cover image Growing at the Speed of Life: A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

Growing at the Speed of Life: A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

Graham Kerr, Perigee, $27 (336p) ISBN 978-0-399-53612-0

Kerr, best known as the Galloping Gourmet television cooking personality, serves up new recipes and reflections on gardening in this lighthearted cookbook. Like many amateur gardeners, he was motivated to grow his own food by a desire both to improve his diet and to support local, sustainable, seasonal agriculture. In a compact chapter, he explains everything the impatient beginning gardener needs to get started. This section includes basic information on soil improvement, pest management, watering and weeding, germinating, composting, and crop rotation. The bulk of the book is devoted to detailed growing information and recipes for more than 60 fruits and vegetables. Fans of Kerr's lively style on the Food Network and in his cookbooks (Day-by-Day Gourmet) will enjoy this combination of jaunty gardening adventure and healthy and diverse recipes. Line drawings throughout. (Mar.)