Food porn

Finally got to check out my library's copy of Eating Local (finally - I say that like the book wasn't just released on June 1), and overnight it's mysteriously sprouted a mohawk of pink post-its marking the 1,000 recipes I need to photocopy before I send the book back.

I've been reading a lot of cookbooks and books about local eating over the past few months, and I have to say, this is by far the most attractive of the bunch.  If I was going to buy local food books as gifts for friends, this would be at the top of my list.  The tone of it is more celebratory than preachy, and it's just so beautiful to look at, I can't imagine any decent cook not sighing once or twice while looking through it.

It's got a lot of good-sounding recipes - sorted by the main produce used in each, thank goodness, so if you need a beet recipe (and who doesn't?) you just go to the beet section.  I haven't had a chance to try any of them yet, despite the mohawk, but I have many, many planned for this next week, CSA and farmers' market willing. *** UPDATE - I tried several recipes, and they're all hits.  You can find one here.***

Interspersed with the recipes are profiles of some of the farmers who run CSAs across the nations, with lush photos of their farms and produce.  It's interesting to see how the selections of produce vary across the country - macadamia nuts?  limes?  Oh, how I wish we had some of those in Cleveland ...

Seriously, this is more of a coffee table book than a cookbook, the pictures are so awesome.  Use the Amazon link and click the "Look Inside!" thingee to see some of them ... they're so fresh and lush and vibrant and appealing.  It's like porn for foodies, only you don't have to be embarrassed when your kid starts paging through it.

I highly recommend that you check this one out, whether you're into the whole "local eating" thing or not.  Just remember to wipe the drool off before you put it back on the shelf, okay?