Join the real food revolution with a true pioneer in the Community Supported Agriculture movement — Farmer John Peterson and his farm, Angelic Organics. Angelic Organics is a leader in community supported gardening and biodynamics, helping to connect people with their food, their farmers, and healthful living.

This is the companion book to the critically acclaimed documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John (directed by Taggart Siegel), which has won awards at major film festivals worldwide. This companion volume features exciting recipes grouped by season and by vegetable, provides cooking tips, serving suggestions, and evocative descriptions of each dish, and teaches readers new ways to use a surplus of basil, cabbage, tomatoes, or whatever veggie is plentiful.

Also included in the book is an Illustrated Vegetable Identification Guide and tips on long-term vegetable and herb storage and preservation methods (such as freezing, drying, canning, and lactic acid fermentation). Whether you grow your own veggies, spend lingering mornings at the farmer's market, or pluck your produce from shelves at the local supermarket, Farmer John's Cookbook is an invaluable resource on growing, cooking, and storing real food and a guidebook to starting a veggie revolution in your hometown.

"Community-supported agriculture is an increasingly popular farm-marketing system where subscribers buy a portion of the harvest before the growing season begins and receive weekly boxes of diverse vegetables that vary throughout the season. Angelic Organics is one of the largest farms of this kind in the country, serving 1,200 shareholders in the Chicago area, and Peterson's cookbook is an outgrowth of the chatty, idiosyncratic newsletters he's been sending to his members every week since 1993. The book is arranged seasonally by crop, offering recipes and information on storing and preserving the exotic or misunderstood vegetables like sunchokes, rutabagas and kohlrabi. Familiar staples like corn, tomatoes and spinach are also represented, but jazzed up with an eclectic international pantry of condiments and spices. Interspersed with the cooking discussions are philosophical essays on biodynamic agriculture by and about the movement's founder, Rudolf Steiner. While the relevance of some sidebars is questionable — cooking tips from the farm cook, and excerpts from farm newsletters on weather, harvest records and equipment heartaches — they do help readers vicariously experience life on this unique farm in this farm kitchen bible presented with missionary zeal." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Community-supported agriculture is an increasingly popular farm-marketing system where subscribers buy a portion of the harvest before the growing season begins and receive weekly boxes of diverse vegetables that vary throughout the season. Angelic Organics is one of the largest farms of this kind in the country, serving 1,200 shareholders in the Chicago area, and Peterson's cookbook is an outgrowth of the chatty, idiosyncratic newsletters he's been sending to his members every week since 1993. The book is arranged seasonally by crop, offering recipes and information on storing and preserving the exotic or misunderstood vegetables like sunchokes, rutabagas and kohlrabi. Familiar staples like corn, tomatoes and spinach are also represented, but jazzed up with an eclectic international pantry of condiments and spices. Interspersed with the cooking discussions are philosophical essays on biodynamic agriculture by and about the movement's founder, Rudolf Steiner. While the relevance of some sidebars is questionable — cooking tips from the farm cook, and excerpts from farm newsletters on weather, harvest records and equipment heartaches — they do help readers vicariously experience life on this unique farm in this farm kitchen bible presented with missionary zeal. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"[Farmer John is] part of a movement that connects to the same movement that Alice Waters has helped lead and facilitate, coming from another part of the system." Al Gore, in his introduction of The Real Dirt on Farmer John, San Francisco's Castro Theatre, June 2005

With 200 exciting recipes grouped by season and vegetable, this cookbook provides tips, serving suggestions, and evocative descriptions of each dish. 200 photos, many in color.

Join the real food revolution with a true pioneer in the Community Supported Agriculture movement-Farmer John Peterson and his farm, Angelic Organics. Angelic Organics is a leader in community supported gardening and biodynamics, helping to connect people with their food, their farmers, and healthful living.

With exciting recipes grouped by season and by vegetable, The Real Dirt Cookbook provides cooking tips, serving suggestions, and evocative descriptions of each dish, and teaches readers new ways to use a surplus of basil, cabbage, tomatoes, or whatever veggie is plentiful. Find new ways to use a huge variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Also included in the book is an Illustrated Vegetable Identification Guide and tips on long-term vegetable and herb storage and preservation methods (such as freezing, drying, canning, and lactic acid fermentation). Whether you grow your own veggies, spend lingering mornings at the farmer's market, or pluck your produce from shelves at the local supermarket, The Real Dirt Cookbook is an invaluable resource on growing, cooking, and storing real food.

Watch for the DVD release of The Real Dirt on Farmer John, the award-winning feature documentary film by Taggart Siegel, about the dramatic failure of Farmer John's conventional farming operation and its resurrection into a thriving, organic CSA farm Coming Spring 2006. Visit www.AngelicOrganics.com for more information.

Farmer John is] part of a movement that connects to the same movement that Alice Waters has helped lead and facilitate, coming from another part of the system.

-Al Gore, in his introduction of The Real Dirt on Farmer John, San Francisco's Castro Theatre, June2005

Lifelong farmer John Peterson runs Angelic Organics, one of the largest Community Supported Agriculture farms in the United States. John brings the discipline of farming in the Midwest to his winters of writing in Mexico. John's essays have been featured in books and articles, including in The Sun, Growing for Market, Biodynamic Magazine, Lilipoh, and Community Farm News. John makes public presentations about farming to groups and conferences worldwide. He lives in Illinois.

Lifelong farmer John Peterson runs Angelic Organics, one of the largest Community Supported Agriculture farms in the United States. John brings the discipline of farming in the Midwest to his winters of writing in Mexico. John's essays have been featured in books and articles, including in the Sun, Growing for Market, Biodynamic Magazine, Lilipoh, and Community Farm News. John makes public presentations about farming to groups and conferences worldwide. He lives in Illinois.