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 Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide
ASIN: 0688160646
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Have one in every kitchen library
Comments: I have the original of this book and find myself constantly reviewing it every time I come back from the tropical food markets. This book is very helpful even if one is familiar with and have grown up eating these kinds of fruits and vegetables. This book provides americanized recipes which is good because aside from being nutritious, most of these fruits and vegetables are beautiful and aesthetically presentable. You can serve fruits and vegetables that do not need to be masked by some gumbo-colored sauce. If you are the kind of cook who likes to serve beautiful dishes this book comes handy. You don't even have to follow the recipes just to use the vegetables. Once you become familiar with the vegetables you will discover how compatible they are with the common vegetables found in your regular supermaket on a dish of your own recipe. For example you could prepare a chicken dish with sliced tomatoes, potatoes, red and green bell peppers,carrots and bok choy with thickened chicken broth with your own choice of spices. The book details the following for each fruit and vegetable: Scientific name, description, beautiful illustrations, selection and storage, preparation and nutritional highlights.
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 How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine
ASIN: 1580082335
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Concise, Thorough Guide to Gardning for sustinance
Comments: This book was loaned to me by a friend who has used it's techniques to produce high-yield growth in his gardens. I have always wanted to have a self sufficent garden, and land for this, but have always thought I would need a number of acres to do this. I am now planning on purchasing a home with one acre and am confident that with the techniques detailed in this book, I will be able to produce good crops for home-grown organic vegetables.
There is so much information here on composting, conpanion planting, how plants and thier root systems grow and interact, how to make the garden beds, why beds and clumps are better and yield more produce than planting in rows, soil composition, garden implements and more.
There are diagrams for everything you need to know presented in such a way that it's easy to understand and implement. There is so much information here, it would be usefull to a complete beginer like me or an experienced gardner.
Happy Planting!
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 Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables
ASIN: 0882667033
Customer's Rating: 4
Summary: Very clear advice for hanging onto your harvest longer.
Comments: This is a great book for (food) gardeners and for people who have some land available to them. Although there are suggestions for "nooks and crannies" in your house, most of those ideas sound like ideas for older (draftier) homes.
The suggestions for building your own working root cellar are clear, with illustrations to help you plan. There are lists of things that keep well and under what conditions to keep them. The authors even list certain varieties of (for instance) apples that keep better than others. There's a month-by-month plan of what could be coming out of your garden, going into the root cellar, and what could be canned or frozen. If you have a large garden, this is an incredibly useful book.
However, those of us with smaller modern homes, smaller yards, and smaller, less heavily-producing gardens will be a little disappointed. As I read this, I came to the conclusion that it would be pretty darned difficult to have a root cellar on our property, because we don't have a useable cool north corner to put one in. Not impossible, mind you, it would just take a lot more effort, planning, and money to build it.
I recommend this book highly for people who raise substantial amounts of their own produce. This book will really extend your harvest. With imagination and a little time and effort, you can have a root cellar that keeps your family in fresh food you grew all year long.
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 Secrets of Plant Propagation: Starting Your Own Flowers, Vegetables, Fruits, Berries, Shrubs, Trees, and Houseplants
ASIN: 0882663704
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Home Gardener
Comments: I really like this book. I love to grow plants from seeds and this book helps me understand how that works and how I can grow even more things from seeds. As well as grafting and other techniques I've never tried. It is a bit technical, but I am only a home gardener so it's pretty easy to work out.
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 5 A Day: The Better Health Cookbook: Savor the Flavor of Fruits and Vegetables
ASIN: 1579545289
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Terrific Book!
Comments: A great recipe book to get those extra fruits and vegetables in your diet. Well written, nice layout with some wonderful, mouthwatering pictures. Some delicious recipes that aren't quite the ordinary, but yet aren't so different you're afraid to try them...or can't find the ingredients. Highly recommended!
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 McGee and Stuckey's Bountiful Container: A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers
ASIN: 0761116230
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent book
Comments: Finally, here's a book on container gardening that focuses on vegetables (and also herbs, fruits and edible flowers). I was tired of looking through tons and tons of books on container gardening that were full of stuff about houseplants and flowers but had zilch when it came to the edible stuff. Was vegetable gardening out of bounds for apartment dwellers like me? I thought so till I came across this book. This book is a godsend for people who want kitchen gardens of their own but who can only garden with containers.
The book has no photos, only illustrations (but then again, who needs another coffee table kind of book with pretty pictures and little content) but it has lots of good advice and instructions. It starts off with the basics (container types, soil, fertilizing, pests etc.), then it moves on to a hefty section each on vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers. Each section has a number of entries with detailed instructions on the particular veggie/herb/fruit/flower in question. These include stuff like planting, fertilizing, soil depth, plant size, light requirements and so on. Interspersed throughout the book are interesting projects, for example, creating a garden for children or a kitchen garden with an asian/italian/greek theme. All in all, this book is extremely useful and a real treasure.
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 The Juice Lady's Guide to Juicing for Health: Unleashing the Healing Power of Whole Fruits and Vegetables
ASIN: 0895299992
Customer's Rating: 3
Summary: informative yet redundant
Comments: Last year at x-mas my wife and decided that since we just had a baby and funds were low,that we would buy each other one gift that we picked out around $20.00.
I picked a beard trimmer and my wife picked out the Juice Ladys book.So I thought I would be nice and buy her two Juice Ladys books.
Well the books came and I looked through them,and found to my surprise that the same recipes were printed throughout both books.
A lot of the recipes can be used for the same things.So instead of printing the recipe then putting what it can be used for the recipes are reprinted over and over.
So in retrospect I suggest buying one book instead of two or three with different titles,because they have the same recipes.
I hope this has been of some help for those looking to buy this or other Juice Lady books.
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 Keeping the Harvest: Preserving Your Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs (Down-To-Earth Book)
ASIN: 0882666509
Customer's Rating: 5
Summary: Buy This Book
Comments: I bought three books on canning and this book was the best. It is simple to understand, has pictures of the way things should look, such as the canning jars in a not water bath. I was canning tomatos and this book was so easy to follow. It listed the different methods for canning, as stating the best method.
I bought a pressure cooker and could not understand the manufactures directions, this book explained in simple terms, everything I needed to know, to use the pressure cooker. It has pictures on how to can tomatos from start to finish, which I really appreciated. To me a picture is worth a thousand words.
I think if you are a first time canner or even experienced, that this easy to use book is for you. I know I will be using it for years to come. Thank you to the authors.
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