It's hard to believe this book was written and published in the '50s, when watery pot roast and martinis were America's idea of fodder for dinner parties. I loved Pellegrini's story about searching for olive oil in a friend's medicine cabinet, so he could dress a chicken--no one used olive oil for cooking then! You can skip every fancy book out now on Tuscan cuisine, trattoria cooking, etc. once you have this book, because it has the best recipes for risotto, rabbit, chicken, polenta, greens, cardoons, and more importantly, it makes an argument for eating well but in moderation -- a more sensible way to keep weight down without spoiling one's enjoyment of food. GARDENERS should also read this book, or his book, THE FOOD LOVER'S GARDEN. He writes just as lovingly about working in his garden as he does about cooking the foods he grows in it. Forget expensive organic produce at your local grocery and follow his instructions for a home garden to eat from, especially if you live in a mild climate like Prof. Pellegrini did (Seattle, WA).

I first read this book 40 years ago in college, happily soaking up its gentle and appreciative attitude toward life, as well as an early dose of cultural relativism. I learned soup-making from Professor Pellegrini, and gratitude, and something about what's important in life. I've often repeated his stories--the one about how to serve polenta to the family when you only have one sardine to go with it, the one about the crowd of boys on market days choosing which horse to follow, the one about how as a young man he horrified a girlfriend and her parents by following his own ideas about food. The professor's recipes--e.g., for soup--are more than a list of steps; they show the reader how to _approach_ soup. Once you know how to approach it, you can invent freely within the framework provided. Although it's the soup I remember the most, he talks about preparing many kinds of food, growing fruits and vegetables, and living life in a life-preserving and life-affirming manner. In many ways, the Professor was way ahead of his time, and as I grow older and relearn from experience some of the things about life that I first learned from him, I enjoy yet again the daring of the 12-year-old who came to this country alone from Italy, ate ham and eggs across the country, became an English professor, and put so much wisdom into this small book. It's a joy to see the book being reprinted and made available to a whole new generation of readers and cooks.

I bought this book because who would not buy a book about which none other than MFK Fisher calls "in every sense of the word a modern classic"? I had read Mr. Pelligrini's book "The Unpredjudiced Palate". Although I find his very florid writing style a trifle overdone, he does make good points about staying in touch with the earth and our connection to the animals and plants we eat and how they get to the table. It is true we live to a large extent in a cellophane-wrapped, frozen, fast-food world. "A Food Lover's Garden" , however, must be read in these days with the knowledge that the book was originally published in 1970. And in those days, Mr. Pellegrini was obviously unaware that the wonderful fresh vegetables he harvested from his backyard garden, which were so "healthy" for his family's table, had been dusted, sprayed and marinated in chemical fertilizers and poisons such as diazinon and rotenone. So, although he does have a few interesting things to say about different vegetables, his straight-furrow planting and growing techniques are out-of-date, to say the least. In today's ecology-conscious world, we are all aware (or should be) of the effect of these poisons on the environment and on our bodies. Gardeners still must deal with garden pests, but I much prefer the totally organic, successive planting, intensive planting and interplanting techniques used by Sally Jean Cunningham in her book "Great Garden Companions". Her basic theory is to follow Mother Nature's example and create biodiversity in your garden by interplanting several species of vegetable and flower and herb, thereby creating a habitat for friendly garden predators who prey upon the pests. "Never spray!", she says. And as my husband and I are building our raised beds to start our first garden this spring, I look down at the creek below and wonder how much poison from lawn treatments and weed killer has gotten into it - lots, I suspect. No matter that we have many more "weeds" than the former inhabitants, to whom Round-Up was something you spread around everywhere, to the point there are still places where you can smell it a year later. "A Food Lover's Garden" means well - a curiosity read. But the how-to manual should be "Great Garden Companions". It is better to pick off a few bugs from your vegetables than to put all that poison into your land and into your bodies.

This is a great book for home gardeners. Suggestions can be modified depending on geographical location. Then there is the personal commentary and great cooking suggestions. I have had this book since it's original printing in 1970 and treasure it immensly. I've just ordered it for my daughter who lives in the Seattle area.