Next Cookbook--The Foster's Market Cookbook

Most of the cookbooks I own are in my storage unit here on the island. As some of you know, I live in a small cottage at Friday Harbor Labs that doesn't have room for anything I don't truly need. One of the cookbooks I kept with me when we moved here is The Foster's Market Cookbook: Favorite Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night. It includes several cake recipes that I love to make, including a Four-Layer Blueberry Gingerbread Cake with Mocha Cream and a Buttermilk Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Cream.

I hadn't prepared anything other than cakes from this cookbook for a long time, but I recently started making my way through some of the recipes I hadn't yet tried. A couple of weeks ago, I brought the Lentil, Spinach, and Feta Salad with Sour Cherry Vinaigrette to a barbecue and came home with a completely empty bowl. The next week, the same thing happened with the Sesame Noodles with Baby Greens and Cucumbers. After several people asked me for recipes, I decided to suggest the source as our next cookbook.

The book features recipes from its namesake, a restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the introduction, Sara Foster talks about using high quality, in-season produce at her restaurants because "Food at its peak doesn't need much done to it to taste great. Simplicity is key: I believe in enhancing flavors, not masking them." I'm hopeful that Foster's recipes will provide some great opportunities to highlight the amazing produce available at the farmer's market and in our gardens right now. Foster notes that while the recipes she's included in the cookbook are carefully crafted, they are certainly "not sacred." She encourages readers to use her recipes as a springboard: "Let personal taste and what's available at the farm stand - or in the cupboard - inspire you." I know that none of us needs permission to get creative with recipes, but I love the the sentiment. I hope you find some new favorites in Foster's Market throughout the next couple of months.