Farm Fresh Southern Cooking: Straight from the Garden to Your Dinner Table

Farm Fresh Southern Cooking offers a beautifully illustrated virtual kitchen table of goodies arrayed from trips to the Farmer's Markets in the South. While I am a Midwestern gal myself, I found several recipes that I would enjoy using once our local produce is in full season. Recipes like: *Spring Green spread made from freshly shelled peas *Spring Collection Cucumber Plate (a slice of cucumber with a chicken salad topped with a pecan--sounds beautiful for a tea party!) *Stuffed strawberries (another pretty one for a tea party) *Beulah Land Asparagus Pie (asparagus is soon going to be ripe in my garden so one of the first I want to try) *Grilled Corn Salad *Fresh Rhubarb Sauce Several of these recipes sound delicious. The instructions look to be easy to follow and complete--unlike some cookbooks that I have tried to use in the past. Also, there are a couple of canning recipes with some basic canning instructions. The pear preserves sound like something I would make and my family would enjoy. The illustrations of both the fresh produce and the completed recipes are beautiful as is the well-designed cover. I am sure it is a book that could be best utilized by Southern cooks that are able to shop at the farms and markets recommended in the book as well as those with more access to fresh seafood for those recipes. However, as a farm and garden girl, I found plenty to appreciate in this beautiful cookbook. Tammy Algood also takes time to explain the benefits and pleasures of shopping for local produce and making recipes in season. I think it would also make a good gift for any cook that enjoys using local produce. I received this book from Thomas Nelson through their Booksneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review.