Updated

Updated · Fox News · Oct 24

Carmen Perr Releases 100-Recipe 'Cook What Grows' Cookbook, Sharing Produce-Picking Tips

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Oct 24

Carmen Perr Releases 100-Recipe 'Cook What Grows' Cookbook, Sharing Produce-Picking Tips

Q: Why is a cookbook about seasonal eating strangely organized by the time of day instead of the actual seasons?

It is organized that way on purpose: Carmen Perr says *Cook What Grows* is a seasonal cookbook, but she wanted it to follow “the way we move through a day rather than by the calendar.” The idea is to make seasonal eating feel more practical for everyday cooks. Instead of forcing readers to think in rigid spring-summer-fall-winter categories, the book groups recipes by real-life use—breakfasts, small plates, vegetable-led dishes, larger meals, desserts, and drinks. Her published descriptions say the chapters follow “the arc of the day,” with sections such as “Before the Day Begins,” “Small Plates Big Flavor,” “Where Vegetables Lead,” and “Seasonal Sips.” That structure does not mean the book is not seasonal. Perr’s recipes still rely on in-season produce and her broader message is to notice what is fresh, affordable, and growing locally. In her view, seasonal cooking works best when people can plug produce into ordinary meals rather than treat it as a strict seasonal project. The day-based format also supports her larger goal of accessibility. Perr has said she wants to challenge the idea that seasonal cooking is expensive or complicated. Organizing by meal occasion may make the book easier to use in a home kitchen, while the seasonal guidance is woven throughout the recipes and gardening advice instead of confined to separate seasonal chapters.

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 24

Carmen Perr’s debut cookbook, “Cook What Grows,” pairs roughly 100 seasonal recipes with gardening advice aimed at making produce-focused cooking more accessible.
Perr says shoppers should judge fruits, vegetables and herbs by color, texture and aroma—looking for vibrant produce, checking firmness and expecting fragrant herbs such as cilantro.
Her guidance extends into the kitchen: fresh, dried and seeded herbs can taste very different, and crushing dried herbs by hand before cooking helps release their oils.
Los Angeles-based Perr, known as Carmen in the Garden, said gardening began more than a decade ago as a stress-relief habit during a real estate job and grew from potted herbs into a garden-to-table cooking approach.
She frames seasonal eating as practical rather than pricey, arguing in-season produce is often the cheaper option and that cooking should help people connect more closely with what they grow and eat.

Sources

Fox News2h ago

Carmen Perr Releases 'Cook What Grows' Cookbook, Shares Produce Selection Tips

Can growing your own food actually save you money, or is the garden-to-table lifestyle a hidden luxury?

Why is a cookbook about seasonal eating strangely organized by the time of day instead of the actual seasons?

How did a high-stress real estate career unexpectedly plant the seeds for a highly anticipated 2027 culinary empire?

Sources

1 total

Fox News2h ago

Carmen Perr Releases 'Cook What Grows' Cookbook, Shares Produce Selection Tips

Carmen Perr Releases 100-Recipe 'Cook What Grows' Cookbook, Sharing Produce-Picking Tips

Summary

Sources

Insights

Sources