100 recipes for cooking fresh from your local market - be it farm stand or grocer's aisle. Cooking seasonally means having a keen eye and a sensitive nose as you traverse the aisles of nature's store. The harbingers of each season are color-coded - spring's plate is drenched with verdant tender stalks and gentle herbs; summer is resplendent with myriad bold reds, oranges, and yellows; autumn is rich with umber root vegetables and a second booray of green leaves. Understanding this spectrum is an essential starting point to setting a menu. THE FARMER'S MARKET COOKBOOK helps the cook do just that as it pays homage to nature and the wonderful palette she offers. The book will guide the home cook through the ripening seasons and serve as a road map allowing the reader to navigate any local market. Chef Richard Ruben offers dozens of simple, elegant recipes that celebrate the gifts of nature's cycle including: - fiddlehead fern risotto - fried green tomatoes - lamb marinated in tropical juice - rhubarb and almond crisp - strawberry tomato salsa - chilled cucumber/mint soup - grilled chicken breast - lemon verbena sorbet with summer squash - ginger butternut soup - curried brussels sprouts - apple crisp towers Ruben also provides additional information on the origin and proper selection of produce, hints for putting up flavored vinegars and oils, and historical facts about food. THE FARMER'S MARKET COOKBOOK presents an original approach to modern cuisine that hearkens back to a simpler time when the land around us provided our meals, while also helping to fulfill our eclectic current cravings.