Broccoli & Other Love Stories by Paulette Whitney

A celebration of 55 food plants: their stories, cultivation, culinary gifts and surprises from a Tasmanian market gardener who is inspired equally by chefs, herbalists, and fellow gardeners as by the seasonal goings on in her own farm kitchen.

'Australia's answer to Jane Grigson and Elizabeth David.'
Matthew Evans

'Paulette is a generous and natural storyteller. Here, at last, she shares her encyclopedic food plant knowledge with us all.'
Kylie Kwong

Meeting plants is like making new friends. It takes time and, with a bit of care and good fortune, enriches both of you. Eventually, you end up in the kitchen together...

In our busy, sometimes overwhelming world, nature is a solace. In this stunning companion, Paulette Whitney connects readers to the history and culture of more than 55 vegetables, fruits and herbs, sharing her own experiences, horticultural know-how, kitchen wisdom and favourite seasonal recipes. Paulette surveys 11 plant families, many well known, some less familiar - including their surprising connections, like how every single apple is, in fact, a cousin of the rose. Through evocative storytelling and sublime photography by Luke Burgess during a year in her market garden, this book is an invitation to slow down, grow something you can really taste, and appreciate nature's bounty.

About the Author

Paulette Whitney lives with her family on a pocket of land in the foothills of Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, south of Nipaluna/Hobart. With her farmer/chef husband Matt, she grows seedlings, vegetables and seed crops. They make pickles and preserves and sell their harvest at Salamanca Market. Through their work they have nurtured relationships with herbalists, gardeners, chefs and botanists who teach them every time they talk. They eat well. Not a plant passes through their hands untasted, they have the freedom of the outdoors, and they experience the world through their garden.

Paulette can't abide wasting food, and she knows how to look for a dozen ways to use the produce that finds its way into her kitchen. She looks forward to a bit of silverbeet as much as she relishes a lobster.