Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook Review & Giveaway

It’s almost time for the outdoor Farmers Market season in Minnesota and I can’t wait! I love browsing markets, especially the Minneapolis Farmers Markets on weekends when the place is bustling with everything imaginable from produce to breads and meats (and the BEST bratwurst and lemonade!).

I was excited to recently hear about and review a new cookbook available called the Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook: A Guide to Selecting and Preparing the Best Local Produce by Tricia Cornell. It’s not only a cookbook but a comprehensive guide to choosing, using, and preserving the food found at farmers markets.

It also includes 80 recipes for using seasonal produce supplied by local chefs and farmers. Some of the yummy recipes include Rhubarb-Blueberry Cobbler, Chicken Wild Rice Soup, Sour Cherry Chocolate Loaf Cake, Grilled Minnesota Pork Tenderloin with Heirloom Tomato-Green Onion Relish, Grilled Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Pizza, and so many more.

Did you know that the number of farmers markets in Minnesota has more than tripled over the last decade (from 45 in 2002 to more than 150 today)?

Though I love Farmers Markets, sometimes I see so much food available that I don’t know what to do with. For example, I’ve never had any idea what to do with things like kohlrabi and fennel (what exactly ARE those things?). Thankfully, the Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook solves that problem. It’s easy to use—you can look up food by name, season, or recipe. The book explains how to choose the best produce and store it, plus how to prepare it.

The book gives helpful details about everything from Asparagus to Cucumbers to Honey and Maple Syrup to Rhubarb and Squash. Over 40 foods are each given their own informative chapter.

The Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook even includes:

• maps of Farmers Markets in Minnesota
• a list of produce by season in Minnesota
• a short history of Minnesota’s Farmers Markets
• a complete market directory with websites, addresses and times.

I recommend this cookbook for any Minnesota Farmers Market lover. You will shop more informed and with ideas for how to use just about everything you find!

About the Author: Tricia Cornell is a Minneapolis writer. She contributes to the food blog The Heavy Table and is the author of a number of books on local travel and food, including Eat More Vegetables: Making the Most of Your Seasonal Produce (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012).

(Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% mine.)

BUY IT

The Minnesota Farmers Market Cookbook: A Guide to Selecting and Preparing the Best Local Produce with Seasonal Recipes from Chefs and Farmers is 192 pages, has 170 color photos and is $24.99. It is available from Voyageur Press. You can also purchase the book currently for $17.50 on amazon.com.

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