Since 1990, Jerry Traunfeld has been the chef at the Herbfarm, a restaurant-nursery nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State devoted to propagating an exceptional variety of culinary herbs, edible flowers, and greens. People wait months for a table at this restaurant, where Traunfeld's unaffected yet sophisticated cooking unfolds in a nine-course dinner. Reading his recipes, you understand why. It is hard to get through even the first chapter, on soups, without starting a shopping list for making Green Gazpacho, a cooling blend of cucumbers and green pepper with spearmint, parsley, and cilantro, or Herbal Chicken Noodle Soup, lavish with fresh basil, chives, tarragon, and marjoram.

After enticing you with the story of his signature dish, a green salad made with up to 30 ingredients, each literally harvested and assembled on the plate one leaf and blossom at a time, Traunfeld shows how, using more typical resources, you can construct a salad friends will declare a delicious work of art. To make it really simple, he provides a chart listing 50 possible choices that helps you balance the flavors, including hot, sweet, bitter, and aromatic, and the colors and textures that make a salad more than a plate of lovely greens.

However, if you don't live in a culinary paradise like the Seattle area, only have access to a typical supermarket, and you don't want to grow your own herbs, you can still infuse your cooking with the same enticing magic Traunfeld creates at the Herbfarm. Just tuck sprigs of thyme, rosemary, or oregano between the slices of a loaf of country bread spread with butter or olive oil and roasted garlic, wrap it in foil, and pop it in the oven for a quick 12 minutes. Or try Mashed Potatoes with Toasted Coriander, the seeds adding earthy flavor to a perennial favorite, and serve with chicken piccata enlivened with fresh dill.

Traunfeld is such a good teacher and clear writer that you follow with confidence when he guides you through Herb-Smoked Salmon--first dry-rubbed, then smoked over dried stems from basil, thyme, or fennel and finally baked until the fish is just gently set. You also get an introduction to the Japanese concept of umami, a state of food perfection that Traunfeld achieves in his Umami Carrot Soup with Mint.

Following the 200 recipes and alluring photos of some prepared dishes, you learn about growing herbs, both in the garden and in containers. A section describing herbs and edible flowers, from angelica to violets, is ample and articulate enough to stand on its own as a book, and those interested in gardening will appreciate the list of nurseries here. Finally, this section includes a table covering 29 herbs that will help you transform your own favorite dishes simply by adding fresh herbs. --Dana Jacobi

From Publishers Weekly
In his debut cookbook, Traunfeld elevates herbs to celebrity status. Chef at the Herbfarm restaurant near Seattle, he marries friendly flavors (Tomato and Fennel Soup, which includes French tarragon, and Pork Chops with Sage, Onion and Prosciutto). He also employs unusual and bold strokes to create such tantalizing dishes as Oysters on the Half-Shell with Lemon Verbena Ice, Potatoes with Lavender and Rosemary, Grilled Marjoram-Scented Corn, Saut?ed Duck Breasts with Mint, Coriander, and Olives and Halibut Baked with Leeks, Apple and Lovage. Pointing out that herbs and flowers are nothing new in dessert-making, Traunfeld is particularly successful with sweets; he combines flavors with a masterful touch, exemplified by Pear, Maple and Rosemary Clafouti, Pumpkin-Bay Tart and Raspberry and Rose Geranium Sorbet. A summer's abundance of herbs can be persuaded to satisfy well after autumn's frosts with such fare as Apple-Thyme Jelly, Plum and Lavender Chutney and Candied Angelica. Several herb-based drinks are also provided, including the Herbfarm Champagne Cocktail, wherein a single herb leaf or sprig is crushed between the fingers, dropped into an empty champagne flute, then filled with the proper potable. Concluding the book is an extensive chapter outlining individual herbs and their cultivars as well as advice on growing and harvesting them. With herbs increasingly common in supermarkets, this compendium of recipes and useful facts is ideal for cooks eager for new taste temptations. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Marion Cunningham author of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook The Herbfarm Cookbook belongs on your bookshelf. Remarkable and original in the use of herbs, this is not only a collection of sparkling recipes, it is also the best herb reference book I've ever seen.

Book Description
Not so long ago, parsley was the only fresh herb available to most American cooks. Today, bunches of fresh oregano and rosemary can be found in nearly every supermarket, basil and mint grow abundantly in backyards from coast to coast, and garden centers offer pots of edible geraniums and lemon thyme. But once these herbs reach the kitchen, the inevitable question arises: Now what do I do with them? Here, at last, is the first truly comprehensive cookbook to cover all aspects of growing, handling, and cooking with fresh herbs. Jerry Traunfeld grew up cooking and gardening in Maryland, but it wasn't until the 1980s, after he had graduated from the California Culinary Academy and was working at Jeremiah Tower's Stars restaurant in San Francisco, that he began testing the amazing potential of herb cuisine. For the past decade, Jerry Traunfeld has been chef at The Herbfarm, an enchanted restaurant surrounded by kitchen gardens and tucked into the rainy foothills of the Cascade Mountains, east of Seattle. His brilliant nine-course herb-inspired menus have made reservations at the Herbfarm among the most coveted in the country. Eager to reveal his magic to home cooks, Jerry Traunfeld shares 200 of his best recipes in The Herbfarm Cookbook. Written with passion, humor, and a caring for detail that makes this book quite special, The Herbfarm Cookbook explains everything from how to recognize the herbs in your supermarket to how to infuse a jar of honey with the flavor of fresh lavender. Recipes include a full range of dishes from soups, salads, eggs, pasta and risotto, vegetables, poultry, fish, meats, breads, and desserts to sauces, ice creams, sorbets, chutneys, vinegars, and candied flowers. On the familiar side are recipes for Bay Laurel Roasted Chicken and Roasted Asparagus Salad with Fried Sage explained with the type of detail that insures the chicken will be moist and suffused with the flavor of bay and the asparagus complemented with the delicate crunch of sage. On the novel side you will find such unusual dishes as Oysters on the Half Shell with Lemon Varbana Ice and Rhubarb and Angelica Pie. A treasure trove of information, The Herbfarm Cookbook contains a glossary of 27 of the most common culinary herbs and edible flowers; a definitive guide to growing herbs in a garden, a city lot, or on a windowsill; a listing of the USDA has hardiness zones; how to harvest, clean, and store fresh herbs; a Growing Requirements Chart, including each herb's life cycle, height, pruning and growing needs, and number of plants to grow for an average kitchen; and a Cooking with Fresh Herbs Chart, with parts of the herb used, flavor characteristics, amount of chopped herb for six servings, and best herbal partners. The Herbfarm Cookbook is the most complete, inspired, and useful book about cooking with herbs ever written. * 8 pages of finished dishes in full color * 16 full-page botanical watercolors in full color

From the Publisher
What other chefs have said about The Herbfarm Cookbook "The Herbfarm Cookbook belongs on your bookshelf. Remarkable and original in the use of herbs, this is not only a collection of sparkling recipes, it is also the best herb reference book I've ever seen." --Marion Cunningham, author of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook"For over thirty years, I've grown, cooked, experimented with, and been excited by fresh herbs, yet I found this meticulously researched book fresh and inspirational. Jerry Traunfeld's flavor combinations and beautifully written prose are irresistible." --Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School, Ireland"I am amazed by the scope of this book! First, it is a great cookbook, full of beautifully conceived ideas and recipes that teach the subtleties of cooking with fresh herbs. Second, The Herbfarm Cookbook is a valuable reference, with helpful charts, line drawings, and botanical illustrations. An outstanding book!" --Jasper White, author of Lobster at Home"How do I use herbs-- Which herbs go with what? How do I know which to combine? These, the most asked of all kitchen queries, are answered with clear reasoning and sound intuition in Jerry Traunfeld's The Herbfarm Cookbook. Jerry Traunfeld's simple and honest recipes burst with flavor and will have your rushing to the kitchen to cook and to the garden or window box to plant." --James Peterson, author of Sauces and Vegetables "A brilliant work, brimful of invaluable know-how and astonishing combinations of flavors. Jerry Traunfeld's book has become an instant favorite in my kitchen and my garden." --Sylvia Thompson, author of The Kitchen Garden and The Kitchen Garden Cookbook."As I read through the pages of this book, I was transfixed by the text and style--it is rare that one can come across such books that are born from pure passion and translate such excitement and erudition to the reader. I found myself immersed in the undistilled passion of the craft that Jerry has perfected." --Dan Hinkley, Heronswood Nursery, Kingston, Washington

About the Author
Jerry Traunfeld is executive chef of The Herbfarm, where he combines a passion for cooking with a love of gardening. He teaches popular classes on cooking with fresh herbs and grows his own supply on a small city lot in Seattle, Washington.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Taking Herbs to New Heights

For many years, cooks looking for fresh herbs in the supermarket had to content themselves with a few limp bunches of curly parsley. How much things have changed! Now even the most basic grocery store is likely to carry the more flavorful Italian parsley along with fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, dill, sage, mint, cilantro, and chives year round. Gourmet stores yield treasures like lemon thyme, Thai basil, lemon verbena, sorrel, fresh oregano, and tarragon, and at farmers' markets adventurous cooks can find anything from rose geranium to savory to angelica. What to do with this bounty? Jerry Traunfeld, chef at the legendary Herbfarm restaurant outside of Seattle, Washington, has the answer. He has penned a beautifully produced, comprehensive new guide to growing and cooking with the incredible variety of culinary herbs available to home cooks today. Traunfeld offers fresh takes on classic herb dishes like pasta with pesto and poached salmon with tarragon sauce along with innovative new creations like Potatoes with Lavender and Rosemary and Apple-Rosemary Souffl￯﾿ﾽ. This is where to turn if a friend with a kitchen garden brings you a handful of anise hyssop—try Anise Hyssop-Poached Peaches—or if you're intrigued by the aroma of a bunch of lovage in the gourmet store, a delicate accent in Halibut Baked with Leeks, Apple, and Lovage. Traunfeld also includes an extensive herb glossary, a growing guide, and information on buying, handling, and cooking with a wide variety of herbs both common and obscure. Sections of color photos and beautiful herb illustrations add to the book's appeal. The Herbfarm Cookbook will inspire herb lovers to new heights in the kitchen and in the garden as well.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Not so long ago, parsley was the only fresh herb available to most American cooks. Today, bunches of fresh oregano and rosemary can be found in nearly every supermarket, basil and mint grow abundantly in backyards from coast to coast, and garden centers offer pots of edible geraniums and lemon thyme. But once these herbs reach the kitchen, the inevitable question arises: Now what do I do with them? Here, at last, is the first truly comprehensive cookbook to cover all aspects of growing, handling, and cooking with fresh herbs.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In his debut cookbook, Traunfeld elevates herbs to celebrity status. Chef at the Herbfarm restaurant near Seattle, he marries friendly flavors (Tomato and Fennel Soup, which includes French tarragon, and Pork Chops with Sage, Onion and Prosciutto). He also employs unusual and bold strokes to create such tantalizing dishes as Oysters on the Half-Shell with Lemon Verbena Ice, Potatoes with Lavender and Rosemary, Grilled Marjoram-Scented Corn, Saut ed Duck Breasts with Mint, Coriander, and Olives and Halibut Baked with Leeks, Apple and Lovage. Pointing out that herbs and flowers are nothing new in dessert-making, Traunfeld is particularly successful with sweets; he combines flavors with a masterful touch, exemplified by Pear, Maple and Rosemary Clafouti, Pumpkin-Bay Tart and Raspberry and Rose Geranium Sorbet. A summer's abundance of herbs can be persuaded to satisfy well after autumn's frosts with such fare as Apple-Thyme Jelly, Plum and Lavender Chutney and Candied Angelica. Several herb-based drinks are also provided, including the Herbfarm Champagne Cocktail, wherein a single herb leaf or sprig is crushed between the fingers, dropped into an empty champagne flute, then filled with the proper potable. Concluding the book is an extensive chapter outlining individual herbs and their cultivars as well as advice on growing and harvesting them. With herbs increasingly common in supermarkets, this compendium of recipes and useful facts is ideal for cooks eager for new taste temptations. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Kay Fahey - Fine Cooking