Savor the season

Summer is my favorite season, especially when my garden starts producing vegetables and the selections at our local farmers markets are bountiful.

I love when I can send tomatoes to my neighbor and receive a beautiful bag of kale in return.

The Iowa City Public Library has a wonderful selection of cookbooks to help you celebrate your harvest, whether from your garden or a farmers market shopping spree. A recent visit to the new non-fiction shelves on the Iowa City Public Library's second floor provided many options for delicious recipes.

“Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites” by Sara Wells and Kate Jones provides recipes for year-round enjoyment. Although not specifically geared toward Iowa garden crops, there are many options for summer harvest dishes. The Peach-Watermelon Salsa recipe would be great for my fresh Roma tomatoes.

“Fresh, Happy, Tasty: An Adventure in 100 Recipes” by Jane Coxwell focuses on world food but many of the ingredients are readily available locally. The Green Bean, Tomato and Potato Salad looks especially yummy as does the Marinated Cucumber and Chile Salad recipe.

“The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food” by Ian Knauer has a number of chapters devoted to summer produce. In the chapter The Unstoppable Bounty of the Garden, Knauer shares a recipe for Chilled Corn Soup with Red Pepper Relish as well as many recipes for pizzas with fresh produce. I thought the recipe for Magic Peach Cobbler sounded especially tasty. There is also a chapter dedicated to canning, pickling and preserving.

My favorite find was a little book by Laura Werlin, “Mac & Cheese, Please!” Although I was drawn to the book because I love macaroni and cheese, many of the recipes incorporate summer vegetables, including eggplant, kale, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach. The Zesty Kale Two Ways and Fontina Mac & Cheese is one I would like to try.

So enjoy your summer garden bounty with recipes from books found at the Iowa City Public Library.

Kara Logsden is the Community & Access Services Coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library.