Chefs on the Farm: Recipes and Inspiration from the Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts

CHEFS ON THE FARM chronicles a year at Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts in Eastern Washington. An "allegory" for any farm this book is for anyone interested in "real" food. Coincidentally I read this book around the same period as I read Michael Pollan's REAL FOOD. One would guess that Michael would approve of CHEFS ON THE FARM. From winter planning through spring renewal and planting, the abundance of summer, and the final harvest and preservation associated with fall the connection between food sources and the table is made explicit. There are ideas and information we should be made familiar with, such as biodynamic farming-planting using the moon's phases and sources of plants and seeds which are in danger of becoming extinct. We are also given information that maybe many of us would rather not know, about such things as-"headless cackling chickens." CHEFS ON THE FARM has beautiful color photographs and abounds with recipes, making it perfect for coffee table or kitchen. I want to try the Rabbit Tart with Pinot Noir-Juniper Sauce.

Chefs on The Farm takes us from winter, dreaming of projects to come, with a larder filled for use of the farm's bounty, recipes to use and share, and the warmth of the author's friendship. Reading this beautifully and very well produced book, you feel like you are already a member of The Farm and as the year rolls along in this book filled with wonderful pictures and ideas and love for the eearth, you are also mentally rearranging how you can also reduce your own carbon footprint and redesign your own life on "your farm." Having gardened for years, I was already familiar with some of the same seed sources, way to shelter and produce an early garden battling the weather. I've found so many new ideas to try for the next year's season and am already taking notes from the book of varieties to try and checking out seed catalogs on the internet. Being a traveler, I would love to stop by The Farm and work for a few days. This book is great reading and I heartidly recommend it to all. Anne

"Chefs on the Farm" is part cookbook, part treatise on eating locally. It focuses on Quillisascut Farm, a small, family-run business in northeastern Washington state. Richly illustrated with numerous color photographs, the book is organized by the seasons -- winter, spring, summer, fall. For each season there are several recipes featuring local foods available at that time of year along with discussion of life on the farm during that season and other aspects of the connection between farm and table. The book also includes profiles of farmers and chefs who participate in the local foods movement. In line with the focus on eating locally and more sustainably, several of the recipes highlight less commonly know vegetables, such as heirloom varieties of beans and potatoes, and cuts of meat. One that particularly caught my eye was a recipe for oxtail and parsnip lasagna, but there are also recipes for more traditional fare such as apricot preserves. A couple of the recipes made me want to rush into the kitchen to cook, specifically coffee toffee bread pudding with cajeta sauce (a caramel sauce made with goat's milk) and cardamom-apple stuffed French toast with cider syrup. Overall, I found "Chefs on the Farm" to be an inspirational and enjoyable window into the local food movement. Though not really a how-to book for a newcomer to eating more sustainably, the book does include a few helpful tips for book for finding local food.

As winter closes in upon us, now is a wonderful time to stop and reflect; to heed the relentless pace of our lives, and perhaps stop, and take time to contemplate where we are. Chefs on the Farm, is a wonderful catalyst for such action. It is a book of many facets. On one hand an earthy recipe book, of vibrant and hearty natural dishes that can sustain or enlighten us, depending on the season, and on the other hand it's also a guide to life; a promotion of all things good, that are slow, earthy and sustainable; an appreciation of how we can benefit from working with nature to extract the best from our land and our communities. It provides a blueprint of how we can all reinteract with our surroundings and extract the best seasonal meals and produce from what nature has to offer us; perhaps also stirring and encouraging the farmer within us all. In these pressing times, it is a wonderful tonic. Worthy of ruminating upon with a glass of wine as a hearty meal of local fare cooks slowly in the oven....

I love the connections of the seasons to earth and from field to table in this book. The recipe's by Karen Jurgensen and the photography throughout the book make this a fabulous read but more importantly a great recipe book to have in the kitchen. Whether you are yearning to be on the farm or wanting to have a deeper understanding of the labors that go into real food before it arrives in your kitchen, this is one of those recipe books that you'll want to share with friends. The forward by Tom Douglas is a testimony to the farmer that resides in each of us.