The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking With Herbs

The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking With Herbs Review

Fresh herbs offer a healthy and delicious way to spice up any meal, but growing and cooking with these delectable plants are endeavors fraught with uncertainty. What herbs will grow year-round on my kitchen windowsill? What foods complement rosemary? Which part of a lemongrass plant has the best flavor? Can I really eat the geraniums growing in my flower bed? This indispensable guide from The Herb Society of America takes the guesswork out of using herbs in the garden and in the kitchen by providing detailed information for cultivating a wide variety of herbs, along with easy-to-follow recipes that will surely impress even the most discerning palate.

Ranging from Alliums (onions, chives, and garlic) to Zingiber (ginger), the volume's first section provides horticultural information for each of the sixty-three herbs found in the National Herb Garden's Culinary Garden, including common and botanical names, family, place of origin, hardiness, and general light and soil requirements. Botanical sketches accompany many of the entries. Each entry also includes a short history of the herb, gardening basics, and suggestions for using the herb in your kitchen. Culinary herbs without Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Status are included in a separate section, with an explanation of their history and ornamental value. An informative introduction to this section compares several different definitions of the word herb, explains the advantages of fresh over dried herbs, describes the proper storage and use of spices, and suggests the best timing and methods for harvesting herbs.

In the second part of the book, HSA members offer classic and creative recipes for more than two hundred dishes incorporating a variety of herbs. Learn how to use the aromatic and flavorful herbs in your garden to enhance stews and casseroles, create dips and pestos, and add a new dimension to your favorite liqueurs. Among the mouth-watering recipes featured are Lemon Basil Tea Bread, Chicken Linguine with Fennel and Tarragon, Five-Herb Pasta Salad, and Rosemary Fizz.

The concluding section of the book contains a fascinating personal tour of the two-and-one-half-acre National Herb Garden, which lies in the heart of Washington, D.C., at the center of the United States National Arboretum, and of its various themed areas, including the Knot Garden, the Antique and Heritage Rose Garden, the Dye Garden, the Colonial Garden, the Native American Garden, the Beverage Garden, the Medicinal Garden, and many others. Complete plant lists accompany the description of each garden.

Green thumbs and gourmets alike will find inspiration in these pages to look at herbs in new ways--perhaps to see beyond their cupboards and into their own yards for ways to liven up their meals--and will gain the knowledge and confidence to grow and use herbs effectively. More than a gardening book, more than a cookbook, The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs will prove to be an indispensable companion for all herb lovers.

376 pages, 7 Halftones, 32 Line Drawings, 6.25 x 9.25

One Island, One Ocean: The Epic Environmental Journey Around the Americas

One Island, One Ocean: The Epic Environmental Journey Around the Americas Review

On May 31, 2009, a committed team of sailors, scientists, teachers and conservationists joined forces on a voyage that was vast in scope and ambition but launched under the simplest of ideas: The continents of North and South America are a single island, surrounded by a shared ocean, and with a common set of challenges, communities, issues, and solutions. To put it in the simplest terms, we creatures of the land are utterly dependent on the sea around us, and we’d better take care of it, or it won’t take care of us. This book tells the story of that amazing adventure, and sounds a call to action for everyone who loves this planet.

In a journey that took 13 months, the Ocean Watch circumnavigated the Americas, documenting the beauty that exists, the peoples who rely on our oceans, and the changes that are happening all too fast. This book can be read any number of ways:

. . . as an exciting seafaring adventure, with storms on the high seas, polar bears, and daring escapes from icy danger.

. . . as a beautifully photographed appreciation of the beauty of the Americas—our wildlife, our coastal cities, and our proud, tenacious natives.

. . . as a global warning, documenting the dangers of climate change and the ways our world is changing forever.

The ship made landfall in 53 places around the continents and did presentations and outreach in each. In many of these places, there are potential special sales opportunities (museums, yacht clubs, educational centers). Places visited include:

Seattle (starting point)

British Columbia

Alaska

The Yukon Territories

The Northwest Territories

Nunavet

Newfoundland

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

New York

South Carolina

Florida

Puerto Rico

St. Lucia

French Guiana

Brazil

Uruguay

Argentina

The Falklands

Chile

Ecuador

Costa Rica

Mexico

California

Oregon

. . . and, back to Seattle

My Favorite Herb: How North America's Great Chefs Savor the Flavor of Herbs

My Favorite Herb: How North America's Great Chefs Savor the Flavor of Herbs Review

Merging two hot trends - herbs and chef cookbooks - "My Favorite Herb" brings together 51 accomplished chefs from the US and Canada to reveal their favorite herb and how they use it. In addition, you'll find more than 125 of these chefs' favorite herb recipes, all tested in the author's home kitchen and scaled to family-sized proportions. The selection of herbs, 30 in all, covers all the most popular herbs that home cooks can buy at supermarkets, some up-and-coming herbs that are on the verge of becoming a household name, and a few specialized herbs for the adventurous home cook. Recipes feature a variety of cuisines and cover everything from appetizers to desserts:

* Sugar Snap Peas with Brown Butter and Sage from Alice Waters (Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California) * Shrimp Creole with Bay from Jamie Shannon (Commander's Palace, New Orleans, Louisiana) * Persian Lamb and Parsley Ragout from Nora Pouillon (Nora and Asia Nora, Washington, D.C.) * Chervil-Hazelnut Crusted Sea Bass with Saffron Lime Sauce from Bruce Auden (Restaurant BIGA, San Antonio, Texas) * Chicken Breasts with Lemon Thyme and Grilled Vegetables from Roland Liccioni (Le Francais, Chicago, Illinois) * Blueberry Champagne Mousse with Lemon Balm from Alfonso Contrisciani (Opus 251, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

"My Favorite Herb" includes general tips for buying and storing herbs and basic recipes for such things as chicken stock and roasted garlic. In addition, a chef and restaurant list will help you plan a firsthand dining experience. The mail order resources list will help you locate particular herbs and other ingredients used in the book. Author Laurel Keser combines many years of professional food writing with a lifelong passion for cooking with herbs. An experienced herb gardener, Laurel has had her own herb recipes published in "The Herb Companion" magazine. She resides in Lindenwold, New Jersey.