One thing that is important in life, but so often overlooked, is to know where your food comes from. How many times have we all visited the Supermarket to see an abundance of vegetables, all looking tempting, but all being tasteless compared to the home grown ones. Yes, they all look fresh, yes they are always the same size and shape, just like all of us. Well, we may be all perfect in some Utopian world, looking identical, being all the right weight and in health, but it is certainly not in this world, so why expect it with your veg?. As Carol Klein states in her book, 'When veg production is mechanised, everything had to ripen at the same time, machinery must be able to harvest efficiently and supermarkets demand uniform crops..., taste is the first thing to go out the window.'

Carol's book, Cook Your Own Veg, is a book that explores the joys growing and cooking your own vegetables. It is packed with some simply mouthwatering recipes to take advantage of the season's best. The book is naturally divided over the four seasons, with detailed description on such subjects as: artichokes, carrots, potatoes and bulbs. In each, she talks about the growing, harvesting, storage and, of course, the eating and cooking. Additionally, Carol describes how to get the best out of the crops by harvesting them in the most sustainable manner, preparing for next year's crop.

Even if you have never grown any vegetables before, you will get the bug from the author's passion and want to start growing your own. The book is full of dozens of recipes from salads to lovely winter dishes. It is one that we will be keeping near-by to reference through out the year. Can you get a better recommendation?