Minnesota's Bounty

The moment you step into a farmers market you are enveloped in a swirl of colors, aromas, and soundsbrilliant orange squash, vibrant green beans, glossy eggplant, crimson crab apples, the spicy bouquet of hot and sweet peppers, ripe muskmelons. Tables are bursting with sunflowers, honey, and eggs. To your right, freshly fried doughnuts and steaming coffee; to your left, acoustic guitar and beautiful flowers. But the local market is not just a place to immerse the sensesit is where communities come together and engage in an exchange as old as civilization. Minnesotas Bounty is a users guide to shopping and cooking from your local farmers market, and it applies a practical, easy approach to creating a truly seasonal kitchen. Organized alphabetically by type of food, it encourages readers to scrap predetermined recipes and forget the long lists. Instead, shop with an eye for what looks best and what you are hungry for. With more than twenty-five years of firsthand experience and a deep knowledge of Minnesota farmers markets, seasoned cook and food writer Beth Dooley has suggestions and recipes that inspire simple, modern, and healthy meals following an ingredients-first philosophy, helping readers to be more confident and spontaneous both at the market and in the kitchen. Including a fascinating history of Minnesota farmers marketswith particular focus on the downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis marketsDooley presents an extraordinary introduction to our markets and the regions sustainably grown fresh foods. From a warming Coconut Curry Winter Squash Soup and Heartland Brisket to a summers meal of Minted Double Pea Soup, Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki, and Blueberry Lemon Ginger Sorbet, the guiding tenet of Minnesotas Bounty is splendidly uncomplicated: take this book to the market, buy the markets best offerings that day, then come home, cook, and enjoy.