Seed to Supper: Growing and Cooking Great Food No Matter Where You Live--100+ Delicious Recipes & Growing Tips for Windowsills to Wide Open Spaces

by John Tullock

Overview

Not since the Greatest Generation marched off to war have Americans embraced home food gardening with such enthusiasm, with everyone from apartment dwellers to the First Family growing fresh, wholesome food. Seed to Supper provides the perfect introduction to food gardening and cooking with homegrown produce.

America is a land of foodies. From local supermarkets to gourmet food trucks, we're cooking, buying and eating more discriminately than ever. And, as our options for healthy eating grow, so does our awareness of additives, preservatives and other ingredients on food labels that we can't pronounce (and don't want). So, what could be more natural than taking our passion for food to the source? To actually nurture herbs and vegetables from tiny seeds to aromatic glory is beyond a mere accomplishment—it's deeply fulfilling (and delicious!).

In Seed to Supper Tullock takes a novel approach to help growers succeed by organizing cooking and growing information by the nature and size of the garden space itself. Beginning with herbs and greens that can be produced at a sunny window, he moves on to larger containers for a patio or deck, followed by the diversity of raised beds, and finally to an integrated backyard landscape.

Yet, Seed to Supper is much more than a gardening book. Tullock includes more than 100 kitchen-tested recipes that feature the most popular homegrown vegetables and fresh herbs, which can be paired with meat and dairy from the grocery. And it doesn't take an expert either in the garden or in the kitchen to grow the ingredients or create the wonderfully nutritious recipes featured in each chapter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780757318887
Publisher:	Health Communications, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/29/2016
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John Tullock is a lifelong gardener, self-taught gourmet cook and trained ecologist whose previous books have covered a range of topics including aquariums, hardy orchids, sustainable living and starting a small business. His Natural Reef Aquariums sold over 75,000 copies and is considered a "classic" in its subject area. Growing Hardy Orchids was named by the American Horticulture Society as one of the five best garden books of 2006. Pay Dirt, released in 2010, sold over 10,000 copies during its first six months. The New American Homestead: Sustainable, Self-Sufficient Living in the Country or the City has inspired people all over the country to grow food at home. His most recent works are Idiot's Guides: Vegetable Gardening and Idiot's Guides: Straw Bale Gardening, both published by Alpha Books. He writes, cooks and gardens on his suburban homestead near Knoxville, Tennessee.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

Food, Glorious Food

I grew up on a small farm that produced nearly everything we ate. My mother used to say that Grandma always began her shopping list with 'sugar, coffee, oatmeal' because those were three staples we did not grow. Some folks in the neighborhood grew sorghum, though, and after they harvested the crop, squeezed the juice from it, and boiled down the juice to make syrup, Grandma could barter eggs for a quart or two. It has a special, grassy flavor all its own and is not quite as sweet as honey or agave nectar. You will find it listed in some of the recipes in this book. These days, sorghum is making a comeback as people seek out alternatives to refined sugar and corn syrup.

The best part of farm life was the abundance of garden-fresh vegetables that dominated every meal. Even breakfast might include fried potatoes, a tomato bread pudding, or fried green tomatoes. My dad remembered his mother frying squash blossoms dipped in batter and serving them with honey for breakfast. Other meals would include at least three vegetables, and twice that many on Sundays or when guests came by for dinner.

My family food traditions are rooted in the Southern Appalachians, but every region of the country has traditional recipes featuring the farm-fresh ingredients typical of that locale. Home gardeners are seeking out the heirloom vegetables their ancestors grew and sharing recipes from their grandparents' time.

Not since the Greatest Generation marched off to war have Americans embraced home food gardening with such enthusiasm. Instead of aiding in the fight to protect democracy, this time we are working to save Earth's ecosystem, surely a goal with equivalent, if not greater, urgency. An increasing number of people are growing fresh, wholesome food. Home food production has taken off, even in urban areas where earnest apartment dwellers cultivate tomatoes and herbs under artificial lights, and in suburban sprawl-scapes, where lawns are giving way to lettuces and leeks.

According to the National Gardening Association, 2014 marked the first time food gardening surpassed flower gardening as a backyard hobby among Americans. Whether it's a few pots of herbs on a sunny windowsill or a traditional vegetable patch, the new American food garden represents a heartening response to the commodification of food and the industrialization of farming.

In Seed to Supper, I endeavor to provide a balanced, concise introduction to food gardening and to cooking with homegrown produce. The kitchen-tested recipes feature the most popular homegrown vegetables and fresh herbs, paired with meat and dairy from the grocery store. You don't have to be an expert, either in the garden or the kitchen, to grow the ingredients or to create the recipes offered in this book.

Americans have rediscovered local products and are incorporating them into both traditional and contemporary recipes. In a few cases, I mention by name high-quality products from my region that anyone can buy online. I encourage readers to substitute similar ingredients when they come from producers close to your home. And if you simply use whatever brand you can find at the grocery, the recipe will still taste great.

We are each a part of a vast, living system that is the Earth's biosphere. Increasingly, we behave more like a virulent pathogen than the rational beings we consider ourselves to be. Whether for good or ill, we undeniably interact with and alter our environment every day. Our most intimate connection with the biosphere is via the food system. All of us, despite our differences, must eat. Some of us get way too much food, too many of us do not get enough, and the complex system of industrial food production and distribution scarcely serves anyone well, save the corporate moguls upon whose investments commercial farmers are forced to depend.

Industrial agriculture requires enormous inputs of petroleum and water. Increasingly, farmers are planting genetically modified varieties of staple crops in an effort to reduce labor costs, increase productivity, and secure enough profit to stay in business. Besides the unknown and potentially harmful environmental effects of the genetic modifications themselves, growing these crops almost always involves increased application of pesticides. For example, many genetically modified crops are 'Roundup Ready,' meaning they carry resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, marketed under the name Roundup by the Monsanto Corporation. Instead of traditional cultivation to control weeds in soybeans, farmers spray the crop with herbicide, which kills the weeds, leaving the soybeans to fight another day. For the most part, the environmental effects of these practices are unknown. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, we learn the following:

Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (94%), cotton (90%), canola (90%), sugar beets (95%), corn (88%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (over 24,000 acres). (Number in parentheses represents the estimated percent that is genetically modified.)¹

The benefits of growing and cooking with homegrown produce are many. Unparalleled freshness, maximum nutrition, and outstanding flavor comprise the top three, but growing food saves energy, reduces our dependence upon fossil fuels, conserves water, promotes ecological diversity, and protects local landscapes from development. The exercise gardening affords is exactly the type recommended for our aging population, and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables—invariably a consequence of home food gardening—helps stem the rising tide of obesity. Any location in the United States can produce a variety of vegetables, although local conditions will determine which vegetables do best in any given area. Where I live, the growing
season is long, rainfall is reliable and abundant, and the list of potential crops is extensive. Because local conditions vary widely, I have focused upon the needs of the vegetables in the chapters on outdoor gardening. If you read my comments regarding what vegetables need and their dislikes, you can decide for yourself how easy or difficult a particular plant will be to grow in your individual circumstances.

For example, where summers are short, tropical vegetables such as okra and watermelons seldom succeed. On the other hand, in the Deep South, lettuce production is limited to the winter months and perhaps late fall and early spring. Otherwise, the temperature becomes too hot to support a crop. For these and other reasons, most people will find it difficult to produce all the vegetables they may want to eat. My advice is to focus on what will grow well and utilize your crops to the maximum, and then look to your local farmer's market, CSA, or organic food co-op for the rest. We should never avoid delicious, wholesome foods like bananas or cinnamon because we cannot grow them on the patio.

Instead of grouping recipes by season, and gardening advice by plant variety, I chose the novel approach of organizing growing and cooking information by the nature and size of the space available to the gardener. Thus, we begin with herbs and greens that can be successfully produced at a sunny window, then move on to larger containers on the patio or deck, then to raised beds in a corner of the yard, and finally to an integrated backyard landscape. Each increase in the gardener's growing room brings additional possibilities for the kitchen. Recipes accompany the growing advice for each crop discussed. The final chapter offers generalized advice for successful vegetable gardening, regardless of the amount of space devoted to the activity.

How to Read the Recipes

The recipes emphasize getting the best flavors out of ultra-fresh ingredients without the need for complex kitchen techniques. While some recipes require more preparation time than others, or include more ingredients, none is inaccessible to the average home cook. Neither are all recipes vegan or vegetarian. Pairings of seasonal produce with meat, chicken, and fish, as well as eggs and dairy products, creates a culinary palette offering greater interest and opportunity for exploration. Nevertheless, many recipes can be executed without resorting to animal products, so I offer suggestions for vegetarian substitutions.

To avoid repetition, I include here information that applies to all the recipes in the book. The recipes all begin with a list of the ingredients in the order in which they are used and the amount of each needed for the dish.

• Eggs are large in size.
• I always use plain, all-purpose flour. Sifting is unnecessary. If you need to blend in salt or baking powder, use a wire whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
• Measurements need not be precise, except for baked goods. Soups, stews, and other dishes will turn out just fine if you alter slightly the amounts of ingredients. You should have two types of measuring cups. For dry ingredients, these typically have a long handle and look like a miniature saucepan. For liquids, measuring cups are shaped like a small pitcher with graduations on the side. You can use these interchangeably, except when baking.

Food should look good as well as taste good. Having your own garden allows you to choose vegetable varieties based on their appearance. Green or orange tomatoes or purple carrots on the plate are sure to impress and please your family and friends. I find it a useful rule to try to have as much color on the plate as possible. This is a good way not only to make the meal pleasingly attractive but also to maximize the nutritional benefits from a varied selection of plant foods. I encourage you to be visually creative when serving the dishes listed in the following pages.

¹ Source: http://www.responsibletechnology.org/buy-non-gmo/non-gmo-seed, accessed January 9, 2015.

©2016 John Tullock. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Seed to Supper: Growing and Cooking Great Food No Matter Where You Live — 100+ Delicious Recipes & Growing Tips for Windowsills to Wide Open Spaces. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Food, Glorious Food 1

Chapter 1 At the Kitchen Food 7

Arugula Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts 11

Potato Salad with Arugula Pesto 12

Cream of Corn Salad Soup 13

Mâche Salad with Blue Cheese, Blueberries, and Pecans 14

Cress Tea Sandwiches 18

Deviled Eggs with Cress 20

Southern Style Thai Lettuce Cups 22

Lettuce Soup 23

Spring Lettuces with Green Dressing 24

Japanese-Style Garden Vegetable Soup 26

Open-Faced Radish Sandwiches 27

Cornbread Salad 27

Foo Yung Eggs with Scallions 29

Kilt Lettuce 30

Chervil in Potato Chip "Windows" 32

Shrimp "Scampi" with Chervil 33

Chive and Rice Flour Pancakes 35

Steamed Vegetable Bundles (tied with chives) 36

Key Lime and Cilantro Shrimp Salad 38

Parsley Cream 40

Winter Tabouli 41

Chapter 2 Containerized Farming 41

Baby Bok Choy in Vegetable Herb Broth 45

Stir Fry of Asian Mustards with Ground Pork 46

Braised Dandelion Greens 48

Gumbo Z'herbes 49

Korean Eggplant 51

Smoky Grilled Caponata 52

Cream of Spinach Soup 55

Spinach Salad with Dates 56

Cream of Carrot Soup with Cumin and Thyme 58

Roasted Carrots and Winter Vegetables 59

Creamy Chilled Vegetarian Snow Pea Soup 61

End-of-Season Fresh Pea Soup 62

Vichysoisse 64

Southern Style Potato Salad 65

Golden Potato Soup 66

Korean-Style Potatoes 67

Deep Dish Vegetable Pie with Potato Crust 68

Three Bean Salad 71

Green Beans and "Shellies" with Country Ham 72

Green Beans with Roasted Peppers 73

White Gazpacho 75

Cucumber, Onion, and Tomato Salad 76

Benedictine Spread 77

Grilled Fish with Three Pepper Sauces 79

White Chili 80

Cornbread Panzanella 82

Old-Fashioned Tomato Bread Pudding 83

Gazpacho 85

Pesto 87

Peaches in Basil Syrup 88

Japanese Flower Soup 90

Winter Squash Soup with Asian Flavors 93

Vegetable and White Bean Curry with Rice 94

Raw Vegan Thai Curry Soup 96

Grilled Lemongrass Pork Kebabs with Slaw 97

Raspberry Hand Pies 99

Raspberry, Jicama, and Pecan Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette 100

Skillet Chicken with Rosemary 102

Oven-Dried Tomato Bruschetta with Rosemary Oil 103

Strawberry Shortcake 105

Salad of Baby Lettuce, Early Peas, and Strawberries 106

Chicken and Thyme Dumplings 108

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Beer 110

Chapter 3 Gardening in Raised Beds 111

Caldo Verde 114

Borscht: Two Variations 116

Beet Canapés 117

Heirloom Potato and Baby Leek Vichysoisse 119

Winter Gazpacho 120

Winter Vegetables in Rich Chicken Broth 121

Jade Green Broccoli 123

Broccoli Steamed with Bay Leaves 123

Coleslaw Brass Rail-Style 125

Virginia Peanut Coleslaw 126

Gratin of Cauliflower 128

Cauliflower and Potato Salad 129

Southern Style Collard Greens 131

Cayettes with Collards 132

Sweet Com Soup 134

Edamame Succotash 135

Tonkatsu-Style Pork Cutlets 136

Sweet Corn Pudding 137

Fresh Corn Chowder with Tortilla Shreds 138

Karibbean Kebabs 139

Mâque Choux 140

Tennessee Caviar 142

Hoppin' John 143

Chilled Melon Soup 145

Salad with Melon and Crisp Tennessee Prosciutto 146

John's Creole Style Gumbo 148

Fried Okra (aka Cajun Popcorn) 151

Okra Karen 152

Fall Garden Salad with Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing 154

Lemon Basil Zucchini 155

Fried Corn with Zucchini 155

Summer Squash Casserole 156

Sweet Potato Mascarpone Gnocchi 158

Pecan Sorghum Brown Butter Sauce 160

Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with Winter Greens 160

Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows 161

Sweet Potato Salad 162

Sweet Potato Pie 163

Fried Green Tomato Napoleons 165

Pepper Crusted Pork Provencal 166

Yellow Tomato and Bacon Jam 168

Turnip Greens Oshitashi 170

Mixed Turnip Mash 171

Winter Squash Pickle 173

Winter Squash and Shrimp Bisque for Company 174

Winter Squash Ravioli with Vegetables in Broth 176

Winter Squash Ravioli 177

Shrimp-Stuffed Butterbush Squash with Seafood Tomato Sauce 178

Traditional Thanksgiving Dressing 180

Celery Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Blue Cheese 182

Trader Vic's Chicken Salad 183

Potato Stacks with Celery Sauce 184

Dilled Green Tomatoes or Green Beans 187

Brown Butter and Sage Sauce 189

Gouda Mac 'n' Cheese with Fresh Tarragon 191

Marinated Cheese with Tarragon Vinegar 192

Chapter 4 The Edible Landscape 193

Blackberry Cobbler 196

Fresh Fruit with Lemon Verbena Syrup 198

Steamed Lemon Verbena Fish 199

Chicken Minestrone 201

Greek Salad Pizza 202

Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Turnover 204

Asparagus "Rockefeller" 207

Asparagus Wrapped with Tennessee Prosciutto 210

Meyer Lemon Curd and Blueberry Tart 212

Seafood Bisque with Blueberries 213

Camphre Apples 215

Grilled Peaches with Blue Cheese 216

Cherry Barbecue Sauce 216

Poached Pears with Mint Mascarpone 217

Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie 219

Filé Gumbo 222

A Soup of Nuts 224

Chapter 5 The Pantry 225

Rich Beef Broth 226

Chicken Broth Supreme 227

Dashi 228

Lemongrass Stock 228

Vegetable Stock 229

Zucchini Broth 229

White Vegetable Stock 230

Vegan Tomato Bullion 230

Preserved Foods

Oven Dried Tomatoes 232

Universal Pickling Solution 233

Pickling Spice Mixture 233

Pickled Strawberries 234

Green Cherry Tomato Preserves 234

Ripe Cherry Tomato Preserves 235

Pimento Relish 236

Pepper Jam 237

Universal Recipe for Herb Jelly 238

Berry or Cherry Preserves 239

Compound Butter 240

Rosemary Oil 240

Cilantro Oil 241

Tarragon Vinegar (and Other Herb Vinegars) 242

Techniques

Baked Goods and Batters

Pizza Dough 246

Basic Yeast Bread and Variations 247

Cornbread 248

Scratch Biscuits 249

Condiments

Warm Dressing of Two Vinegars with Sorghum 251

Toasted Seed Mixture 251

Creole Seasoning Mix 252

Minestra of Summer Vegetables 253

Chapter 6 How to Grow Great Vegetables 255

Acknowledgments, About the Author 273

Index 274