Food 2.0 - Another Cookbook to Give Away!

** Please note this contest is over. **

DK Publishing sent me an advance copy of this book several weeks ago, and I've been reading and re-reading the recipes ever since.

I've got about 20 pages marked with mini post-it note things, and I think I put off writing about it because I couldn't narrow down the recipes to one or two to focus on.

The official background of the book is here, on the DK Publishing website.  To be honest, I had vaguely heard of Charlie Ayers, but didn't know anything about him.  Turns out he cooked for The Greatful Dead before he was hired to feed the growing number of Google employees. 

I know now that food-wise, we'd get along pretty well.  His emphasis is on locally produced, organic ingredients and lively, intense flavors from a wide variety of cuisines.

The one and only recipe that I was actually puzzled by was his recipe for fish tacos.  He calls for fish sticks.    Now, I have used fish sticks in fish tacos, but it just seemed really odd, in a book espousing the virtues of local, fresh foods, that rather than suggesting some possible kinds of fish to use, depending on what part of the country you're in, he suggests fish sticks.  Maybe it's because not everyone has access to fresh caught local fish...but still. 

I've decided, since I couldn't narrow the recipes down, I figure over the next week, while the giveaway is running, I'll try out a variety of recipes and post about them, so you can sort of peek at the food before entering the contest, if you want.

Oh - and I should also mention - in addition to a copy of the book (hardcover and in color, not a paperback advance copy in black and white), the publisher is also giving the winner a handy dandy lunch bag, so you can tote your healthy, locally grown lunch with you to work every day.

So, to get things started, and to give you an idea of the sort of thing Food 2.0 has to offer, I'll be posting (separately) the recipe for "Google Hot Sauce."  It's got heat, and layers and layers of flavor.  It packs a punch, but does so with style.

In the meantime, to enter this giveaway, here are the rules:

First, to enter, I'd like to hear from you in the comments section of THIS post, do you shop at farm stands or farmers markets on a regular basis?  What's available in your part of the world?

Second, the contest will end in one week - Wednesday, May 28th, at midnight, eastern standard time.  Any entries posted after that time - or anywhere other than in the comments section of THIS post - will not be considered.

Third, this will be a random drawing - I'll have the old faithful Random Integer thingy pick the lucky winner.

Any questions?  Okay, then - let the contest begin!  Oh - and I'll be posting the "Google Hot Sauce" in a bit later this evening.

Comments

[CB]

What a fun giveaway. I could always use another cookbook ;) Unfortunately I do not get to the farmers market often but its a goal of mine to get there more.

Thanks for hosting!

[Rebecca]

I've just moved to here, but I'm planning on being a regular at the Nashville Farmers' Market. There's orange blossom honey, jams, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, greens, corn, squash, strawberries, green beans, peas, flowers, etc. It's paired with an international market–a great place to spend a Saturday afternoon.

[Lori]

I have never commented before but I love your blog! Your recipes are great and your detailed directions are very helpful. Here in the midwest we only have farmer's markets and food stands in the summer and I LOVE them. There is nothing better than fresh tomatoes and corn on the cob that was just picked that morning!

[Jaime]

i have a farmer's market downtown that i can go to. they have a pretty good selection of fresh produce.

we also have whole foods and central market - both have really fresh produce and organic options

[Beverly Bradley]

Sadly, I have to drive about an hour to get to a good farmers market, and the price of gas . . .well. Enough said. But my local grocers do have excellent produce, often grown locally, and much of it organic. We eat well !

[Elizabeth]

Unfortunately, whle I'm surrounded by farms, the town is too little to really support much of a Farmer's Market. We have one on Wednesday mornings in the summer (it just started back up!), with about 10 stalls. It's fun though - every week it's a surprise to see what I can find there. I am planning to grab something each week this summer - I think it will be a nice built-in (and relitively inexpensive) surprise for me each week. :)

[Christina]

I do visit the farmer's market often. We don't have REAL farmer's markets until next month, but I visit the farmer's market store often.

I get whatever looks good and the price is right. I always find the produce is so much fresher than the grocery store and the price is almost always better too.

I can't wait until the local weekly farmer's market opens.

[Reneé]

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of farmers markets around me, and the price of gas is too darn high to drive out of town to get to them. But I am lucky that there is a grocery store in town that typically has a pretty nice selection of produce...

Love the blog! Thanks for the contest!

[Nikki]

There are a few farmers markets around me and a bunch of local farm stands. The only problem is that most of them don't open up until mid to late June and I don't want to wait anymore!

[feeding maybelle]

we have a number of farmers markets in the area. right now, we are looking at a lot of maple syrup, asparagus, and rhubarb.

[Shannon]

I love to shop at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in SF. Coincidentally, Google just sponsored a huge reusable bag giveaway at the market, which was awesome!

[spicedyankee]

now that it's spring, i've increased my trips to the farmer's market. the county farmer's market is open all year round but doesn't have as good of a selection as the city's. problem with that is that the city's opens at 6 am on saturday's and when you get up at 4 am during the week, getting up at 6 on a saturday just doesn't always work. i did make it there about 2 weeks ago for strawberry day and it was definitely worth the early morning rise. i'll be going back this saturday, maybe pick up some greens and some more strawberries if i'm lucky. they always have an awesome selection of summer squash as well as this great local goat cheese which i just discovered on my last visit and beautiful lillies. in addition to the produce, there are local food vendors from restaurants and bakeries in the area.

[Roberta]

While I don't shop at farmer's markets here (Phoenix, AZ general metro area), I do subscribe to an organic CSA and get my fix of fresh organic veggies delivered on a weekly basis. Lately I've been getting beets, turnips, zucchini and other summer squash, carrots, garlic, onions, and potatoes. Farmer's markets around here mainly cater to retired folks as they are open mostly on weekday mornings.

[Alex N]

I'm fortunate enough to have a farmer's market every Saturday just down the block from where I live, and strawberry season just happened not too long ago.
The fields around the area are just loaded with all sorts of goodies throughout the year, last time I drove by them I saw huge fields of artichoke which look totally awesome. :)

[Marsha Jones]

We have a farmers market that recently opened in our Sears parking lot. It's pretty small, but I've been pleased with everything I've purchased. There's also a great store in town that sells nothing but produce. We've got our garden going now with tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, squash, zucchini, peppers, pumpkins and baby watermelons. I think we'll be able to have our first picking next week.

[Vicki]

You'd think that living in SoCal, I'd have farmers' markets all around me. Ha! The only local one is something dumb like Thursdays from 2-5pm. However, the Sprouts grocery store on my way home from work sometimes carries extremely local produce (e.g. grown 5 miles away). And I've found that the nearby El Tigre grocery (geared towards Latinos) has yummy in-season produce like fresh favas and garbanzos.

[Vicki]

I have farmers markets within 20 miles going on almost every day of the week. I go to the closest one every Thursday. Yesterday I bought golden beets, baby eggplants, and unnamed red tomatoes. They had Japanese tomatoes, golden tomatoes, and heirlooms. I have bought specialty heirloom tomatoes to harvest the seed to grow my own. I have my own garden as well. I will harvest any non hybrid seeds and trade them on seed trading sites. The lettuce that I buy from the farmers market lasts so much longer than anything in the grocery store, plus it isn't tied together with the twist ties that damage so many of the leaves.

[Karin]

Not much for farm stands or farmers markets where I live, although the lady down the road gave me some fresh asparagus out of her garden one year. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven--it was sooooo good. (steamed with butter) mmmmmmmmmmm.

[margi]

I live in Olympia Washington, which has a terrific farmers market. Right now asparagus is fresh and plentiful. I'm going to go tomorrow to put in a special order for a large amount so I can make pickle asparagus.

[Crystal]

we have an excellent farmer's market here in honolulu, hi open year-round. local produce that can be frequently found are - avocado, lettuce, tomato, strawberry, mango, onion, sweet potato, banana, papaya, and others. we love buying fresh food and the farmer's market 'experience' is a great day activity for the whole family.

[Tiffany]

We have some great farm stands on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We stop to get fresh corn on the way home.

[Carla Pullum]

Love cooking! The farmer's Market is not close to where I live but we have Trader Joes but I actually go to Von's because their produce is fresh and meat is too! Sometimes I go to Costco!

[Danielle]

I have some friends who've worked for Google for years and I always heard about the food there. How funny! As for eating locally, we participate in a CSA and get a weekly box of produce fresh from a local farm. It feels good to know we are supporting local agriculture, and we get the benefit of trying new items we otherwise may never get the nerve to try.

[MC]

We have one farmer's market here in Minneapolis that is open almost year-round. In the summer there are several stands with fresh produce, flowers, meats and cheeses. In the year-round market, they have seasonal flowers, wreaths, etc. depending on the time of year. We try and go weekly during the summer months farmer's market. It is fun because things really will change from week to week depending what is in season here!

[My Sweet & Saucy]

Yes, I shop at farmer's markets about once a week. It is probably one of my favorite parts of my week too! Looking at rows and rows of fresh, yummy food ready to be eaten...my favorite!

[DebinHawaii]

I live in Hawaii and I get a CSA box each week with local ingredients from all the islands. I also shop at what I call the "cheater's" farmers market on most Saturdays. "Cheaters" because it is one vendor, is right by my house and although most of it is local, I think they throw in a few items that might not be. I usually try to get to the REAL Farmers Market at KCC a couple times a month--just went this weekend and posted about it here: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2008/05/kcc-farmers-market.html
I buy mostly local lettuces, herbs, mangos, papayas, berries and citrus in season and really whatever looks good. I try to get unusual things I haven't tried before. The food is much better and so much fresher here when you can get it local and I love supporting small, community farms and families!