Farm Recipes

Ian Knauer has worked and does work for all kinds of food related hot spots like Gourmet magazine and the Food Network. He has written a beautiful cook book called The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food. The pictures are just amazing, and the recipes are pretty good, too!

Just one warning…if you are opposed to seeing a pig on a spit…you might want to avoid this book (or at least pages 68-69. However, if you really want to know how to roast a whole pig, this book has instructions for that.

The book has recipes for produce that peaks in each part of the year. However, it is beyond the four seasons. He has sections for early summer produce, midsummer produce, and late summer produce. I really like the organization of this book.

The recipe I decided to try from this book was Cocoa Zucchini Cake with "Whipped Cream" Frosting.  As with most homemade cakes, this is much denser and less sickeningly sweet than those you can buy from your local store or that come from a cake mix.  My husband liked it a lot...even the frosting...which is odd for him because he usually scrapes off the frosting and throws it away because frosting is "too sweet."  My mother-in-law said I could make it for here anytime.

It's the first time I've tried a cooked frosting.  It was called "whipped cream" frosting.  It had granulated sugar, whole milk, flour, and vanilla.  It was different than any frosting I've ever tasted.  The texture was also different.  I still haven't decided if I really liked it or not...guess that means I'll have to make it again sometime this summer.  Heaven knows I will have plenty of zucchini to use up!

I got to use a zucchini from my garden...YummY!

I hope you take the time to check out this book at your local library.  Have a great week, and take care of you!