In The Green Kitchen

If you're into eating sustainably grown local foods In The Green Kitchen is the book for you. If you're looking for those essential cooking techniques that will make you more spontaneous and free in the kitchen..this book is for you. If you love to read about how top chefs do things, this book is for you too.

If you don't know who Alice Waters is, you can read her impressive bio here. Not only is she the Executive Chef at Chez Panisse , she's been in the vanguard of sustainable agriculture and a member of the Slow Food movement for years. But I think she explains the concept for the book best in her intro...

" The Green Kitchen began at a large, joyous gathering in San Francisco that attracted thousands of cooks and eaters, farmers and ranchers, cheese makers and winemakers, bakers and beekeepers, fishermen and foragers - all united by a passion for food and for a sustainable future....

...We decided to include a demonstration kitchen to show what all good cooks have in common: a set of basic techniques that are universal to all cuisines. Once learned by heart, these are the techniques that free cooks from an over dependence on recipes and a fear of improvisation."

And so the book continues that theme and it's wonderful. And yes,of course there are recipes, but so much more. Each page or two you get to visit with a wonderful foodie who shares a passion...like Joan Nathan, cookbook author extraordinaire (I have a number of her Jewish cookbooks on my shelf) who tells us all about the mortar and pestle and shares her pesto recipe with lots of ideas for substituting other herbs and greens for basil. Or Jerome Waag, one of the Chez Panisse chefs demystifies mayonnaise so we'll never want to buy a jar again. David Chang teaches us how to pickle vegetables - a wonderful skill at harvest time and Jean-Pierre Moulle takes the challenge out of filleting a fish and then how to prepare a fish soup and a baked fish dish, relying local "catch of the day" and whatever herbs are to be found.

But I, of course, carnivore that I am, I spent some time with Peggy Knickerbocker and her idea of the perfect way to grill a steak - naturally explaining the various cuts as well as how to cook them. I also prefer grass fed beef and have my own personal favorite local rancher - Chris de Waal of Getaway Farm (I've written about him and his awesome beef before) who I visit most Saturday mornings at the Halifax Farmers Market.
Here's my version of Peggy's Grilled Steak with Herbs. It was awesome, but then I had no doubt it would be.

And the book...not only is it filled with wonderful ideas, techniques and recipes, it is simply a delightful read.