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For more than 200 years, folks have relied on information in "The Old Farmer's Almanac" to guide them through the seasons with weather charts, tide tables, recipes, games, articles and more. Now, those who enjoy this annual publication can enjoy the latest compilation by its editors -- "The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook."
If you're searching for the perfect down-home cookbook, this treasure trove of recipes, how-tos, shortcuts and select eye-popping art is begging for a spot on your bookshelf. It's filled with recipes you may never have realized you were without -- but once in your possession, you can't recall a time before them.
Every conceivable course to a meal or party is represented in "Everyday Cookbook." From soups and chowders to fish and seafood to canning and preserving -- it's all here in this handsome, sturdy, hardcover edition, released August 2008.
You'll find award-winning recipes from past "Old Farmer's Almanac" reader recipe contests, including poppy seed potato salad, spicy sausage and red cabbage, apple-stuffed baked fish and old-fashioned buttermilk wedding cake. The Too Good To Leave Out recipes are aptly named, including recipes like popcorn granola munch, corn fritters and triple-lemon layer cake.
Outdoor cooks will especially enjoy the section titled Backyard Barbecues, which gives readers tips on keeping grilled food flavorful, skewering, grilling veggies and preparing steak and shares a recipe for what "Almanac" calls the "best barbecue sauce." Some of these tips are sure to come in handy during tailgating season. And the pie-making pointers included in the cookbook are just in time for the holidays.
"The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook" (Yankee Publishing, $24.95, ISBN-13: 978-1-57198-463-0) is available in bookstores, supermarkets, online at Store.Almanac.com and by telephone at 1-800-ALMANAC.
Want a taste of "The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook"? Try this mouth-watering recipe, perfect for autumn, from the recently published collection:
Sweet potato chowder
Makes six servings
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
15-ounce can diced sweet potatoes, drained
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sauté the bacon, onion, peppers and garlic in a large Dutch oven. Add the broth. Puree the sweet potatoes in a food processor or blender, and whisk them into the broth mixture. Stir in the potato and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the potato pieces are tender. Whisk in the milk, curry powder and pepper; heat, but do not boil.
-- Liz Barclay, Annapolis, Maryland
(Recipe from "The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook," Yankee Publishing, $24.95, hardcover, August 2008)