As the weather grows warmer and the days longer, I start thinking about gardens. Because I’ve neither inherited nor developed a green thumb, I usually rely upon farmers’ markets and horticulturally-gifted friends for my garden-fresh produce. However, after reading and cooking from Nigel Slater’s Tender (Ten Speed Press, 2011), I’m tempted to give gardening another try. After all, if Slater can harvest runner beans, pumpkins and eggplants on his small, London terrace, surely I could learn to grow a tomato or two. In Tender the British food writer shares his experiences planting, cooking and consuming 29 different vegetables. He offers advice on seed selection, composting, humane pest control and gardening tools. Of course, he also discusses cooking techniques, explaining that asparagus needs only a quick steaming or boiling and raw celery root a splash of flavorful vinaigrette to make them great eating. The 400 or so recipes in Tender are straightforward but delightful nonetheless. Some, such as root vegetable korma, chowder of mussels and leeks, or salad of beans, peas and Pecorino, stand on their …

Whether you’re dusting off your grill as the weather warms or toughing it out and grilling year-round in snow, sleet and freezing rain, you’ll want to check out Francis Mallmann’s Seven Fires Grilling the Argentine Way (Artisan, 2009). Employing time-honored techniques, South America’s most celebrated chef shares how to grill, both expertly and easily, meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits and breads. Everything that I’ve wanted to know about good grilling I’ve found in Seven Fires. Mallmann’s seven fires are seven methods of wood-fired cooking. These consist of cooking in wood ovens (horno de barro), spits (asador), cast-iron grates (parilla), sheets (chapa) and kettles (caldero) as well as in embers (rescoldo) and extreme heat (infiernillo). Early in the book Mallmann details how to work with these seven fires. He also covers how to build and light wood fires and how to gauge cooking temperatures. In essence he takes all the guesswork out of grilling. Fundamentals finished, Seven Fires moves on to the meat of the cookbook — recipes. Although Argentinian cuisine strongly favors beef, Mallmann gives equal …

London chef and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi’s second cookbook Plenty (Ebury Press, 2010) was released in the U.S. last week but, thanks to a friend in Europe, I’ve had the pleasure of cooking from his colorful book since last fall. “Pleasure” remains the key word for, thus far, every recipe that I’ve tried has been a delight to make and eat. Inspired by the “New Vegetarian column” that Ottolenghi writes for London’s Guardian newspaper, Plenty focuses on vegetables and how to cook them in flavorful, creative ways. Many of the preparations are quite simple — roasting Jerusalem artichokes or poaching baby carrots doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. Yet, because of Ottolenghi’s thoughtful use of seasonings and inventive pairing of flavors, I end up with fabulous tasting vegetables. Plenty brims with close-up, full-page, color photographs of each dish. These beautiful photos not only illustrate but also inspire different takes on the proffered vegetables. One glance at the vibrant “tomato party” or “Tamara’s ratatouille” and I start thinking of additions and pairings for these recipes. …