on how to pick vegetables and store them useful - it definitely taught me a few things!
a couple of nit picks that bothered me: 1) the author pretty much gives you the advice of storing everything in plastic bags for it to stay in good shape. hopefully, your typical food consumer trying to shop at farmers markets and eat sustainably is not the same person putting everything in plastic bags in their fridge. 'an airtight container' feels just as directive without the negative environmental impact. 2) vegetarian recipes aren't really called out. i know that's not necessary, but hey - this is a book about vegetables! it would be nice if there was an easy way to identify items i could just avoid or if substitutes were mentioned in the recipes for non-meat eaters. 3) i think many readers will encounter vegetables they've never eaten before. maybe it's obvious that humans can just eat the veggie raw and plain, but what's the best and easiest way? for example, in our house, we thinly slice kohlrabi and add a little salt. i know it's not a complete dish, but it feels like trying something new is best done in its simplest form before throwing it into a complex recipe.
for lovers of vegetables, you'll enjoy the backstories and unique approaches to cooking vegetables that she offers. i think i'm more simple in the kitchen and most of these are beyond how i feed my family day-to-day.
a couple of nit picks that bothered me: 1) the author pretty much gives you the advice of storing everything in plastic bags for it to stay in good shape. hopefully, your typical food consumer trying to shop at farmers markets and eat sustainably is not the same person putting everything in plastic bags in their fridge. 'an airtight container' feels just as directive without the negative environmental impact. 2) vegetarian recipes aren't really called out. i know that's not necessary, but hey - this is a book about vegetables! it would be nice if there was an easy way to identify items i could just avoid or if substitutes were mentioned in the recipes for non-meat eaters. 3) i think many readers will encounter vegetables they've never eaten before. maybe it's obvious that humans can just eat the veggie raw and plain, but what's the best and easiest way? for example, in our house, we thinly slice kohlrabi and add a little salt. i know it's not a complete dish, but it feels like trying something new is best done in its simplest form before throwing it into a complex recipe.
for lovers of vegetables, you'll enjoy the backstories and unique approaches to cooking vegetables that she offers. i think i'm more simple in the kitchen and most of these are beyond how i feed my family day-to-day.
April 24, 2022
A guide to eating locally-grown vegetables by chef who's farmed in the Midwest
I found this to be a delightful guide to many of the vegetables of the midwest. The emphasis is on vegetables, locally grown, but Abra Berens also uses dairy and animal proteins to highlight the vegetables. The book begins with some words on Ms. Berens approach to food and eating, then an extensive description of her pantry and most frequently used ingredients and cooking techniques. The bulk of the book is devoted to Midwestern vegetables, organized alphabetically, with a number of ways to prepare the vegetables and additional recipes often involving the techniques provided. I really found her emphasis on local veggies, local dairy and other animal proteins, as humanely processed as possible, appealing. (For example, her use of the white fish found in our Great Lakes.) She doesn't hesitate to flavor local goods with items such as nuts, dried fruits, vinegars, oils, and hard cheeses, but uses them as accents instead of foundations to dishes.
Abra Berens provides some delightful stories and anecdotes, and includes the information that while she focuses on local, farm-raised produce, she's not above the occasional splurge in restaurants- even a Shamrock Shake or two a couple of times of the year. I liked her voice, her approach to food, and her humility. I will look for more content from her.
I found this to be a delightful guide to many of the vegetables of the midwest. The emphasis is on vegetables, locally grown, but Abra Berens also uses dairy and animal proteins to highlight the vegetables. The book begins with some words on Ms. Berens approach to food and eating, then an extensive description of her pantry and most frequently used ingredients and cooking techniques. The bulk of the book is devoted to Midwestern vegetables, organized alphabetically, with a number of ways to prepare the vegetables and additional recipes often involving the techniques provided. I really found her emphasis on local veggies, local dairy and other animal proteins, as humanely processed as possible, appealing. (For example, her use of the white fish found in our Great Lakes.) She doesn't hesitate to flavor local goods with items such as nuts, dried fruits, vinegars, oils, and hard cheeses, but uses them as accents instead of foundations to dishes.
Abra Berens provides some delightful stories and anecdotes, and includes the information that while she focuses on local, farm-raised produce, she's not above the occasional splurge in restaurants- even a Shamrock Shake or two a couple of times of the year. I liked her voice, her approach to food, and her humility. I will look for more content from her.
January 4, 2022
I picked this book up from the library because a Youtube channel recommended it for beginner cooks. I agree. Everything is explained plainly, and none of the ingredients/preparation methods are too inaccessible or fancy—the true Nothing Fancy.
I looked forward to reading how to select vegetables but found all the tips to be the same. They just have to look good! Firm, tight, not bruised, no weird marks, no signs of rot, etc. I wish there were more helpful and specific tips.
It was great learning about how food is grown because you appreciate farmers' work. The book also talks about reducing food waste and discusses current agricultural practices.
Many of the recipes are simple and celebrate the vegetables. Some variations on the recipe can do with more explanation. While most recipes sound delicious, some were... questionable? Braised celery. (That's just me, though).
All ingredients are part of the pantry staples mentioned in the beginning. It's a creative and smart use of ingredients on hand. It's not daunting, and those fancy ingredients won't sit there on the shelf after cooking one recipe.
I looked forward to reading how to select vegetables but found all the tips to be the same. They just have to look good! Firm, tight, not bruised, no weird marks, no signs of rot, etc. I wish there were more helpful and specific tips.
It was great learning about how food is grown because you appreciate farmers' work. The book also talks about reducing food waste and discusses current agricultural practices.
Many of the recipes are simple and celebrate the vegetables. Some variations on the recipe can do with more explanation. While most recipes sound delicious, some were... questionable? Braised celery. (That's just me, though).
All ingredients are part of the pantry staples mentioned in the beginning. It's a creative and smart use of ingredients on hand. It's not daunting, and those fancy ingredients won't sit there on the shelf after cooking one recipe.
August 14, 2020
If you'd love to shop at your local farmer's market or subscribe to a CSA but aren't really sure WHAT to do with all those veggies, this is the book for you.
Abra Beren's advice is both calming and practical. She includes how to choose and store over twenty vegetables as well as helpful tips and full meal recipes. This is her description of kohlrabi: "It has the texture of a radish but without the spice. The base also has a cell structure and starch that takes well to baking. It doesn't mash as smoothly as potatoes, but roasts and bakes in a casserole as fine as any spud and can be used almost interchangeably."
Even if you NEVER intend to chop, steam, or roast a vegetable, you'll get in touch with your inner farmer as you devour her plant wisdom.
Abra Beren's advice is both calming and practical. She includes how to choose and store over twenty vegetables as well as helpful tips and full meal recipes. This is her description of kohlrabi: "It has the texture of a radish but without the spice. The base also has a cell structure and starch that takes well to baking. It doesn't mash as smoothly as potatoes, but roasts and bakes in a casserole as fine as any spud and can be used almost interchangeably."
Even if you NEVER intend to chop, steam, or roast a vegetable, you'll get in touch with your inner farmer as you devour her plant wisdom.
January 22, 2019
I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.
This book discusses how to select, store, and prepare common veggies.
The book is beautifully illustrated and sure to please your eyes.
Each veggie has its own chapter. Every chapter covers a handful of techniques and provides recipes for each. These techniques tend to be repetitive and fairly well known though there are sometimes good tips in each technique's explanatory paragraph. I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this book but I was a bit let down. I guess I was expecting more veggie specific nuance like different cutting techniques or suggested pairings.
This book discusses how to select, store, and prepare common veggies.
The book is beautifully illustrated and sure to please your eyes.
Each veggie has its own chapter. Every chapter covers a handful of techniques and provides recipes for each. These techniques tend to be repetitive and fairly well known though there are sometimes good tips in each technique's explanatory paragraph. I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this book but I was a bit let down. I guess I was expecting more veggie specific nuance like different cutting techniques or suggested pairings.
September 28, 2020
I think this is a lovely introduction for someone who doesn't cook, and is intimidated by vegetables. There are some short personal essays about each vegetable, and a lot of personal history about growing up on a farm, trying your hand at professional farming, and working in restaurants- they're well written, and I do feel like I'd enjoy having a conversation with the author. The recipes encourage riffing, and there are a few free wheeling graphic recipes that I liked the idea of.
That said, I don't need any encouragement to riff off a recipe, I'm not intimidated by any of the vegetables in this book, and I found the book weirdly meat heavy for a book about vegetables.
That said, I don't need any encouragement to riff off a recipe, I'm not intimidated by any of the vegetables in this book, and I found the book weirdly meat heavy for a book about vegetables.
October 20, 2020
A must-have for any Michigander (or resident of the upper Great Lakes...or anyone who likes to eat local and seasonal vegetables). This is a walk through the wild and cultivated plants found around the upper midwest. The author introduces each plant with an anecdote -- sometimes personal, sometimes culinary -- then provides tips for harvesting, purchasing, preparing and preserving. The recipes are broad brush ideas that encourage substitutions. Because I had zucchini on hand when I got this, I tried several of the preparations, both of which were new to me and both of which were better than the standard pan-fry-in-corn-meal treatment I usually give them.
September 30, 2019
This cookbook is very well done! I signed up for a local CSA from the farm down the road from me, and this cookbook covers virtually all the produce I get from them. There are so many recipes with all sorts of variations from meat (chicken, pork, duck, fish, steak, etc) and even vegetarian options. It's so nice to see such well rounded recipes and different ways to keep meals with the same ingredients interesting. I also love all the information about buying and storing all the different produce.
October 15, 2019
Thank you Abra Berens for a fun-to-read cookbook. I now know what a "ramp" is and how to cook a sunchoke (should I want to); how to store vegetables and how to pick ones that will last. I can't believe you can put so much information about growing, picking, storing, and cooking vegetables into one place adding tidbits of information about the environment; mental health and place names to liven it up! Beautiful book, easy to digest (!) and loved the diagrams showing how to use a vegetable three different ways.
May 25, 2020
If you’re thinking of moving to a plant based diet or starting a membership in a CSA I can’t recommend this book enough. Yeah, some of the recipes are a little “chef-fy”, but most are easy to adapt to any skill level. The real value is in the introduction to each veggie: how to select, how to store, what to do with it if you’ve never seen it before. The author acknowledges that even in season, local farmed stuff has bad years, every veg isn’t going to be peak flavor when it gets to you, and offers some ideas on what to do when that happens.
July 21, 2020
This is certainly a 5-star book for someone. It features lots of beautiful pictures of vegetables, and charming stories for each one, and lots of recipes that give you ideas for cooking and eating these vegetables.
I love eating vegetables, but I’m also eating mostly vegan right now, and most of the recipes in this book use more butter, oil, cheese, meat, and animal broth than I do.
So I’m happy to have read the charming stories and learned a bit more about some veggies. And I don’t need to own it.
I love eating vegetables, but I’m also eating mostly vegan right now, and most of the recipes in this book use more butter, oil, cheese, meat, and animal broth than I do.
So I’m happy to have read the charming stories and learned a bit more about some veggies. And I don’t need to own it.
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