SEASONS TO TASTE: Farm-Fresh Joy for Kitchen & Table
Jonathan Bardzik
Tarnow Entertainment with Story Farm
November 18, 2015
$40.00/Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-9905205-9-7
Jonathan Bardzik is a professional storyteller, cook and author based in Washington, DC. Self-trained with more than 20 years in his home kitchen, Jonathan is inspired by the seasonal, local ingredients he grew up with and finds today at the farm market. His culinary passion is to explore those farm and garden-fresh flavors, create food for friends and family, and share his adventures to help others find joy in their own home kitchens.
Jonathan’s professional culinary career began in 2011 with weekly cooking demonstrations at DC’s historic Eastern Market. Since then, Jonathan has made more than 150 live appearance at venues across the country, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Geographic Museum. He has developed more than 650 recipes and has appeared in several video series. He was honored to be recognized by the Farmers Market Coalition as a “Farm Market Hero.”
With a background in and long love for horticulture, Jonathan serves as the culinary face of Footprints, a line of naturally grown and sustainably packaged herb, vegetable and fruiting plants available throughout the East Coast. He has partnered with the National Garden Bureau to promote their “Year of the” vegetable program and filmed a video series featuring All-America Selections award-winning varieties of vegetables and herbs, in collaboration with the D.C.-area’s Arcadia Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
His first book Simple Summer: A Recipe for Cooking and Entertaining with Ease was published in 2013.
Whether with pen or spatula in hand, storyteller and cook Jonathan Bardzik brings joy to the home kitchen with seasonal, farm and garden-fresh ingredients. Organized by season, his collection of 127 recipes and 32 short stories offers a culinary celebration of farm and garden fresh ingredients and the people—friends, family and farmers—that cooking and sharing food brings together.
SEASONS TO TASTE is full of stunning photography, helpful techniques and tips for preparing the dishes right the first time you make them. Sidebar boxes focus on a myriad of topics from the different flavors of heirloom tomato varieties and the breeding of new vegetables, to the age-old brining debate and thematic menu suggestions.
Creating these recipes for live, farm-market cooking demonstrations offered several surprising benefits, “not the least of which is that they’ve been tasted by at least 60 people,” says Jonathan. “Because my farm-market kitchen is outdoors on a sidewalk without electricity, there’s no fancy equipment. These recipes can be prepared quickly whether you’re holding the attention of a live audience or a hungry family on a Tuesday night.”
From a robust “Mushroom & Turnip Pot Roast” for when the weather is inclement, to summer’s delightful “Sweet Corn Tomato Gazpacho”, every recipe in the book reflects the ingredients and flavors Jonathan has gathered and combined over the years while offering his weekly cooking demonstrations at the District of Columbia’s historic Eastern Market.
Sweet Corn Tomato Gazpacho
Serves 6-8
A celebration of the freshest summer vegetables you can lay your hands on! Honey brings out the sweet flavor of raw corn, while cumin and coriander give it depth.
- 2 large tomatoes
- 2 ears corn, kernels removed
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tbs cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 2 tbs honey
- 1 tbs white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbs olive oil – the good stuff
- Juice of 1 lime
Roughly chop 1 tomato and purée using a food mill or food processor. If using a processor, strain pulp through a sieve to remove solids.
Finely dice second tomato and add to a medium bowl with tomato purée, corn kernels and red onion.
Stir in cilantro, cumin, coriander, honey, vinegar and oil.
Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper. Add additional honey and vinegar as needed.
Tip: Using a food mill saves time. By pressing the tomato through, it leaves the tough skins and bitter, crunchy seeds behind.
Tip: If you have access to them, use a sweet, mildly acidic yellow or orange tomato like Mr. Stripey or the Pineapple tomato.
Egg Spinach Potato Salad
Serves 6
This fresh egg salad is lightened with baby spinach and substitutes a crisp vinaigrette for heavy mayonnaise. Fingerling potatoes easily replace the richness you’ll never miss.
- 1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes
- 6 eggs, hard boiled
- 1/4 pound spinach
- 2 tbs garlic chives, minced
- 1/2 red onion, diced, divided
- 2 tbs Dijon mustard
- 2 tbs Sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs olive oil – the good stuff!
- 1 tbs finely chopped rosemary
Slice fingerling potatoes into 1/4” coins. Boil in lightly salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender but still firm in the center. Remove from water and drain.
Finely chop eggs and spinach. Combine in a medium bowl with garlic chives and all but 2 tbs of red onion.
Make vinaigrette: Whisk together reserved 2 tbs red onion, mustard and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. While whisking, drizzle 1/4 cup oil into vinegar mixture. This will form a creamy emulsion.
Drizzle potatoes with remaining 2 tbs oil. Toss with rosemary and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Taste spinach salad with a bit of the vinaigrette, season to taste with additional vinegar or oil.
Lightly dress salad and serve over potatoes.
Tip: You’ll almost never hear me advocate for a tool that has only one use, but an old-fashioned egg slicer just makes life so easy. Plus, my Mom always uses one, so it makes me smile.
These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:
Recipes from SEASONS TO TASTE: Farm-Fresh Joy for Kitchen & Table by Jonathan Bardzik. (Tarnow Entertainment with Story Farm, November 2015; $40/hardcover; ISBN: 978-0-9905205-9-7).
Contact: Nancy Mendrala
202.780.9413
nancy@jonathanbardzik.com