Greek Revival from the Garden: Growing and Cooking for Life

by Patricia Moore-Pastides

Overview

Patricia Moore-Pastides, author of Greek Revivial: Cooking for Life, heads to the garden in this new cookbook that makes a do-it-yourself healthful lifestyle possible, offering guidance on how to pursue healthy eating, starting from the ground up. Moore-Pastides, an accomplished cook and public-health professional, presents all new recipes focused on bringing the bounty of the garden to the table in easy and accessible ways. Targeting young adults but valuable for all novices, Greek Revival from the Garden focuses on the time-tested Mediterranean diet—recommended for great taste, good health, and long life—and on learning simple, delicious cooking methods that foster a happy and healthy relationship with good food.

The growing section provides all the information necessary for those interested in organic gardening to cultivate an exciting array of fruits and vegetables in containers, raised beds, or yard gardens. Topics include preparing the soil, composting to create organic fertilizer, watering, working with basic tools, and dealing with common pests and problems. Color photographs are provided to inspire new gardeners toward more than just tomatoes and cucumbers.

Greek Revival from the Garden then invites the reader into the kitchen. This section assumes little prior cooking knowledge or experience and includes kitchen safety, common equipment and cooking methods, and observations from cooking class participants. The highlight of the cooking section are the recipes themselves: a beautifully photographed sampling of fifty mouth-watering dishes prepared with the harvest of homegrown vegetables as the stars, including garden gazpacho, curried butternut squash and apple soup, and nut crusted creamy almond fruit tart.

Throughout the book, Moore-Pastides inspires healthy habits by introducing simple ways to grow and prepare nutritious dishes, and promotes a long and fulfilling lifetime relationship with food from garden to table.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611171907
Publisher:	University of South Carolina Press
Publication date:	07/24/2013
Series:	Young Palmetto Books
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Patricia Moore-Pastides is the First Lady of the University of South Carolina, where she teaches healthy Mediterranean cooking classes for USC students. In addition Moore-Pastides, who earned a master's in public health from Yale University, teaches adults and children through Columbia's Cooking!, a community program offered by the university's Cancer Prevention and Control Program. As part of being an active participant in Healthy Carolina's farmers' market, she cultivates an organic vegetable garden at the President's House. Moore-Pastides also works to support sustainability initiatives on campus and lectures on wellness, specifically the health benefits of the traditional Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. She is the author of Greek Revival: Cooking for Life.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Eating for Life: Why Food Choices Matter 1

Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins, Vitamins, Minerals, and Water ChooseMyPlate

Choosing the Traditional Mediterranean Diet

Growing for Life: Getting Started on Your Garden 13

The All-Important Soil

Enriching Your Soil

Tools Watering

Container Gardening, Raised Beds, and Yard Gardens

Dealing with Pests

My Favorite Things: Choosing Vegetables to Grow

Cooking for Life: Getting Started in the Kitchen 35

Safety First

Safe Food Handling

Great Things to Know

Equipment Needs

Cooking Terms You Should Know

Your Harvest is the Star: Fifty Recipes 47

Tomatoes

Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinegar and Lemon-Thyme Confetti 48

Feta, Tomato, and Dried-Oregano Pizza 51

The Purists Chunky Tomato, Mozzarelia, and Basil Pizza 52

Chunky Savory Tomato Sauce for Pasta or Pizza 53

Zesty Tomato, Kalamata Olive, and Seafood Bake 54

Tomato Salsa with a Kick 56

Classic Caprese Salad 57

Garden Gazpacho 58

Summer-Squashes

Zucchini, Almond, and Mint Pesto over Pasta 60

Oven-Baked Zucchini Frittata 62

Pure and Simple Oven-Roasted Summer Squashes 64

Chocolate Zucchini Cake 66

Eggplant and Okra

Caramelized Eggplant, Onion, and Tomato Pizza with Fresh Basil 68

Katie's Classic Eggplant Parmesan 70

Oven-Roasted Okra Fries with Dried Herbs 72

Garlic

Garlicky, Lemony Hummus 74

Sautéed Greens with Garlic over Pasta 76

Cherry Tomato and Garlic-Bread Bake 78

Beans

Butter Beans with Fresh Mint 80

Sautéed Green Beans with Ginger 82

Green Beans with Mustard Sauce 83

Greens

Broccoli Rabe and Garlic Pizza 84

Oven-Baked Kale Chips with Sesame Seeds 86

Spinach, Feta, and Dill Pies 88

Kale Soup with Butter Beans 90

Cabbage

Cabbage, Walnut, and Cranberry Salad 92

Roasted Potatoes, Red Onion, and Cabbage 94

Lettuces and Fennel

Arugula-Stuffed Fish Fillets with Fennel and Lemon 96

Radicchio and Fennel Salad with Shrimp, Avocado, Fresh Parsley, and Lime 98

Winter Squashes

Oven-Roasted Winter Squashes 101

Curried Butternut-Squash and Apple Soup 103

Butternut-Squash and Apple Soup with Autumn Spices 105

Peppers

Roasted Red-Pepper Hummus 107

Root Veggies

Sweet-Potato Puree with Buttermilk and Ginger 110

Homegrown Carrots with Yogurt Ranch Dressing 112

Zucchini-Topped Roasted Beets 114

Roasted Rainbow of Carrots 116

Fisherman's Vegetable Stew 118

Carrot and Ginger Soup 120

Roasted Winter-Vegetable Soup 122

Herbs

Parsleyed Meatballs in Cinnamony Tomato Sauce 124

The Best Basil Pesto 126

Broiled Shrimp with Garlic and Oregano 128

Tabbouleh with Herbs, Dried Fruit, and Nuts 131

Basics

Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust 132

DIY Vegetable Stock 136

Fruits

Real Fruit Sodas 138

Nut-Crusted Creamy Almond and Fruit Tart 139

Spiced Poached Pears with Creamy Yogurt and Blueberry Compote 142

Blanched Peaches 144

References 147

Index 149

What People are Saying About This

Rita Pelczar

Patricia Moore-Pastides promotes a traditional Mediterranean diet—one that is high in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seafood, with dairy in moderation. The simple yet innovative recipes rely on these ingredients and creative use of herbs and spices; suggestions for substitute ingredients are often provided. The result is a variety of healthy, mouthwatering dishes.

Rebecca Bull Reed

As a garden editor and lifestyle expert, I'm constantly asked what trends I see. Hands down, the biggest is vegetable gardening. This rekindled love with the land, a passion for healthier food, and the resurgence in DIY can be credited to one group in particular—fearless, inexperienced gardeners who are eager to learn. Is garden to table just another trend? No, it is here to stay, especially with advocates like Patricia Moore-Pastides, who offers irresistible enthusiasm and an enduring commitment to educating. This companion to Patricia's first book, Greek Revival: Cooking for Life, shares not only practical gardening advice, but also can-do recipes that anyone can make. Go ahead and get over the fact that the pages will become well worn. This is a book you'll reach for time and again, no matter your level of expertise.

Kelly D. Brownell

Food can be a gift when it is scrumptious and delights our senses, and at the same time supports good health. This book offers us many such gifts.

Amanda McNulty

Patricia Moore-Pastides has created an inspiring and entertaining guide for young people taking the plunge into growing their own food and then cooking it! She combines the magic and beauty of gardening with some fifty scrumptious garden-to-table recipes for beginners that will get fingers off the electronics and into the dirt.

Matt Lee and Ted Lee

Patricia Moore-Pastides's Greek Revival from the Garden is a new kind of book—a family cookbook—that shows adults and young adults how to grow food and how to transform it into delicious, nutritious meals. Here are superb Mediterranean-inspired recipes and instructions for growing that are reassuring and expert. But more than simply a cookbook or a gardening primer, it's a guide to living more fully, more completely, in today's kitchens.

Editorial Reviews

"Patricia Moore-Pastides promotes a traditional Mediterranean diet one that is high in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seafood, with dairy in moderation. The simple yet innovative recipes rely on these ingredients and creative use of herbs and spices; suggestions for substitute ingredients are often provided. The result is a variety of healthy, mouthwatering dishes."--Rita Pelczar, Contributing Editor, The American Gardener


"Patricia Moore-Pastides's Greek Revival from the Garden is a new kind of book a family cookbook that shows adults and young adults how to grow food and how to transform it into delicious, nutritious meals. Here are superb Mediterranean-inspired recipes and instructions for growing that are reassuring and expert. But more than simply a cookbook or a gardening primer, it's a guide to living more fully, more completely, in today's kitchens." Matt Lee and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen


"As a garden editor and lifestyle expert, I'm constantly asked what trends I see. Hands down, the biggest is vegetable gardening. This rekindled love with the land, a passion for healthier food, and the resurgence in DIY can be credited to one group in particular fearless, inexperienced gardeners who are eager to learn. Is garden to table just another trend? No, it is here to stay, especially with advocates like Patricia Moore-Pastides, who offers irresistible enthusiasm and an enduring commitment to educating. This companion to Patricia's first book,Greek Revival: Cooking for Life, shares not only practical gardening advice, but also can-do recipes that anyone can make. Go ahead and get over the fact that the pages will become well worn. This is a book you'll reach for time and again, no matter your level of expertise." Rebecca Bull Reed, associate garden editor, Southern Living


"Food can be a gift when it is scrumptious and delights our senses, and at the same time supports good health. This book offers us many such gifts." Kelly D. Brownell, director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University




"Patricia Moore-Pastides has created an inspiring and entertaining guide for young people taking the plunge into growing their own food and then cooking it! She combines the magic and beauty of gardening with some fifty scrumptious garden-to-table recipes for beginners that will get fingers off the electronics and into the dirt." Amanda McNulty, Clemson Extension agent and host of the Emmy Award-winning Making It Grow!

From the Publisher