This isn’t one of those books that is a compendium of every single fruit and vegetable that comes to harvest everywhere. You may find that there are foods you absolutely love that I have skipped right over.
That’s because this is a real look at what we in this family actually eat. For example, I loathe beets in every possible form, thus you won’t find them in this book. But for the things I do like, I’ve included:
- A few fun facts (because who doesn’t need fruit and vegetable trivia)
- How to select the food at the store or market
- How to store it while it’s fresh to make it last the longest
- Some tasty ways to enjoy your fresh produce
- How to freeze it
- How to dehydrate it
- How to can it
The recipes are things that I’ve served at my own table many times. There aren’t any exotic ingredients. They’re made up of whole foods, cooked simply. If you don’t have a garden, you can find this produce at your local farmer’s market or even your grocery store.
Getting these foods when they are abundant and cheap and preserving them to enjoy year round helps keep our grocery budget at an all-time low while providing us with an agrarian-style pantry to see us through the hard times.