New Cookbook Celebrates Small Farms of the Mid-Atlantic. Will demand for flavor and freshness mean a shift in how we shop,cook, and eat?

Is there a connection between small-scale, local farms and the freshness and flavor of your food? The answer is yes, according to Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic, a new cookbook and guide published by Eating Fresh Publications. And if you havent yet made the connection between how your food tastes and how far its traveled, get ready to find out what some of the best chefs in the region have known for years.

Hopewell, New Jersey (PRWEB) June 30, 2003 -- Is there a connection between small-scale, local farms and the freshness and flavor of your food? The answer is yes, according to Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic, a new cookbook and guide published by Eating Fresh Publications. And if you havent yet made the connection between how your food tastes and how far its traveled, get ready to find out what some of the best chefs in the region have known for years.

Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic features more than 130 mouth-watering recipes from 27 of the Mid-Atlantics most respected chefs, each carefully chosen by Eating Fresh sm for their commitment to the quality that local, seasonal, and organic ingredients provide. Organized by season, Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic will have home cooks savoring Hayman sweet potato soup from Jimmy Sneed formerly of Southern Grille, preparing butternut squash soup with cabbage and surry sausage care of Todd Gray of Equinox, and tempting themselves and their guests with Nora Pouillons crab and shiitake cakes.

We wouldnt be the restaurants we are without the small-scale growers and producers in our region," said Pouillon, chef and owner of Nora and Asia Nora in Washington, D.C. The quality of the food they grow and raise is the very basis for what we do. They create the flavor and freshness that allows our dishes to shine."

Whats behind the great food at the Mid-Atlantics best-known restaurants? Great farmers, of course-farmers who understand what it means to serve and feed their regions. After 20 years I have a certain intimacy with my corner of the world," writes Jim Law of Linden Vineyards of Linden, Virginia, in Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic. I know when to pick based on taste, health of the plant, and weather conditions. Measurements of sugar content, acid, or pH become insignificant. Flavor and texture are everything."

While eating from the local farm sounds enticing-with images of ripe produce overflowing concession
stands at farmers markets-its not always easy to know whats in season, where to buy the best farm
products, and how to prepare delicious dishes that incorporate local ingredients. Home cooks dont always get clear information about the benefits of eating locally or why small, independent farms are so important to the communities they serve. Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic answers those questions, detailing the culinary, social, economic, and environmental benefits of small-scale local agriculture.

Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic brings together a host of experts who explain, in plain English, what consumers want to know about small-scale, local agriculture. It addresses issues that touch our lives, such as how food connects us to place, what local farmers contribute to communities, and what we can do to create a food system that works. It also addresses tough issues, such as how fast food effects family life, the impact of farming on the Chesapeake Bay, and the price we pay for allowing local dollars to be funneled out of our communities. Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic delivers real information about the link between great flavor and great farming, and it gives common-sense advice about how to support local farms. Most important, it brings to life a rare view of farming by those whose passion for the land is reinventing the farming profession.

Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic is edited by Fran McManus, a 20-year veteran of the natural foods business and editor of Eating Fresh from the Organic Garden State (NOFA-NJ, 1998), and Wendy Rickard, a marketing and communications specialist and editor, along with Fran McManus, of Cooking Fresh from the Bay Area.

Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic is priced at $18.95 and is available at local bookstores and on
amazon.com. Direct-mail orders can be placed with Eating Fresh Publications by sending a check or
money order made payable to Eating Fresh Publications for $18.95 plus $3.95 shipping and handling to Eating Fresh Publications, 16 Seminary Ave, Hopewell, NJ 08525.

Inquiries may be made by calling 609-466-1700 or by sending e-mail to info@eatingfresh.com.
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