The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests and Oceans [Paperback]

Stein and Hinds's Peerless Restaurant in Oregon's Rogue Valley is becoming one of the compulsory stops for foodies making West Coast pilgrimages to places like Chez Panisse and French Laundry. Now the restaurant's executive chefs present the philosophy and recipes that inform their cooking from seasonal Northwest ingredients. Eating is political for the authors, and they make a strong case for home cooks as well as restaurant chefs to support local farmers and purveyors to "encourage a regional food supply and a strong local economy, maintain a sense of community, encourage earth stewardship, and protect the future of small to medium-size family farms." Sprinkled between elegant recipes for Sweet Corn and Shiitake Mushroom Custard and Pan-Seared Alaskan Sablefish with Green Garlic, Fiddlehead Ferns and Soft Polenta are profiles of farmers and fishermen, as well as concise, non-preachy explanations of the environmental consequences of different production methods, in order to help readers make responsible and sustainable choices. The emphasis is firmly on Pacific Northwest products, especially fish and seafood, but each recipe offers substitutions to encourage cooks to use sources from close to home. The first step to a good meal is quality ingredients, and for Stein and Hinds that starts with knowing where your food comes from. 30 color and b&w photos.
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The Sustainable Kitchen brings home the thrill of tasting fine cuisine made from the best seasonal ingredients grown locally. Designed for people who want to make food choices that promote the economic, environmental and social health of their communities, this book gives seasonal cuisine new flair using recipes adapted for exciting home cooking. Its two talented chefs share their passion for the culinary arts and their regional focus that inspires home cooks everywhere to connect with local farmers and purveyors to obtain the freshest produce available. These connections encourage regional food supplies and a strong local economy, maintain community, foster earth stewardship, and protect the future of family farms.

The Sustainable Kitchen focuses strongly on ingredients, offering a chef's insights into how and why to combine several together into a sauce, soup, or ragoût for optimum flavor. The sumptuous recipes are offered as guidelines -- the basis for inspiration, but not as absolutes, to allow for local market variations and a dash of spontaneity. Recipes include the full range, with special sections featuring entrées

• from oceans and rivers -- seafood
• from forests and farms -- game, meat and poultry
• from fields and gardens -- vegetarian.

Additional sections cover the basic tastes, tips for pairing food and wine, preserving the harvest, and Notes to the Cook -- collecting useful recipes for basic vinaigrette, vegetable stock, crème fraîche, pasta dough, and much more.

Mary Hinds is an Executive Chef at The Peerless Restaurant in Ashland, Oregon which she owns with her partner Stu Stein. Mary is a graduate of New York's Culinary Institute of America and specializes in American seafood for which she has won several awards. She has worked with the Sheraton chain, McCormick and Schmicks, McCormick and Kuleto's, and as a guest chef in Hong Kong.

Judith Dern is an award-winning independent writer living in Seattle. A contributor to many periodicals including Cooking Light and Northwest Palate, she has also served as ghostwriter for four cookbooks by QVC's on-air chef Bob Bowersox. She has worked with the milk, sardine and honey industries and is the international liaison for Scandinavian members of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

John A. Rizzo is an award-winning food photographer who has received national honors for his involvement in the nonprofit food community from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. His work has been featured in several cookbooks and appears regularly in Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, and other publications.

Stu Stein is an Executive Chef at The Peerless Restaurant in Ashland, Oregon which he owns with his partner Mary Hinds. An award-winning chef whose history includes work in France, Atlanta, Kansas City and Washington D.C., he has been a featured chef on the nationally syndicated cooking series "New American Cuisine" and a Chief Instructor at the California Culinary Academy. He has contributed to several cookbooks.