Fresh Grown: Essential Guide to Use, Store, + Make the Most of Your Vegetables

by

Andrea Kristin

This gorgeously illustrated guide will teach new cooks and inspire those more experienced to expand the uses of vegetables in their menus.

Fresh Grown by author Andrea Kristin is a new how-to guide for making the most of your hard-earned vegetables, whether you’re growing your own or perusing the produce section of your local grocery store. I think I love everything about this book, from its gorgeous photos (coffee table quality presentation), informative content, and even its well-organized and clean page design. I foresee giving this book to a number of family members for Christmas in a couple of months. 

The book focuses on a large variety of vegetables and explains what parts are edible and how they are normally prepared, how to store them for maximum freshness before cooking, and how to keep excess amounts useful long-term. Methods include freezing, canning, dehydrating, fermenting, and pickling. I particularly liked how the author grouped the vegetables by the part of the plant that is going to be harvested for consumption: roots, stems, leaves, bulbs, flowers, fruits, and seeds. For example, peas are found in the “Seeds” section. (And yes, while some can be categorized in more than one way, they are discussed under their most prevalent part.) Several less popular vegetables (at least here in my region) are included, so if you have ever wondered what a fava bean was, you’ll find your answer here. (Go ahead, uncork a nice chianti now.) 

I recommend FRESH GROWN to, as the author put it so well, “the veggie lover + veggie curious and anyone wanting to explore the world of fresh grown.” 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.