A while ago I received an e-mail about a “Simply in Season” cookbook and was sent a copy when I asked if I could review it.  It turns out that it is a lot more than a cookbook.  Commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee to promote the understanding of how the food choices we make affect our lives and the lives of those who produce the food, it was put together by two women who are both Mennonite Church members. Mary Beth Lind is a registered dietitian, nutritional consultant and market grower in West Virginia and Cathleen Hockman-Wert is a journalist and church magazine editor from Oregon.

“Simply in Season” is divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter sections with simple whole foods recipes designed around the fresh fruits and vegetables available in each season.  The pages also include seasonal stories and snippets of information about home gardening and organic agriculture as well as industrial food production and its health, environmental and social consequences.  It includes an introductory fruit and vegetable guide with photos and descriptions, with information on selection, storage and handling, preparation, serving suggestions and nutrients.  This is important as many of us no longer recognize or know how to cook or eat many common fruits and vegetables.

Also included in “Simply in Season” are a glossary of food preparation and cooking terms, a quick food preservation guide, alternative protein sources and whole grains and flours, suggested books, videos, web sites and curriculums as well as frequently asked questions such as what is a CSA?  The All Seasons section has recipes using dairy, dried beans, dried fruits, meat, tofu/tempeh and whole grains.

I like this book because it can be used by either a novice or an experienced cook, the recipes very easy to follow and health oriented, yet tasty and there is also a lot of food for thought on its pages.  The tone is not preachy but full of kindness and gratitude.  

“Simply in Season” shows the importance of eating local, seasonal food and fairly traded food, inviting readers to make choices that offer security and health for our communities, for the land, for the body and the spirit. The simple old-fashioned yet healthily modernized recipes bring out the flavors of the fresh ingredients they highlight.

In April 2004, when a call was put out for seasonal local recipes, almost 800 contributors responded over the next year, submitting over 1,500 recipes and participating in 3,000 recipe tests. According to Graham Kerr, PBS’s Galloping Gourmet, “this cookbook reflects a commitment to eat what is in season.”   Thus it is a practical and inspirational handbook for us locavores.

 There is also a “Simply in Season Children's Cookbook” that can help children ages 6-to-12 make the connection between what they eat, where it comes from, and when it’s in season. This colorful cookbook makes it easy and fun for children to think and cook in season with real food, sit down and enjoy it and give thanks for it.

I had a hard time selecting recipes to showcase the book’s summer section as many of the recipes are becoming staples at my house (Stacked Vegetable Quesadillas, Slow Cooker Enchiladas, Corny Corn Bread with Green Chiles) along with Roasted Summer Vegetables, Green Bean Sides and Summer Squash Skillets with various seasoning options.

“Simply in Season” study sessions are also available as a free download or in a printed version to be used by small faith-based or other groups. The books and other materials are available from www.mcc.org or amazon.com.  Imagine the change in health and consciousness if every young family was furnished with the “Simply in Season” cookbook!

Bisbee Farmers Market

James Gillham from St. David will bring new potatoes (Snow White, Purple Majesty varieties and whatever else they have time to dig), as well as yellow-meated watermelons, beans (green, wax and purple), winter squash (butternut, Lakota, delicata, pink banana, Turk’s cap, and maybe longneck), melons (cantaloupes, honeydew, and Fastbreak), cucumbers (pickling, Japanese, and Middle Eastern), okra, tomatoes, and zucchini (green, gray, golden), summer squash (yellow crookneck, yellow straightneck, and vegetable marrow.

Burda farm will have new potatoes for culinary adventurers:  Bintje,  Mountain Rose, Red Thumb, French Fingerling, La Ratte, Rose Finn and German Butterball.  It will also bring Walla Walla onions, Cioppini Italian Flat onions, baby Purple Dragon carrots, eggplant, heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.  Look for sweet red and yellow onions, English cucumbers, tomatoes on the vine, Gala apples and peaches, spring lettuce mix, pecans and walnuts, pinto beans and soup mix.  Select a gourmet vinegar or oil to dress your next salad or European-style bread, pies and pastries from La Baguette Bakery.

The Beattys will bring Earlygold, Gravenstein and McIntosh apples as well as pear apples and rhubarb to both markets. Elfrida Community Garden is producing lots of fresh produce to supply the market each week as well as its own farmers market at the garden just north of Elfrida’s Chiricahua Community Health Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays on Highway 191. Lots of fresh-from-the-farm or garden seasonal fruits and veggies will be brought to market by Bobby Gowins, the Onion Man, Susie Culp (wide variety of hot and bell peppers, green beans, tomatoes), La Buena Vida Farm (ask them about a potential CSA), the Montoya Family (onions, shallots, garlic, “nopalitos”), the Vaughn family (sweet onions, and Bob Berry (cherry tomatoes, honey and more!)

San Ysidro Farms says its natural pork chops are back along with all its other grass-fed and pastured meats. The 47 Ranch will be back with plenty of all natural grass-fed Navajo Churro lamb, as well as native range raised Boer Goat meat including lamb sausage, goat leg roasts and fine eating lamb chops. (At both markets.)

Simmons Honey reports that that the summer rains have the desert a busting with wildflowers so Mesquite and Desert Wildflower honeys are very much in season along with honey comb, pollen and creamed honey. Order honey by the gallon at 364-2745. Honey stix and honey granola. Look for pickled okra, pickled onions, Peach Salsa, Marinated Artichokes, marinated Mushrooms, Garlic Stuffed Olives, Almond Stuffed Olives, Black-eyed Pea Relish, Watermelon Rinds, and Asparagus Spears. It has a special line of preserves made with white grape juice concentrate/no cane sugar.  Also at the market:  Rocky Road Chocolate Confection, Just Coffee (by the cup with whole wheat donuts and mesquite baked goods as well as locally roasted coffee beans to go), High Grade Rubs, and Alice Coleman (mesquite crunchers, mesquite and gluten free flours.)

Recipes

Grilled Peach Salsa

(all recipes from “Simply in Season Cookbook”)

5 large peaches (washed, halved and pits removed.  Brush grill grate with oil and grill peaches face down for several minutes.  With tongs, flip peaches until skins begins to darken.  (this can also be done in a vegetable grill basket.) Removes peaches from grill when they can be pierced easily with a fork.  Allow to cool.  Remove skins. Chop

Add:  5 tomatoes, chopped

1 ? jalapeno peppers (minced, seeds removed)

Stir in:  ? cup honey

2 tblsp fresh cinnamon basil or cilantro (chopped)

salt and pepper to taste

Salsa can be served with pork or chicken and is wonderful with chips.

Southwestern Corn Chowder

? cup sweet onion (chopped)

sauté in 1 tblsp olive oil in soup pot until soft.

2 ? cups corn off cob

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Add and cook 10 minutes.  Remove 1 cup of solids with  with about 1/3 cup broth and blend until smooth.  Return puree to soup pot and heat until nearly boiling.

1 medium red sweet pepper (chopped)

1 small tomato (peeled and seed if desired and chopped)

Stir in and heat another minute.

? fresh lime

3 tblsp fresh cilantro (finely chopped)

Squeeze lime into soup and top with cilantro9 immediately before serving.  Garnish individual bowls with hot sauce or salsa, lime wedges and/or a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream (optional.)

Variation:  For a heartier soup add cooked black beans, lima beans and/or chunks of cooked chicken or turkey. Using grilled corn, cut off the cob, imparts a delicious smoky flavor.

 

Basic Tomato Sauce

Sauté until soft in 2 tblsp olive oil:

1 onion (chopped)

2 coves garlic (minced)

Add and stir well:

2 carrots (shredded)

? green pepper (chopped)

2 bay leaves

? cup fresh parsley (chopped)

1 tblsp fresh basil (chopped)

1 tblsp fresh oregano (chopped or 1 tsp dried)

1 tblsp fresh thyme (chopped or 1 tsp dried)

Add and season to taste simmering 15 minutes:

6 cups plum tomatoes (peeled and chopped)

6 ounces tomato paste

1 tblsp honey (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

remove bay leaf and serve or freeze.  To can, ladle into hot sterilized pint jars to within ? inch of top, add 1 tblsp lemon juice or vinegar per pinto to assure acidity, seal with sterilized lids, and process full jars in boiling water bath for 35 minutes.

 

Berry Muffins

Combine in bowl:

1 ? cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 tblsp baking powder

? tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

In another bowl combine and mix well:

1 egg

1 cup milk

? cup oil

? cup honey

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just moistened. Fold in 1 ? cups fresh or frozen Fill well greased muffins tins 2/3 full. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.