Grocery Gardening

by Jean Ann Van Krevelen, Amanda Thomsen, Robin Ripley

Grocery Gardening includes garden planning, planting, preparing, preserving and nutritional information for each of the more than twenty selected edibles. In addition to tips on when to harvest home grown vegetables, the authors offer advice on how to select the freshest produce at the local market, and select complementary ingredients to combine with your home-grown edibles. Jean Ann Van Krevelen, together with her team of food and gardening experts and their community of readers, encourage gardeners and non-gardeners alike to plan meals based on what is in season. Whether you buy local or grow your own, the recipes will delight your family with seasonal freshness. Also included is a chapter on preserving your harvest, with tips for freezing, drying, canning and preserving.    

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little overwhelming at times, but a very good resource to have on hand. I borrowed it from my library, but may purchase a copy of my own for future reference. It is 100% a reference book, and you will need to cross reference for your specific living situation.

[Jean Ann Van Krevelen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a bit biased about this one... :)

[Jensownzoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really an information-packed book, but presented in a way that is accessible and fun. The bulk of the book consists of going through each individual fruit/vegetable/herb and giving information about home cultivation, varieties, methods of preparation, methods of preservation, recipes, nutritional fact, interesting factoids, and asides from the books four authors. The beginning of the book has some basic gardening information and the end of the book has some basic preservation methods. I thought everything was nicely balanced and have a slew of new recipes to try. Here are a few examples that caught my eye:

Roasted Sweet Corn and Chive Scones
Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Blueberries and Barley
Blackberry and Apple Compote
Creamy Asparagus and Pea Soup
Spanish-inspired Hummus
Swiss Chard and Spaghetti
Sunny Citrus Salad
Summer Tomato Tart

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the new gardener.

The majority of the book is information about the most commonly grown herbs, fruits, and veggies. Includes planting, varieties, pests and diseases, and nutritional information about each.

What's really great though about the book is all the yummy recipes (most vegetarian or easily made vegetarian) that I can't wait to try! So once you've grown all those zucchini you have something to do with them. :)

The book also has advice on how to purchase the best produce from your local store or farmer's market (if you're not able to grow yourself) and store correctly. Includes a nice section on preserving food.

Highly recommend!

[Marjanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently debating whether this book would be worth owning. I appreciated that the author(s) were so easy to follow and understand, as I am a gardening novice. There was a basic overview of 'Gardening 101', plus a section on preserving food and dealing with pests. I liked the individual sections on a variety of fruits and vegetables. There is some limit to these sections, but I feel that the author(s) did well with showcasing food items that are fairly common and well used in American kitchens.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having planted a small seven-herb garden, I was looking for ways to cook with fresh herbs, something I have rarely done before. This is written by several contributors. There is information on setting up the garden, uses for each herb, preservation and storage, and recipes. I do wish there were more recipes, but what is there is very good. This is an excellent user-friendly introduction to working with fresh herbs.

[Michele Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the format of this book. It's a gardening guide, with recipes for cooking and preserving and tips for people who don't want to try to be master gardeners, but simply want to enjoy some backyard veggies. It's a crash course, including a section on diseases, pests and even seed company terms. Definitely a boon to my reference books.

[M A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this along w/Jim Wilson's book on veg gardening for beginners and Grow Good Grub. Recipes in this are good. I was disappointed, very disappointed they did not recommend, right up front, a soil test. I consider it critical for starting a garden.

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read each word in the book but I skimmed over the sections and thought it was a nice mix of random info, gardening tips, and recipes for each herb or plant. I wouldn't buy the book but I would check it out of the library and recommend it to first time gardening friends.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of basic if you have been gardening for very long, but it has 3 of my recipes in it, so it has to be great, right? The authors definitely make a great argument for growing your own food, even if you can only do a little, or don't have any experience.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference that gives basic instructions from planting the seeds to preparing the meals. Great for beginners. I didn't love the format of the book, which is busy and disjointed, but that is a minor quibble.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good for starter gardeners. Great info on how to grow, but even better info on how to USE your herbs, veggies, and fruits. I copied some recipes from the book before I returned it to the library and will be trying them this year.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for beginning gardeners who want to cook what they eat. I think the recipes are the best part.

[Penny Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another skimmer. Interestingly organized - each fruit/vegetable has several pages to itself, with lots of recipes mixed in with tips on how to grow and/or select the produce.

[Khristiey · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty basic. nice pictures. no recipes screamed 'try me!' maybe I'm just exhausting all gardening books and none are telling me anything i didn't already know.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book listed four authors, and really had the feel of being done by committee, whereas I think one person with a strong point of view would have created a more useful book.

[Jeanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good recipes.... That's about it