2928 - Chelsea Green Publishing

Wild Flavors
One Chef's Transformative Year Cooking from Eva's Farm
Didi Emmons
The minute Didi Emmons, a chef from Boston, met Eva Sommaripa, a near legendary farmer
whose 200-plus uncommon herbs, greens, and edible weeds grace the menus of many famous
restaurants in the Northeast, something amazing happened. Not only did Eva ᤀ猀 Garden become
Didi ᤀ猀 refuge and herb-infused Shangri-La, the two women also forged a lasting friendship that
has blossomed and endured over time.
Wild Flavors follows a year at Eva ᤀ猀 Garden through the seasons. It showcases Emmons ᤀ猀 creative
talents, featuring herbs (African basil, calaminth, lovage) and wild foods (autumn olives, wild
roses, Japanese knotweed). The author provides growing or foraging information for each of the
forty-six uncommon garden plants profiled, as well as details on prepping, storing, preserving,
and health benefits. The wide-ranging recipes reflect the shifting seasonal harvest and are easy to
follow, but best of all, Emmons shows us how these herbs, greens, and wild foods improve and
transform the flavors in our food.
PUB DATE:
SEPTEMBER 15, 2013
Emmons also shares some of the valuable lessons she has learned from Eva about maintaining a
9781603585187
healthy, satisfying lifestyle, putting the emphasis on community, thrift, conservation, and other
7" x 10"; 320 pages
time-honored virtues. Wild Flavors is a cookbook that celebrates the interconnectedness and
Color illustrations throughout
$24.95, Paperback
beauty of nature, farms, animals, and ourselves.
Chelsea Green Publishing
Didi Emmons began cooking omelets when she was ten and had her own catering business by the
age of fourteen. After earning a BS in food service management at NYU, serving as a stagiaire
(apprentice) to La Varenne (cooking school) in Paris and opening several restaurants in the
Boston area, she opened Haley House Bakery Cafe, a non-profit cafe in Roxbury, whose staff are
people transitioning from homelessness and incarceration. She has since begun a program at
Haley House Bakery Cafe, called "Take Back the Kitchen," teaching Roxbury and Dorchester
residents how to eat and cook healthfully.Her first book, Vegetarian Planet, was nominated for a
James Beard Award. Her second book, Entertaining for a Veggie Planet, won the Best Book in the
Healthy Category by the International Association of Cooking Professionals (formerly the Julia
Child Award).
Didi was inspired to write Wild Flavors after she met Eva Sommaripa whose herbs and greens are
widely coveted by Boston-area chefs. While she is revered for the unsurpassed quality of her
produce, she is equally admired for her energetic commitment to a simple and environmentally
conscious lifestyle.