The Bountiful Kitchen

""Grow It! Make it! Give it!"" urge the energetic authors (Home Made in the Kitchen), who do, indeed, grow tropical fruit indoors (in Chicago of all places), bake poundcakes stuffed with cherries they have dried themselves and make it a habit to give gifts of homemade preserves, bath oil and potpourri. The book has five information-packed sections: The Kitchen Garden (meaning in or near the kitchen: Bluestein and Morissey have only a small city terrace for a ""backyard"" plot); Preserving, Pickling and Drying; Condiments; Baking; and The Kitchen Apothecary. Want to know how to plant a perfect windowsill herb garden, make Old Fashioned Strawberry Preserves or whip up some Almond Cornmeal Soap? The authors update and simplify traditional procedures and recipes, and they offer treats of more trendy fare, such as Focaccia (made with herbs grown at home) and Roasted Red Pepper Catsup. Among the non-edible preparations presented are Sweet Ginger Bath Salts and a Sore Muscle Soak (made with Epsom salt, sea salt and eucalyptus oil). Lots of practical advice, over 100 recipes and the authors' enthusiasm for their projects make this an absorbing and useful book--especially near the holidays. (Oct.)