by Richard Ruben
With farmer's markets thriving across America, cookbooks keyed to the local-food trend are sprouting like beans in May. Because crops vary from region to region (that's the point), the books tend to be impressionistic. Ruben's effort is no exception, although such pleasing recipes as yellow gazpacho and sweet potato soufflé make good use of market staples. Don't expect insight on agriculture: Ruben is a chef, not a farmer, and his prose is imprecise. Green tomatoes are usually harvested in the fall (not spring, as he suggests), when frost kills the vines. (Lyons, $22.95)
Bottom Line: Crop-shopping made easy
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