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The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook & All Season Guide Book Review

Posted on by Cindy
picture of The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Fresh Cookbook
19
Apr

I enjoy having a vegetable garden. The first fruit and vegetable harvest is especially fun. Once the harvest turns into a bountiful display, I start handing it out to friends, family, and neighbors. We cook extra healthy during this time, however it gets to a point where I don’t really know enough recipes or how to handle the over abundance! That is when the The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook will come in handy this year.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook Review

I was delighted to review the The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook in preparation for garden season. It is a beautiful book filled with 325 recipes for the novice to the expert. It is chocked full of not only recipes but also expert advice on growing, choosing, and using the freshest vegetables, fruit and herbs. This cookbook is excellent for the home gardener or if you are buying your produce from the local market.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Fresh Cookbook

Having a vegetable and fruit garden is not only money saving and a great family activity, it is also very healthy for you. Did you know that people who eat more fresh fruit and vegetables have fewer incidents heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and age related neurological decline? Plus, they are generally healthier? That is exactly what I want for my family, how about you?

Growing the fruits and vegetables is fun. Figuring out how to incorporate them into the kitchen for delicious meals can be a challenge.  That is why I know this will be my favorite book this Summer!

By flipping through the book, I’ve already learned so much and made note of recipes my family will HAVE to try this summer. I learned how to harvest sunflower seeds from the Miracle Grow Kit my kids planted a couple weeks ago. I will add them to the Granola with Sunflower Seeds recipe I found.

There are also handy tips including how to incorporate fresh or dried herbs into dishes. Did you know that for dried herbs, you use 1/3 of what a recipe would call for in fresh ingredients? For fresh herbs, use 3 X what the dried amount states.

There is also information on how to save and store greens. I’ll be putting this handy tip into use right away. Refrigerate unwashed greens. Prevent rotting by layering with newspapers and then paper towels under the greens in the refrigerator bins. This will soak up any moisture to prevent rotting. Who knew?

Oh, and there is no such thing as too many tomatoes. We always go overboard with tomatoes because we love, love, love fresh garden salsa! There are great tips on how to preserve tomatoes by drying, freezing, and by making a sauce. I will be sure to flip back to this section later this Summer!

The recipe that I will try first, and probably later this week is the Strawberry Lemonade Recipe. It calles for pureeing 1 cup strawberries in the blender, add ½ cup sugar and 1 cup fresh lemon juice. Then, mix in 1-1/4 – 1-1/2 cup cold sparkling water. Pour into ice filled glasses. Doesn’t that sound refreshing!

There are other resources in The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook like Frost & Growing Days Chart for USA and Canada and a Fiber Guide. Did you know that fiber is only found in plants? Fiber is essential to digestive health, adults need 20-35 grams daily. The chart includes portion sizes of fruits and vegetables and their coordinating fiber content. 1 cup raw blackberries has an impressive 7.6 grams of Fiber, a great reason for me to indulge in my favorite fruit! 1 cup artichockes ahs 14.4 grams fiber, 1 apples has 3.3 grams, black beans has 15 grams.

Buy The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook

You can buy the The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook wherever books and magazines are sold or at Almanac.com/Store for $19.95 each.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Fresh Cookbook (Hardcover)
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The Old Farmer’s Almanac All Season Garden Guide Review

The Old Farmer’s Almanac All Season Garden Guide is for every gardener from the urban gardener to the country gardener. It is packed full of advice that only the reliable Old Farmer’s Almanac can give. It is the practical tips that allow everyone to roll up their sleeves and get dirty with confidence.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac All Seasons Garden Guide

We always plant tomato plants, a variety of them, in our vegetable gardens. We have always added mulch to our vegetable gardens, it really makes the gardens pop with color from spring to fall harvest. It makes our vegetable garden an extension of our flower garden beds. Although I’d like for you to think that is the only reason we use much, the fact is, we love gardening but are a little lazy when it comes to weeding. Using mulch makes the weeding chore next to nothing. I was pleased to read that The Old Farmer’s Almanac agrees with us. It not only prevents weeds but it also helps retain moisture! Awesome!

I also found the article that lists out the Best Perennials especially helpful.

The Best Perennials:

  • Aren’t fussy
  • Are resistant to insects, diseases, and even deer (big one for us) include link!
  • Have a long life of 10 or more years
  • Adapt to varying conditions
  • Grow and bloom well
  • Are tough against invasive plants
  • Grow about anywhere in North America

So, what are the Best Perennials?

  • Black Eyed Susans – have them and love the yellow flowers with brown centers
  • Coneflowers – have them, one of my favorites with beautiful purple blooms
  • Day Lilly – have them, perfect for borders along any house or garden
  • Goats Beard – gotta check this white flower out
  • Hosta – have a zillion of them in my shady yard,I like the green foliage and white blooms
  • Peony – haven’t had these but they are on my list after seeing the large beautiful blooms!

There were some other perennials that made it to the runner up list of best perennials including Cushion Spurge, Hens & Chicks, Russian Sage, Showy Stone Crop, and Siberian Iris. Of those, the only one that I’ve had is the Siberian Iris, which I love! I am happy to add the others to my list of perennials to plant this year as I design and landscape my entire yard.

Buy The Old Farmer’s Almanac All Season Garden Guide

You can buy the The Old Farmer’s Almanac All Season Garden Guide at plant nurseries, home centers and wherever books and magazines are sold or at Almanac.com/Store for $3.99 each.

“Like” Almanac on Facebook

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Win The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook AND All Season Garden Guide (Closed)

Updated: 5-13-11 Winners Announced: Congratulations, Lily Kwan and Liza767!

The Old Farmer’s Almanac is offering 2 lucky winners both books, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook and The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook.

30 Day Winning Rule does NOT apply to this contest. For complete contest rules, please see our Contest Statement and Blog Disclosure.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on May 8, 2011 when a winner will be drawn at random and announced the next day. When commenting, please include your email address (not visible to public). I will notify the winners and they will have 36 hours to respond!

This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Old Farmer’s Almanac who provided the products for review & giveaway.

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Cindy
Founder and Lead Blogger at Akron Ohio Moms
Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!
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147 thoughts on “The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook & All Season Guide Book Review”

  18. brian e. says:

    Thanks for the giveaway…following YOU via Twitter: @brianpiero

    senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com

  19. Cindy says:

    Super, glad you to have you here, Tammy. To enter this contest, just tell like AOM on facebook or follow on twitter. That is the required entry, then after that, you can do whatever you wish for extra entries. Good luck!

  31. Pingback: entered to #Win Old Farmers Almanac Cookbook and Guide Book Ends 5/8 #contests #sweepstakes https://www.akronohiomoms.com/?p=12073 – Your Sweepstakes

  32. Pingback: entered to #Win Old Farmers Almanac Cookbook and Guide Book Ends 5/8 #contests #sweepstakes https://www.akronohiomoms.com/?p=12073 – Your Sweepstakes

  43. Emmy says:

    I learned how to make African Peanut Soup! Oh man, that’s a huge hit in this town, and now I’m going to make it!

  97. Toni Alabakovski says:

    I entered the teeth whitening giveaway but am now not eligible to win it since I just won something, but that’s okay 10

  98. Toni Alabakovski says:

    I entered to win the hobby farming book, I would LOVE to have one of those, if I don’t win, I might have to go buy one! 9

  99. Toni Alabakovski says:

    i entered the melissa and doug gift card giveaway but stopped entering since I just won something between $25 & $200 8

  101. Toni Alabakovski says:

    I entered to win the CVSR giveaway but had to stop entering since I already won something over $50 6

  107. Toni Alabakovski says:

    I learned how to grow your own catnip. I would love to have this book and the farming book. I have an acre of land and will try for the 3rd year to grow a garden, and am thinking about some backyard chickens too, so anything that might help me even a little would be very useful to me.

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