Just as Alice Waters has earned a prominent place in American culture for championing organic foodstuffs and sparking a culinary revolution, The Art of Simple Food has earned its place in many a kitchen as an elegant workhorse. With straightforward recipes that can easily be riffed upon and adapted to the changing seasonal bounty, the book has immediate, fresh appeal. Now it’s joined by the even more ardently veggie-centric The Art of Simple Food II (Clarkson Potter, $35). This companion volume addresses cooking from the home garden, and whether you have long toiled in an edible garden or are just beginning to consider dabbling with small containers, you’ll find encouragement both practical and gastronomical here. Waters proffers seasoned advice about seed varieties and gardening methods, and tops them off with preparation suggestions for every stage of harvest. In her introduction, Waters heralds today’s need (environmental, ethical, cultural, culinary) for “gastronome gardeners” in the style of Thomas Jefferson; now you can be one of them!
