Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion: Dig, Plant, Water, Grow, Harvest, Chop, Cook [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

My husband and I are sharing this book - he is a keen gardener and I am a keen cook so it is an ideal book for both of us. Although the gardening advice means little to me, I love the recipes in the book. There are so many recipes that this would be a vauluable guide to cooking produce in season even if you had no garden at all. I was particulary impressed with the range of simple but effctive dishes included - not many of us have hours to spare for cooking everyday meals - and the delicious twists on traditional dishes from all over the world.

Now I'll hand over to my husband who has been reading the gardening sections of the book:

Stephanie Alexander is not someone I have been aware of before now, though she is evidently well known in Australia, where she made a name for herself through her scheme to establish kitchen gardens in primary schools, inculcating in children from an early age the love of gardening and respect for Nature. This is a principle that I too feel strongly about, so she gets me On-Side immediately.

In the introduction to her book, Stephanie writes about her own experiences long ago with establishing her own kitchen garden, and the trials and tribulations that this involved, which eventually led her to gain confidence in her food-production and subsequently cookery skills. This is something with which most amateur gardeners and cooks will empathise. The approach adopted in her book is uncannily close to that which I have adopted in my own garden and the blog in which I now describe it. The link between growing and eating is the dominant theme

Because of her previous work with schoolchildren, Stephanie is particularly keen to play-up the opportunities to get children involved in both the gardening and the cooking aspects, and her book is liberally interspersed with Especially for Kids sections.

Stephanie's book has lots to offer for the beginner, but it also has a wealth of useful advice for the experienced reader too. As a gardener of 25 years or more, I can see that the information provided in the book it sensible, practical and "tested". My wife Jane has a similar length of experience in the cookery field and is a very accomplished amateur cook. She confirms my view that the culinary content of the book is similarly excellent. One point she particularly noticed is that the vegetable element of the recipes remains the star attraction - the recipes mostly use "store-cupboard" ingredients, without asking you to buy loads of fancy extra bits and pieces to pretty them up.

My conclusion: I'm impressed. Without a doubt, this book will appeal hugely to gardeners, cooks and general Foodies. I recommend you put it on your Christmas wishlist straight away...

Stephanie Alexander - Kitchen Garden Companion

As the previous reviewer says, this is a massive tome of a book, set to give your biceps a good workout in preparation for the double-digging etc., although this is very specifically not required for her style of gardening! The fabric jacket echoes the excellent production, with two comprehensive indices making it easy to find either recipes (by name and by type) or plant. The photographs illustrate both the plants and the dishes and are beautiful in their texture as well as being an aid to identification.

It starts with a very good guide to her style, which majors on container and raised bed gardening, giving ideas for recycling wooden containers such as apple crates and wine barrels to hold herbs and vegetables. Each chapter in the A to Z list, which contains some more unusual ingredients such as aramanth and scented geraniums, starts with a list of basic "how tos" including soil type and preparation, how to grow, harvesting and, interestingly, companion planting. This is then expanded over a couple of pages to include a section on children's involvement, before the recipes start. She has launched a major initiative in Australian schools on involving children by setting up kitchen gardens in the schools (something my own school did in the UK from the 1st World War onward!) and designing recipes to be child friendly, both in the cooking and the eating - it really does go from Dig, Plant, Water, Grow, Harvest, Chop, to Cook! There is also a very good glossary.

The recipes are straightforward but interesting, including broccoli with home made orecchiette, interesting spice mixes for lamb shanks, pickles, variations on master recipes, e.g. for fennel, things to do with fresh olives (if our tree would ever produce) and include main dishes, side dishes and desserts. The methodology is clearly laid out (as in "The Cook's Companion") and some recipes include stage by stage photographs.

I loved this book but I do have one problem with it - do I keep it on the gardening shelves or the cookery ones? Perhaps I'll just have it in the kitchen for when the garden gives inspiration!

As a keen amateur kitchen gardener, this is the sort of book that I couldn't pass by, so when I was offered the chance of a review copy, the excitement got the better of me and I fired off my response and eagerly awaited its arrival.
I think the postman's arm was aching while he was waiting for me to answer the door - it's a BIG book. Well over 700 pages bound into a spine measuring about two inches thick, with a rather attractive tactile cloth dust jacket, the book is packed with a wealth of gardening information aimed at people just like me. The advice and tips show us how it is possible to grow a multitude of edibles in a small space, an inspiration to all plot-to-plate enthusiasts.

The author, Stephanie Alexander, ran the acclaimed Stephanie's Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia and was a partner in the popular Richmond Hill Café & Larder and together with this experience is one of Australia's most highly regarded food writers. Her expertise runs throughout the book in an informative style with easy to follow gardening advice and related recipes.

Vegetable gardening is an ongoing learning process for me, I've had successes and of course failures. Some of those reluctant or pest besieged crops have even put me off growing them again, but after reading through the pages,I suddenly felt inspired with renewed confidence, to have another go.
The front section, Getting Started, guides you through the stages of setting up the best environment to get the most from your produce patch. All the basics are there, from creating perfect compost to when to sow and plant out, bug control and there's even a list of useful gardening equipment.

There's nothing nicer than picking your own home grown fruit and veg then eating it right away and each of Stephanie's chosen crops is given a selection of recipes to enjoy your own efforts in the best possible way.
This section is compiled in A-Z format from Amaranth to Zucchini, although I think I would have preferred it to have been listed by seasonality, it just makes more sense to me.

From the simplest Smashed Broad Beans (p.160) to the sumptuous Tony Tan's Beef and Spinach Curry (p.592) all the recipes are uncomplicated in their approach, but most of all they kindle a passion to grow and cook.

I particularly like the fact that families are encouraged to motivate their children into becoming involved in both the kitchen and the garden. Stephanie's philosophy is that there is no such thing as special food for children: if food is good, everyone will enjoy it regardless of age. Following her work with inner-city primary school children, where she set up a kitchen garden to give them the opportunity to learn about food first hand, she continues her work in her book.

Despite its slightly unwieldy size, this book will become
well-thumbed and never left on the shelf as it's set to become my trusty kitchen garden partner.