Edible French Garden by Rosalind Creasy

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Like the other books in Creasy’s Edible Garden series, this is a combination cookbook and gardening book. I think of this as a good way to whet one’s appetite, but it’s not a comprehensive reference—except perhaps on how to grow blanched vegetables like Belgian endive and white asparagus. After reading her instructions, I’ve decided that blanching in the gardening sense is not something I plan on trying anytime in the near future. Reading this book did get me interested in learning more about potagers, however, which strike me as having the potential to be both remarkably decorative and appetizing.

The varieties highlighted include French ones and American varieties that are similar to French types. I found at least a few of the recipes to be somewhat interesting, though, and will probably try making some. The braised endives and cherville buttered carrots come to mind. Most of the recipes are fairly simple and suitable for novice cooks. If you’re looking for more elaborate dishes, you’re better off going with a real cookbook.

The resource list is one of the best parts, in my opinion, since finding less common French varieties can be difficult. Likewise, I’ll be looking into many of the volumes she mentions in her bibliography. I also have to say that the photography is wonderful, and it’s worth at least flipping through just for the pictures.

I’ve decided that I want to read the other books in this series, but I know that I’ll be sifting for nuggets rather than considering them regular references.

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My basil (the store-bought plant) is not happy. I really hope this isn’t fusarium. If so, that pot of basil is getting isolated so that it won’t infect the basil I started from seed. One of my advisers thinks it’s overwatering and maybe a leaf scale.

On a more positive note, these two little guys were eaten this morning. They were a little on the sour side, but I’m not displeased. They’re only about 1cm long each, and none were saved for mom.

They continue to develop, and now are starting to turn red.

This picture was taken about a week ago. I’m really excited. I’ll probably have 10 berries at most, but it’s still really neat.

Sunday is often cooking day, which often ends in slightly burned fingers, a few cuts, and usually at least something tasty. Tonight I did some experimental cooking. The results are pictured below.

At the top left is the first experiment: radishes cooked in butter with salt and pepper. It was not bad, but radishes are not going to become my favorite veggie anytime soon.

At the bottom is cooking experiment 2: quiche aux tomates. I’ve never made a quiche with tomatoes before, and I think that either I should have sliced these thinner and laid them on top, or I should have cooked them first. I think the combination of the other ingredients would make this a good base for a quiche aux courgettes (zucchini).

The other quiche ingredients are Pillsbury recipe dough (yeah, yeah—shush!), eggs, shredded 2% mozzarella, salt, pepper, nutmeg, sautéed onions and garlic, yogurt, and basil. The basil is from a plant I got at the grocery store and then re-potted.

This is also the first time I’ve made a quiche with yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farms whole milk yogurt) instead of milk, cream, or half and half. You can’t taste the difference.

Finally, at the top right are mixed salad greens that grew in my window box.

I wanted to clarify and add a few things about previous posts.

First, about my review of Edible Heirloom Gardening, there were two additional pieces of valuable information that the book provides.

First, Creasy explains the importance of attracting good insects, including pollinators. According to Creasy, having flowers growing near your vegetables is not only ornamental, but it can help attract beneficial bugs and pollinators, especially if the flowers are appealing to bees.

Creasy also provides information about related plants and explains how these plants can cross pollinate, perhaps giving you hybrid varieties that are unappealing and making seed saving a wasted effort. She also points out that it’s important to take this into mind when planning beds and rotating crops, so that you aren’t letting pests and soil pathogens establish themselves too firmly. She also lists some good cover crops to use in between edible crop rotations.

I’d also like to clarify my stance regarding vitamins and nutritional supplements. I’m not opposed to them across the board. I think that the added B vitamins in cereals, vitamin D in milk, and iodine in salt are valuable correctives to serious nutrient deficiencies whose absence we in the US now take for granted. (The lack of iodine in salt leads to Cretinism in parts of the developing world.) I just don’t feel like taking even more supplements is useful in the absence of a specific deficiency like iron-related anemia, vitamin D deficiency (which sometimes occurs in exclusively breast fed babies, especially ones with dark skin), etc.

Eating local just got much easier or harder, depending on your point of view. Personally, I’m not too thrilled with the idea of large corporations saying they produce local food, but I do like the idea of transparency in understanding where your food is grown.

I also have become skeptical of the value of taking vitamins, although I have to confess that’s partly because I just hate taking gigantic pills. I just learned that taking vitamins may interfere with the benefits of exercise, though, so perhaps I’ll just continue to not take them.

This post refers to:

Severson, K. When ‘Local’ Makes It Big. New York Times. May 12, 2009.

Wade, N. Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits. New York Times. May 12, 2009.

I added several new links to the sidebar. I’d particularly like to mention 101cookbooks, though. I made two recipes from the site tonight, and have made a few others as well. Everything I’ve tried from there has turned out delicious. I highly recommend checking it out.

[Cross-posted]

You can add your local library system to your list of places to find books. I added the Montgomery County libraries. Now I can look at my GoodReads list, pick a book, see if it’s in the library catalog, and then place a request for it online.

To add your local library, edit the “Book Links” tab on your account settings (found under where it says “Hi [Name]“). On the right, there will be a link to “add a new link.” Follow the instructions on the lower right side of the page. The NYC public library system and the MIT libraries are already there.

To search for a book, click on the title or search for it using the search box. Then click on “compare prices.” On the right, there will be your list of Book Links. Click on your library system, and it will automatically search the catalog for you.

The Edible Heirloom Garden by Rosalind Creasy

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a combination gardening book and cookbook. The photography is beautiful, and it can be informative, but it’s not terribly detailed. It’s particularly informative about colonial planting, cooking, and eating habits.

On the gardening side, this is a good place to start for figuring out what sorts of crops and heirloom varieties you may want to try planting. It really made me want a yard so I could grow things—especially okra, which I love. I was a bit disappointed, though, in that not all of the varieties featured in the photographs were discussed in the text.

On the cookbook side, I didn’t find most of these recipes to be too appealing. Most are pretty simple and involve either boiling, baking, or roasting, adding butter, and seasoning with salt and pepper.

I was also disappointed in the editing. Page 10 of my edition, on which the “Heirloom Garden Style” section begins, includes placeholder text that someone should have caught and cut out before the book hit the presses.

Overall, I’m not disappointed, and I would read other books in this series, but I’m glad I didn’t buy it.

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