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Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook Paperback – October 20, 2006
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Not only has Myra been growing organic food for over twenty years, she has been cooking with it, too. In Food to Live By she combines her twin food passions, serving up hundreds of recipes, ideas, shopping and cooking tips, health notes, and more. Illustrating the book are full-color photographs throughout that bring readers right into the breathtaking California sunshine.
This is perfect cooking for friends and family, packed with irresistible dishes for weeknight dinners and casual entertaining, festive breakfasts and fall picnics. Recipes are all about the ingredients and their intrinsic qualities, not fancy techniques or time-consuming steps. Marry chicken with three simple accompaniments— rosemary, lemons, and garlic—and it’s transformed. Heighten the flavor of a springtime fava bean and orzo salad with an unexpected fava bean “pesto.” Combine Meyer lemon juice and soy sauce to create a marinade, tenderizer, and sauce that results in a perfect grilled flank steak.
Food to Live By also includes a wealth of information about organic farming and how to make the wisest food choices; there are full-color Field Guides—to gourmet greens, apples, heirloom tomatoes, winter squash—and Farm Fresh ingredient guides to sorrel, corn, melons, avocados, organic poultry, asparagus, artichokes, ginger, and more, featuring what to look for plus care and handling. The book is a boon to food lovers.
- Print length402 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWorkman Publishing Company
- Publication dateOctober 20, 2006
- Dimensions8 x 1 x 9.13 inches
- ISBN-100761138994
- ISBN-13978-0761138990
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From the Back Cover
About the Author
Food articles by Linda Holland have appeared in The New York Times, and Gourmet and Hemispheres magazines. She lives in San Francisco.
Before working as the consulting chef for Earthbound, Pamela McKinstry owned and operated several restaurants on Nantucket. She lives in Carmel with her husband.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
During our first few years, Drew and I spent June through October harvesting raspberries from dawn until dusk. For our fledgling roadside stand to be successful, we had to find every ripe berry, carefully lifting each thorny branch to discover any that were hiding underneath the leaves. It takes patient, gentle hands to pick the soft berries without crushing them. Even a half-pint basket fills slowly when the berries are so small. I was also teaching myself how to cook during these early years. Raspberries were often my main ingredient as I looked for creative ways to avoid wasting a single one. Although a few of my cooking experiments were disasters, some turned out to be fabulous, and I continue to make them to this day.
Corn muffins made with raspberries were one of my biggest successes. Customers stopping at our stand for a basket of berries would buy my freshly baked muffins to enjoy on the way home. Decades later, some of those early customers still reminisce about the muffins’ moist, natural sweetness. Raspberry jam was another best-seller that I continue to make every year for my family. Raspberries have so much natural pectin that all they need is sugar and low, slow cooking to turn the fruit into a jam we enjoy all year long.
Of course, raspberries are equally at home on a dessert plate. For a special event, our friend Sarah’s Chocolate Soufflés with Raspberry Sauce is our all-time favorite. Or for an easy, healthy treat, my mom’s recipe for frozen raspberry yogurt churns out rosy pink with lovely berry bits.
Our original raspberry stand is long gone, but three rows of raspberry bushes still grow behind our house. Now berry picking is a way to relax with my family after work. Even our dog, Jack, joins us. He seems to be able to smell which berries are ripe and has taught himself to pull the berries off the low-hanging branches with his tongue and eat them.
Some of our bushes were transplanted to the Carmel Valley fields beside our Farm Stand, where they continue to thrive. After all these years, our loyal customers still buy baskets of our organic raspberries and a muffin from the Farm Stand’s Organic Kitchen to nibble on the road. I hope you’ll enjoy our raspberry muffins as much as they do and discover other fresh ideas for bringing this succulent berry into your own life.
Raspberry Corn Muffins
Drew and I grew and sold organic raspberries during our early farming years, and I often baked raspberry muffins using any berries we had left over. Through my kitchen window, I could see customers driving up to our raspberry stand, and I’d quickly wash the flour from my hands before going outside to greet them. If their timing was right, in addition to baskets of fresh raspberries, they could buy a still-warm, invitingly moist corn muffin, loaded with fresh raspberries, to eat on the way home.
MAKES 12 STANDARD-SIZE MUFFINS
Butter for greasing the muffin cups (unless using cupcake liners)
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs 1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 half-pint (about 11/4 cups) fresh raspberries or frozen (unthawed) unsweetened raspberries
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with cupcake liners.
2. Place the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk to combine well.
3. Place the eggs, honey, sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter in a small bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently fold in the raspberries. Do not overmix the batter or the muffins will be tough. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost to the brim.
4. Bake the muffins until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. 5. Place the muffin pan on a wire rack and let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm. The muffins taste best the day they are made but, if necessary, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat them in a microwave for about 10 seconds or in a preheated 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Product details
- Publisher : Workman Publishing Company
- Publication date : October 20, 2006
- Edition : 1st Edition (later printing)
- Language : English
- Print length : 402 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0761138994
- ISBN-13 : 978-0761138990
- Item Weight : 2.74 pounds
- Dimensions : 8 x 1 x 9.13 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #901,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #235 in Organic Cooking
- #394 in Natural Food Cooking
- #3,700 in International Mystery & Crime (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

MYRA GOODMAN is a well-known pioneer in the world of organic food and farming and the author of three cookbooks. In 1984, she and her husband, Drew, founded Earthbound Farm, which became the largest grower of organic produce in the world. The Goodmans have been credited with helping to bring organic food to the mainstream, and they were the first company to successfully market packaged salads for retail sales. Myra's father, Mendek Rubin, was a brilliant inventor who devised the initial equipment used to wash and package their greens.
Myra is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors. Her father Mendek was able to overcome his tremendous trauma to become the happiest and most peaceful person she has ever known. After his death in 2012, she discovered an unfinished manuscript about his healing journey. Picking up where he left off, Myra spent many years researching and writing the missing parts of his story. The result of this remarkable posthumous father-daughter collaboration is the inspiring spiritual memoir, Quest for Eternal Sunshine—A Holocaust Survivor's Journey from Darkness to Light.
Myra has appeared on national television shows, including Oprah, Regis & Kelly, and Good Morning America Health, and has been featured in hundreds of publications, including People magazine, the Costco Connection, More, Forbes, The New York Times, and AARP. Myra and Drew have two grown children and continue to live on their original farm in Carmel Valley with their three yellow labs, Oscar, Henry, and Leo.
Myra has created a rich website, filled with inspiration and resources for healing: www.QuestForEternalSunshine.com
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Customers find the cookbook's recipes bring out flavors in salads and are easy to follow. Moreover, they appreciate its nutritional value, with one customer noting it's not just about organic ingredients. Additionally, the cookbook receives positive feedback for its useful information and gorgeous pictures.
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Customers love the recipes in this cookbook, finding them delicious and noting how they bring out the flavors in salads.
"...While the book starts with raspberry recipes and continues with soup and salad recipes, great destinations for their organic produce, the chapters..." Read more
"...This book has singlehandedly won me the reputation of a very good cook!!! I highly recommend it to anyone." Read more
"...lots of great recipes with accessible ingredients......" Read more
"...There are lots of healthy, nutritious and at the same time delicious recipes, just real and delicious whole food with a ton of variety...." Read more
Customers appreciate the cookbook's nutritional value, noting its focus on fresh ingredients and accessible recipes, with one customer highlighting its comprehensive coverage of nutrition and health information.
"...recipes and continues with soup and salad recipes, great destinations for their organic produce, the chapters are really almost exactly what you..." Read more
"...She uses fresh ingredients and there are a lot of fresh herbs, curry, and vegetables...." Read more
"...how earthbound farms became what it is, and the devotion to organic food is really inspiring and common sense. it's a great cookbook for those..." Read more
"...There are lots of healthy, nutritious and at the same time delicious recipes, just real and delicious whole food with a ton of variety...." Read more
Customers find the cookbook's recipes very easy to follow and understand.
"...fruit, this is largely a brightly illustrated and joyfully assembled general purpose cookbook, I'm certain that the publisher, Workman, has a lot to..." Read more
"...They don't take a long time to prepare or have too many steps (although some require a little planning, like that you marinate overnight)...." Read more
"...the material is great, easy to understand...." Read more
"...They're so simple to make, I never buy the bottled kind at the grocery store at all anymore, and it tastes so much better and fresher when it's..." Read more
Customers find the cookbook's information quality positive, describing it as a good reference with useful content, and one customer notes that it provides helpful information about organic food without being preachy.
"...These are informative and great eye candy. My only caveat is that you don't consider them `complete' guides...." Read more
"...I also like the background information on how her and her family started Earthbound Farm. It's a really interesting read." Read more
"Hardly a bible but many good recommendations. A good reference." Read more
"I haven’t used the cookbook yet but it seems to have useful information. However, it does not look new which is what I paid for...." Read more
Customers appreciate the cookbook's gorgeous pictures and beautiful design.
"...except for an emphasis on cooking with fruit, this is largely a brightly illustrated and joyfully assembled general purpose cookbook, I'm certain..." Read more
"...There are huge, full-color pictures so you can leaf through the book and decide what looks good to you that day...." Read more
"...Beautiful design, gorgeous pictures (did I say "beautiful design" already?), unexcelled recipes and amazing writing AND editing!..." Read more
"...Photo illustrations are beautiful - and show presentations of almost every dish...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2007`Food to Live By' by Earthbound Farm co-founder, Myra Goodman and culinary `accomplices' Linda Holland and Pamela McKinstry announces itself as a cookbook for organic ingredients, and yet except for an emphasis on cooking with fruit, this is largely a brightly illustrated and joyfully assembled general purpose cookbook, I'm certain that the publisher, Workman, has a lot to do with the sidebar intensive style and better than average illustrations and snaps, but I also suspect much is owed to the great pleasure the author had in realizing this book.
The fact that the book does not quite fill its billing as a `healthy foods' book tempted me to give it only four stars. Two facts changed my mind. First, the hefty (402 pages) book lists for a scant $21.95 US. Second, the last Chapter 10 on `Basics' has excellent advice on making stocks. It may not be on the great reflective level of Deborah Madison or as finicky as the Culinary Institute of America textbook, but for a budget priced book, it is very good indeed.
I would still have demoted it to four stars if the general level of recipes was weak, but they are not. All of the traditional stuff is entirely up to snuff. For example, the pastry crust recipe hits all the right notes. The only caveat is that this and other recipes call for whole-wheat pastry flour, which I have not seen in my local megamart (Wegmans). On the other hand, I have seen lots and lots of `Earthbound Farm Organic' products in my very same Wegmans and the story of how Drew and Myra Goodman established their little business that could almost sounds too good to be true.
This story takes up the first 24 pages (the Roman numeraled ones in the introduction) of the book (which means that 402 pages are all recipes, no fluff). This is primarily a tale of being at the right place at the right time with the right idea. The couple leased a 2½-acre farm in Carmel Valley, California and started by raising and selling raspberries while they accumulated moneys to continue their educations. One thing lead to another, falling into great good luck when they hit upon the notion of bagged salad greens just at the time that the country was becoming a lot more interested in more diverse vegetables and in organic produce, all with the same convenience of other supermarket fare. The result is that our heroes now own and run the largest producer of organic vegetables in the country, and probably in the world.
While the book starts with raspberry recipes and continues with soup and salad recipes, great destinations for their organic produce, the chapters are really almost exactly what you would find in a conventional cookbook. As the author points out, eating organic is certainly NOT the same as being a vegetarian (however, I suspect it is much easier to find organic fruits and vegetables than it is to find organic milk, eggs, meats, and poultry, let alone `organic' fish). This brings me to one of the very few complaints about this book. There is no appendix of sources for some the things not sold by Earthbound Farm. This includes the whole-wheat pastry flour and Grade A dark maple syrup. Fortunately, there are very few such `hard to find' ingredients.
The very first thing that told me this was a book with which to be reckoned was the recipe for carrot soup. While I'm sure I have a recipe for this somewhere among my dozen soup cookbooks, this is the first time this has caught my attention, and I plan to make it at the first opportunity. Talk about liquid gold!
One thing this book brings to mind is a latter day `Whole Earth Catalogue' lifestyle; however, there is very little hint of the hippie ethos and lifestyle here. We are, after all, talking about the owners of a multi-million dollar business. Thus, there are not many bread baking recipes or detailed canning or pickling recipes, but there is a bit of all these things, including ice cream making and homemade granola.
While Workman publishing sometimes strikes me as something of a `cookbook factory' publisher like Chronicle Books, both publishers seem to maintain a high standard, and this book fits a higher standard than most. Every so many pages, we run across little presents such as `A Field Guide to Great-Tasting Tomatoes'. These are informative and great eye candy. My only caveat is that you don't consider them `complete' guides. They do, however, spice up this amazingly low-priced book.
The value of this cookbook to you is directly in proportional to you inclination to collect cookbooks, divided by how many cookbooks you have now. If you already have 500 cookbooks, this one won't add a whole lot beyond the uplifting story of how the family Goodman got rich raising lettuce. It does not have a strong `health food' emphasis (just look at the mac and cheese recipe') and aside from the very good stock making section, there are not a lot of cooking insights, but that doesn't mean it isn't a danged good cookbook. So, if you like vegetables and soups and a really nice collection of good recipes, this book will brighten your day.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2007This is the very best cookbook ever! I use this book faithfully almost every day. It's wonderful and easy and not intimidating and EVERY recipe is a winner!! I have been trying to teach myself to cook for a few years now, and I've found that anyone can do it if you can follow a recipe. The trick is finding a good one! I've tried many books, and each one might have one or two recipes that I might add to my "regular" repitoire, a couple of recipes that are awful or too hard or involved to make, and the rest of the book that is never used. Not so with this book!!! The recipes are all simple and easy to follow. They don't take a long time to prepare or have too many steps (although some require a little planning, like that you marinate overnight). They use regular ingredients that you can find in any grocery store. You don't need any crazy kitchen gadgets or expensive appliances. But best of all, the recipes are absolutely delicious!!! Most are old favorites but with a delicious twist... the BEST chicken salad you have ever eaten, the juciest ribs you ever tried, the most flavorful chili ever. She uses fresh ingredients and there are a lot of fresh herbs, curry, and vegetables. There are huge, full-color pictures so you can leaf through the book and decide what looks good to you that day. I have no trepidation whatsoever with trying something new from this book on a whim (although I've made almost everything in it now!). This book has singlehandedly won me the reputation of a very good cook!!! I highly recommend it to anyone.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2009when i was reviewing a few cookbooks recently, trying to decide which one to buy, i kept coming back to this one. the material is great, easy to understand. the storyof how earthbound farms became what it is, and the devotion to organic food is really inspiring and common sense.
it's a great cookbook for those just entering into the more roganic food lifestyle. lots of great recipes with accessible ingredients...
i guess my only complaint - and maybe i just missed it in the contents - is there is very little on beans and how to use them. but maybe i just missed them.
i'm glad i bought it. i have made the pancakes already and they're great. all the recipes i's tried so far have been nothing short of lovely.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2008I love every recipe I've tried in this book, and all of them are easy to follow, fun to make, and taste excellent. These recipes and all of the tips throughout the book have made cooking much more enjoyable for me, and they always come out great.
I stayed away from the meat recipes at first (I only occasionally eat a little meat nowadays), but I have found that some can be made without meat and are excellent! For example, the lamb curry with saffron couscous tastes amazing with no meat at all. The flavors of the indian curry spice mixture in this recipe is the best I've ever tasted anywhere and is perfect for veggies with either basmati rice or the couscous.
The salad dressings are also amazing. I had never tried a salad dressing with roasted walnut or hazelnut oils before, and it's so wonderful and brings out the flavors in a salad. They're so simple to make, I never buy the bottled kind at the grocery store at all anymore, and it tastes so much better and fresher when it's homemade.
There are lots of healthy, nutritious and at the same time delicious recipes, just real and delicious whole food with a ton of variety. The cookies recipes are great too!
Top reviews from other countries
- Lucy H. PearceReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2008
5.0 out of 5 stars superb
An all american recipe book- strong on things like muffins and grilled meat marinates, great salad dressings too. so glad i discovered it by chance in our local library- i lasted a week before i bought my own copy as I had earmarked about a third of the recipes to try by the time I had read through it. all that i have tried from it to date have been simple to cook and very flavoursome- gorgeous shrimp cakes, tamari tahini chicken to die for, roast fig salad with candied walnuts, ribs with mango sauce-all to die for. a beautiful book in its own right, i heartily agree with all that the previous reviewer wrote...
- AJPReviewed in Canada on June 9, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Great cookbook
Love this book. Have used a lot of the recipes.