Expanded Edition of Simply in Season Released

Cooking and eating local is in.

At least, that's how it appears now that First Lady Michelle Obama has planted a garden at the White House and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture tore up the pavement outside his office to plant food.

In Canada, the province of Ontario has invested in projects that promote eating and buying locally, while people on the East Coast participated in the second annual Eat Atlantic Challenge in September.

Meanwhile, many other North Americans are experimenting with the 100 mile diet—trying to eat as many locally-grown items as possible.

Like millions of other Americans and Canadians, they are discovering what readers of Simply in Season: Recipes that Celebrate Fresh, Local Foods in the Spirit of More-with-Less, already know: Eating and cooking locally grown food is not only good for you, but a great way to show care for the planet.

The book, which has sold over 86,000 copies since being published in 2005, has been re-released with 17 new recipes by Herald Press, a division of Mennonite Publishing Network. In addition to hundreds of ideas for buying and cooking wholesome, fresh produce raised in or near their communities, the book also contains reflections and anecdotes on the meaning and place of food in our faith and our lives.

But it's the practical and easy-to-use recipes that make the book a must-have for every kitchen where local foods are used. Seasonal chapters are color-coded with recipe listings and menu ideas. A convenient glossary explains any terms with which the reader might be unfamiliar.

"Today the average food item travels more than a thousand miles before it arrives on our tables," says co-author Cathleen Hockman-Wert. "We have become distant from our food, and not just in terms of geography . . . each food purchase we make is like a vote for the way we want food to be produced—and the world in which we want to live."

And not only is Simply in Season good for the planet and consumers; it's good for poor people in the developing world, too. A portion of proceeds from the sale of the book go to Mennonite Central Committee, the relief and development arm of the North American Mennonite churches.

Click here to learn more about Simply in Season, and to order your copy!

Praise for Simply in Season

"A great introduction to seasonal eating." (Sustainablekitchen.org)

"An essential kitchen companion for all of us who love to get our food from our own backyard, local CSA or farmers market" Catherine Walthers, author of Raising the Salad Bar and Greens, Glorious Greens

"[Simply in Season] is more than recipes. It's part mystic, part activist and part gourmand." Rebecca Sodergren, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"I've tried a few cookbooks that were advertised as ‘seasonal,' but the only one to live up to its cover blurb has been Simply in Season." Green Living Ottawa