Although my favourite seasons are autumn and winter, I do find spring and summer to be thrilling as new plants grow green and flourish in the warmth of the seasons which are unencumbered by thick layers and clompy boots (but give me warm woolens any day). And, while taking the long walk home after school drop off the other day, I happened upon a yard with chickens! Peacefully clucking while searching out tasty morsels to peck at, it was a lovely scene. Halifax, like many municipalities, is trying to combat food insecurity by allowing households to keep hens. I started to wonder about books on the subject which was when I received a timely parcel from Rosie Daykin in the mail. Her latest book, The Side Gardner: Recipes & Notes from My Garden, focuses on the benefits of growing a garden and keeping chickens in an urban setting. As with her other books, The Side Gardner contains delicious recipes for home cooks to enjoy. Unlike her earlier books, Butter Baked Goods and Butter Celebrates! (but more like the last book Let Me Feed You – review here), this book offers a wide range of recipes which celebrate all the beautiful produce spring and summer have to offer.
The Side Gardener is arranged into four main sections: I) The Garden, II) The Recipes (Snacks & Appetizers, Salads, Mains, Sides, Sweets, and Pantry Staples), III) The Chickens, and IV) The Flowers. It was during the pandemic that Daykin put her plans in motion to create a garden in her yard because, in her words, it “…finally felt like the right time.” And the time at home during the pandemic was more than ample to foster the ideas and inspiration that had been at the back of her mind for so long. I appreciate her approach in this book – in the opening of the section focusing on the foundations of a good garden, Daykin tells us: “It’s important to remember this isn’t really a gardening book, but rather a book about my garden.” (11) In discussing the choices she made on garden design, what to plant, useful tools and equipment, it feels encouraging but not prescriptive. For Daykin, the garden, chickens, and flowers are perfectly interwoven into a place where she has found harmony and a purpose. While the recipes are inspired by what she was bringing into her kitchen from the garden, the recipes are accessible to anyone regardless of if you’ve got a garden or not. So, since I do not have a garden, I was able to make good use of seasonal produce from my local grocery store and farmers markets. For anyone looking for more information, she also gives readers a practical source guide at the end of the book as well as a little cheat sheet for terminology for those reading outside of North America.
It was the Cucumber Sticks w/ Chili Flakes & Sea Salt that has become a favourite after school snack of my daughter – to her it feels fancy. Slender cucumber spears, arranged artfully on a plate then sprinkled with chili flakes and flakey salt – uncomplicate, yet it’s a winning combination. Another recipe from the book that makes for a delightful companion to an afternoon coffee is the Mixed Berry Buckwheat Loaf. For me, buckwheat has such a lovely earthy, nutty flavour that tastes so good in any type of baking! Here, with the addition of fresh berries (I used blueberries, strawberries and raspberries) each bite is so scrumptious – we even enjoyed it for breakfast.
There is an elegance to Daykin’s approach – take her recipe for Wilted Greens Tart. By using phyllo pastry, the ruffled edges give such a pretty effect without the extra time or steps to make butter pastry (the phyllo is also flakey in its own way). The tart filling consists of chopped, cooked shallots, wilted kale, arugula, and spinach, crumbled feta, eggs, and cream. It is as laid-back and easygoing as Daykin tells home cooks in the recipe headnotes and each slice looks gorgeous on the plate too.
Is there anything more magical to watch as it bakes in the oven than a Dutch baby pancake as it climbs and puffs up out of the skillet? It is definitely one of my daughter’s favourite things to watch! While I often make sweet versions, I was keen to give Daykin’s recipe for Savory Dutch Baby a try. While she uses bacon in the recipe, I took her advice in the notes to use butter instead and, the resulting Dutch baby topped with glistening blistered cherry tomatoes and wilted spinach looked so inviting (adding the freshly grated parmesan was key too). This recipe has inspired me to try other savory toppings too.
While The Side Gardener diverges slightly from Daykin’s more baking-based books, it feels very much in keeping with her recipe style and elegant, casual aesthetic. I found many delicious recipes to enjoy and, I really appreciated her vegetable-forward approach. She also looks to offer inspiration through examples from her own foray into hen-tending and creating a home garden. (It should be said that part of what brings her vision to life is the incredible photography of Andrew Montgomery, whose work can be seen throughout the work of Gill Meller and Cherie Denham). The Side Gardener is a useful and wonderful book to relax with, cook from, and learn more about what urban gardening can look like.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rosie Daykin and Appetite by Random House for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Any links provided are intended purely for informational purposes.
Shipshape Eatworthy 