The backyard of my childhood home opened up to an expanse of evergreen forest. My brothers and I used to cut a path, tripping over creeping salal and fallen branches while attempting to avoid the stinging nettles as best we could. All adventures ceased the moment we spotted blushing red berries, with their delicate green leaves and tender branches growing out of trees no longer living but now gifting life to others. Huckleberries were our summer forest snack, a taste we’d wait for all year.
Nearly two decades later, I’m now living in Seattle with my husband and three kids, and through the food community, I find a few folks who also like to go out into the woods and eat things. Rooted Kitchen is a guided seasonal meditation on Earth’s movement, as we pay close attention to, and honor, its ingredients, which become our dear friends who visit us annually. We relish their presence when they arrive and bid them adieu when their time has gone. For when one ingredient is about to make an exit, another is waiting to be warmly welcomed. It’s about celebrating each season for the unique bounty it brings.
The book is organized according to the seasonal year, with recipes and essays that bring the bounty of each season into the kitchen. I believe that by truly understanding where our food comes from, we can develop a caring, more loving relationship with the earth and see our interconnectedness with it all. This book is a love letter to nature.
[callout]Reprinted with permission from Rooted Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes, Stories, and Ways to Connect to the Natural World by Ashley Rodriguez © 2024. Photographs by Ashley Rodriguez © 2024. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House.[/callout]