Table Of ContentSI M P
ORGA
LY
A N IC
A COOKBOOK FOR
SUSTAINABLE,
SEASONAL, AND LOCAL
INGREDIENTS
BY JESSE ZIFF COOL
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
FRANCE RUFFENACH
First Chronicle Books LLC edition published in 2008 Prop styling by Sara Slavin
Food styling by Karen Shinto
Text copyright © 2000 and 2008 by Jesse Ziff Cool.
Designed by Sara Schneider
Photographs copyright © 2008 by France Ruffenach.
Typesetting by Janis Reed
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without written permission 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
from the publisher.
Chronicle Books LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication 680 Second Street
Data available. San Francisco, California 94107
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6044-4 www.chroniclebooks.com
Manufactured in China.
DEDICATION
To my farmer friends, the tireless workers of the land who grow our food and continue to
teach me and every good cook the real defi nition of gourmet food.
To my father, who grew organic food in our backyard, enjoyed cooking for and feed-
ing others, and sparked my lust for fl avor.
To my mother, who gave me the insight that nurturing and love belong on every plate
and must fi nd a place at every meal, at every table.
For my sons, Joshua and Jonah, who lived through the wonderful turmoil of the
ever-changing politics of organic and sustainable cuisine. As unfashionable as it might have
seemed at the time, they found themselves growing gardens, working on pig farms, and
cooking for themselves, their families, and loved ones. They now know that food is not only
for sustenance, but is also for creating joy and happiness for oneself and others.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Amy Treadwell and Bill LeBlond, at Chronicle Books, realized that the fi rst edition of this book
just might have been ahead of its time. Thank you for resurrecting Your Organic Kitchen. I
truly enjoy working with you.
I had no idea how to breathe new life into YOK, which remains my favorite of all of
my books. It took some searching, but I found my dear friend and the original editor, Anne
Egan. Together, and I mean together, we combed through information and researched and
assembled what we considered a sensible and practical book about organic and sustainable
food. Anne, also passionate about organics, has always enjoyed my recipes (a cook’s dream
come true), and I continue to deeply appreciate working with her. Thank you, Anne! Deborah
Kops, thank you for your thorough copyediting job.
All of the companies, organizations, farmers, ranchers, fi shermen, dairymen, bakers,
and cooks who have made my life richer and taught me about the basic goodness in choosing
healthy options (most of the time!), I thank you.
And fi nally, my earnest gratitude goes to my entire staff at CoolEatz Restaurants and
Catering. They are the gatekeepers who watch and care and work daily on the path of walk-
ing the walk and staying true to our beliefs. It is not easy in this ever-changing arena of natu-
ral foods. The restaurant business is almost as thankless and volatile as farming. To attempt
to do it with kindness, safety, and love is important. It ain’t perfect, and each time we falter,
we get right back up and work to get better and learn more. From the person who cleans the
dishes to the one who serves the food, we know, honor, and appreciate how important each
of you is to our simple organic kitchen.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
PAGE 8
CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER
1 2 3
YOUR ORGANIC PANTRY FIRST OF SPRING LATE SPRING
PAGE 20 PAGE 27 PAGE 53
CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER
4 5 6
EARLY SUMMER MIDSUMMER INDIAN SUMMER
PAGE 79 PAGE 107 PAGE 133
CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER
7 8 9
AUTUMN HARVEST EARLY WINTER DEEP WINTER
PAGE 159 PAGE 185 PAGE 211
ORGANIC RESOURCES INDEX TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS
PAGE 238 PAGE 242 PAGE 248
INTRODUCTION
I was a fortunate kid. My family’s riches weren’t mea-
sured in dollars but in the love that we felt and, in many
ways, in the healthy foods that we ate. For the most
part, our food was free of artifi cial fl avors, preserva-
tives, chemicals, and pesticides. My family wasn’t on a
deliberate organic crusade. We simply respected the old
traditional ways of growing, gathering, and preparing
foods in the healthiest and cleanest manner possible.
This philosophy of respecting and revering food
goes back generations in my family—on both sides. I
was blessed to have Jewish and Italian grandparents
who loved to garden and cook. As a little girl growing
up in a rural town near Pittsburgh, I remember helping
my parents and grandparents tend their small backyard
gardens. They taught me about living heirlooms—
treasured seeds brought from the Old Country that they
respectfully planted in American soil. They raised their
own chickens, and my uncle Jack owned a slaughter-
house where naturally grazed cattle were processed
and aged properly.
8
SIMPLY ORGANIC
Cooking and sharing food at the dinner table were
always at the heart of our household. Being Jewish and
Italian meant endless conversations about both food and
life itself. Because of this rich ethnic mix, our months
were fi lled with celebrations that featured tables loaded
with delicious dishes, and homes full of laughing, lov-
ing family and friends. Bottles of cooking wine and olive
oil were always present. Plates were always piled with
greens, both fresh and steamed. Garlic was as common
a seasoning as salt and pepper. Onions seemed to fi nd
their way into nearly every dish.
My grandmother Edna was a remarkable cook. She
taught me how to make ravioli and other dishes from
scratch. She got the meat from Uncle Jack, roasted it,
and cooked it for what seemed like an eternity. While
the meat slowly simmered, she went to work making
homemade pasta. My two brothers would be outside
playing, while I would happily be by Nana’s side in the
kitchen, learning how to make ravioli, polenta, and plat-
ters full of slow-cooked meats and vegetables. This was
my idea of playtime well spent. I can almost smell the
inviting aromas of those memories. To this day, cooking
and eating good food are among the deepest pleasures
of my life.
I still chuckle recalling all those times when Papa, my
Italian grandfather, cajoled me into accompanying him
on his “special missions” to pluck wild dandelions and
onions from yards all over the neighborhood. We would
rush home, rinse the leaves, season them with a little
olive oil, salt, and pepper, and enjoy our green treat.
9
INTRODUCTION
