Simply Organic, by Jesse Ziff Cool

Cover of Simply Organic, by Jesse Ziff Cool

A fairly new cookbook to enter our house, and one that is quite treasured already.

This is not, I should say, because we’ve made many recipes out from its pages yet. We have not. At the time of this writing, we’ve made one. Last night. It was pretty amazing, even with the modifications we had to make to it, but one stellar recipe does not a cookbook make.

No, I cherish this one due to it’s origins1.

This book was a gift from good friend, Judy. We met via a shared online haunt, and hit it off at one of the get-togethers that come of such things. I have no idea why she’s taken such a shine to me, but I’m glad. She’s funny and really quite wise. Also, she doesn’t blink when I have weird news.

I was back visiting the area she lives, and we went to lunch and then to a used bookstore she enjoys. We chatted, caught up and puttered around the shelves. Crafts and cooking tend to be in the same rough area, so she was looking at knitting books while I was looking at cookbooks.

We weren’t in the cookbook section one minute before she pulled this book down and handed it to me without a word about it. And damned if I didn’t search that entire section without finding anything else that spoke to me so well. Though I did also pick up a cookbook published by the PA Attorney General’s office (no joke).

Judy purchased both books for me while we were up there, and I’ve enjoyed looking through this one immensely. It’s set up by season, most recipes have a photo, and the print is very large. This particular copy was also clearly once well loved, as some of the pages are wavy from spills and something stuck to one page awhile back and was torn off, destroying the recipe directions on that page. That’s a bummer.

Number of recipes: 160 (estimated)
Number we’ve made: 1

You can click the tag “Simply Organic” below to find all the recipes we’ve made from this book.



fn1. And because it has a dedication that truly touched me, especially the last part, reproduced here:

For my sons, Joshua and Jonah, who lived through the wonderful turmoil of the ever-changing politics of organic and sustainable cuisine. As unfashionable as it might have seemed at the time, they found themselves growing gardens, working on pig farms, and cooking for themselves, their families, and loved ones. They now know that food is not only for sustenance, but is also for creating joy and happiness for oneself and others.