Gardening

Amy Goldman's newest book, The Compleat Squash­A Passionate Grower's Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds, is a smashingly beautiful and informative tome. With color photographs by Victor Schrager and a foreword by Kent Whealy, each page is a feast for the eyes and the soul. I like the addition of her comments about the tastes of various varieties. Helps when I am pondering which one to cook. I keep my copy atop a pie-safe, face out, so that I can enjoy the striking cover and turn the pages whenever I have a question. Hardcover and worth the $40.00. Artisan Books.

Cooking

Autumn from the Heart of the Home is by my girlfriend Susan Branch. Grab a pot of tea and settle in for a good read and some great ideas. Susie covers everything from celebrations to traditions, decorating and cooking. You will want a copy of this for yourself and one for your best friend. Susie's illustrations are luscious. I especially love the end papers, which are studies of acorns and leaves. I wouldn't mind having wallpaper or table linens in that pattern. Look for Susie's illustration of a map of New England, and you will find my home place, Christmas Cove, Maine. $25.95, hardcover, Little Brown Publishing.

Frank Stitt's Southern Table­Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill isn't your normal, run of the mill bar and grill cook book, and Frank Stitt isn't your normal, run of the mill chef. Raised in Alabama and always connected to the land and its agriculture, he slipped into the wake of Chez Panisse and worked with Alice Waters, Richard Olney, Jeremiah Tower, and more. He has traveled the world gleaning the best recipes and knowledge available, then returned home to create his own unique versions of traditional foods and flavors. I love the chapter "The Imperative of Seasonality," or what could also be called Timing is Everything. Hefty hardcover (I use this for my arm lifts) 384 pages. $40.00 (the cost of a mediocre dinner out). Artisan Books.

With a Measure of Grace.

I stumbled across this fine cookbook-lifestyle-story book at the San Francisco Fancy Foods Show, and I was smitten. It isn't often that I fall head over heels for a cookbook, but once you read this you will too. And, you WILL read it, because, unlike most cookbooks, it has a story to share and lessons to be learned.

Now that I am hooked on the Hell's Backbone Grill ,I am ready to journey to Boulder, Utah, yes, I said Utah, not Colorado, to meet Jen, Blake, Lavinia ,and of course the gorgeous gardener and wildman forager Breck Crystal.

The book has an unlikely cast of characters, an unlikely mix of religions (Mormon and Buddhist), and is centered around a restaurant that not only survives, but thrives in an unlikely and remote section of the earth. But thrive they do and enchanted you will be when you read this delightful book.

The Olive Harvest Cookbook­Olive Oil Lore and Recipes from the McEvoy Ranch

If you are enamored with the tastes, history, health benefits, and uses of olive oil, you will not want to miss this cookbook. Chef Gerald Gass, an impresario of Mediterranean cooking, now coordinates the finest organic ingredients into simple, yet tastily complex recipes fit for a family or a feast of royalty. I love all of his small tips such as how to make the perfect puréed vegetable soup. "You can improve the consistency of spinach, sorrel, or other soups made with delicate greens by cooking a peeled and thinly sliced russet potato in the liquid before adding the green vegetable." Finally, my soups are now more full-bodied thanks to Gerald's tip to keep the pot at a full boil after adding the greens. My green veggies STAY a bright green. $35.00, hardcover, Chronicle Books.

Novel

Do yourself a favor and read A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House. The novel so moved me and filled me with the poetry of the earth that I was saddened when I finally turned the last page. This young postman-author KNOWS about life and shares his knowledge and tenderness beautifully. I actually wrote him a fan letter (not something I normally do), and he wrote back! Fabulous writer, fabulous book. $23.95, hardcover, Algonquin Publishing.