The Vegetable Butcher, by Cara Mangini
Received this lovely book in the mail recently, a surprise gift from Andrew’s oldest brother Billy and his wife Annie. It’s such a treat! With all the vegetables we’re counting on in our garden this summer (including 4 acorn squash plants we decided to go for at the last minute), I am really looking forward to trying out some of the delicious recipes in the book. But it’s more than a cookbook; author and chef Cara Mangini packs tons of tips on how to slice, dice, peel, and otherwise treat your veggies before they go into the recipe… like these 7 tips on eating the stems of broccoli instead of chucking them into the compost (uh, guilty?).
Recipes I’m excited to try? The veggie pizza above and the eggplant steaks with salsa verde below. Oh, and I’m considering growing asparagus just for this recipe alone.
Thanks, Billy and Annie! What a thoughtful gift! Now come visit us so we can cook for you!
Oh I’m glad it’s a good one, I’ve been wanting to see it ever since I read about the author in the Columbus Dispatch. Apparently she runs a local food stand in Columbus’s North Market but had worked on farms in Napa for years. I remember the first year we got our veggies from the CSA I had no idea what to do with them…or even what some of them were! Enjoy and definitely come show us your skills!
Annie & Bill are always so thoughtful! Thanks for posting – I think I should go ahead and purchase too since I have 5 peppers and 2 tomatoes. Also, I agree – come visit Annie and Bill. We miss you guys!!