The Chef's Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables - With Recipes

Description

An approachable, comprehensive guide to the modern world of vegetables, from the leading grower of specialty vegetables in the country. An approachable, comprehensive guide to the modern world of vegetables, from the leading grower of specialty vegetables in the country Near the shores of Lake Erie is a family-owned farm with a humble origin story that has become the most renowned specialty vegetable grower in America. After losing their farm in the early 1980s, a chance encounter with a French-trained chef at their farmers' market stand led the Jones family to remake their business and learn to grow unique ingredients that were considered exotic at the time, like microgreens and squash blossoms. They soon discovered chefs across the country were hungry for these prized ingredients, from Thomas Keller in Napa Valley to Daniel Boulud in New York City. Today, they provide exquisite vegetables for restaurants and home cooks across the country. The Chef's Garden grows and harvests with the notion that every part of the plant offers something unique for the plate. From a perfect-tasting carrot, to a tiny red royal turnip, to a pencil lead-thin cucumber still attached to its blossom, The Chef's Garden is constantly innovating to grow vegetables sustainably and with maximum flavor. It's a Willy Wonka factory for vegetables. In this guide and cookbook, The Chef's Garden, led by Farmer Lee Jones, shares with readers the wealth of knowledge they've amassed on how to select, prepare, and cook vegetables. Featuring more than 500 entries, from herbs, to edible flowers, to varieties of commonly known and not-so-common produce, this book will be a new bible for farmers' market shoppers and home cooks. With 100 recipes created by the head chef at The Chef's Garden Culinary Vegetable Institute, readers will learn innovative techniques to transform vegetables in their kitchens with dishes such as Ramp Top Pasta, Seared Rack of Brussels Sprouts, and Cornbread-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms, and even sweet concoctions like Onion Caramel and Beet Marshmallows. The future of cuisine is vegetables, and Jones and The Chef's Garden are on the forefront of this revolution.

Farmer Lee Jones is a farmer, along with his dad, Bob, and younger brother, Bob Jr., at The Chef's Garden in Ohio, the farm their family has owned for decades. They are committed to reviving heirloom vegetables and discovering exciting new varieties, all while telling their stories and farming sustainably so their vegetables are dense with flavor and nutrition. In 2011, Jones was honored with the James Beard Foundation's award for Who's Who in Food & Beverage, and he has spoken across the country as an expert in regenerative agriculture. Whether he's roaming the farm or at a black-tie event, Jones is always seen in his iconic outfit- a white shirt with denim overalls and a red bow tie.

"There's never been a book quite like this. `Essential reading for anyone who cooks or gardens, and a reference book every vegetable lover will want to have on hand. If you care about food, you want this book." -Ruth Reichl "Farmer Lee Jones' delightful new cookbook is a testament not only to his love of land and soil, but also to his deeply generous spirit. Poring over its pages, you'll appreciate the author's reverence for alliums and share his everlasting fondness for Mr. Frye's rhubarb. More than anything, though, the recipes (the yuca pave is my favorite!) and the writing will bring optimism into your kitchen, and joy into your life." -Thomas Keller, chef and owner of The French Laundry "The Chef's Garden encompasses so many unusual plants beyond the familiar ones plus the recipes look both utterly gorgeous and doable. This is a valuable book for anyone who wishes to garden and cook or simply to know where our food comes from and how to use it all-stems, leaves, pods, and roots. But what I loved most was the story of losing the farm to hail in the early l980s, having to auction off everything, the decision to work with chefs, good words worth repeating on sustainability, regenerative agriculture, farming farmers, and the myth of local. Congratulations!" -Deborah Madison, author of Vegetable Literacy and An Onion in My Pocket "Farmer Lee Jones is a passionate gardener and perfectionist supplier to the finest chefs and food lovers in America. His vast knowledge, combined with the excellence of his harvest, have no boundaries, making the Chef's Garden the best university for vegetable study on earth." -Daniel Boulud, chef "If you aren't familiar with Farmer Lee's work in shaping the way we appreciate vegetables in the culinary world then this book is a great introduction. For decades The Chef's Garden has been at the cusp of the vegetal kingdom and showcasing its bounty. From miraculous micro greens to bodacious brassicas, The Chef's Garden is an encyclopedia to all things sprouted from the earth and how delicious they can be." -Kwame Onwuachi, chef and author of Notes from a Young Black Chef "Farmer Lee Jones is a vegetable Willy Wonka who heads up the wonderland that grows some of the most delicious ingredients on the planet. This extensive and thorough, yet completely approachable, ode to vegetables peels back the curtain on this magical farm, and will inspire cooks of all levels." -Molly Yeh, Food Network host and cookbook author "Once you open The Chef's Garden, you'll never think about vegetables in the same way again. It'll have you itching to get creative with veggies you've been cooking for years (Sweet Potato Ice Cream Cones, anyone?!) and introduce you to others you've never heard of. Farmer Lee Jones's anecdotes and insights prove that well-grown vegetables are the secret to creating flavorful, nourishing, and sustainable food." -Jeanine Donofrio, author of The Love and Lemons Cookbook and Love and Lemons Every Day "The Chef's Garden is the number-one reason I fell in love with vegetables. The farm produced varieties and sizes of vegetables, greens, and rare herbs I had never tasted before. This led me to pursue vegetable cookery and farming and ultimately write Six Seasons. It is incredible to be humbled, inspired, and excited yet again with this encyclopedia of knowledge." -Joshua McFadden, chef and author of Six Seasons "I have waited a lifetime for this book. Lee's story echoes mine. I have been a customer, friend, guest, speaker, advocate and surrogate storyteller for the Chef's Garden farm since the 90s. There is no greater advocate for change, health, wellness, farming, eating, cooking, and living than Lee Jones. The future of our planet is vegetables and Lee is our vanguard. Superb stories, great recipes and a brilliant book that every chef, home cook and reader will treasure for a lifetime." -Andrew Zimmern, chef and TV personality "Every chef needs to know about vegetables from a farmer's point of view, and there is no better place to learn than Farmer Lee's book. He and his dad were there at the beginning and all these years later they've still got more to teach us than we'll ever be able to learn." -Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of Dirt Candy "Farmer Lee Jones taught me what I know best: cook with good-quality ingredients; farm the soil the right way; and lastly, be kind and of service to others. His family is like my own, and his veggies a reflection of his heart and craft." -Candice Kumai, chef, bestselling author, and journalist