Cooking from a Country Farmhouse - Softcover

Is the 1990s quality of life better in rural America than in cities? Well, at least it's different, claims Wyler, who, four or so years ago, fled her Food & Wine editorship and her habit of dining out nine times a week for the open spaces of northeastern Pennsylvania. The differences she perceives are, in part, communicated through her more than 200 recipes, hearty and healthy fare with an upscale twist, including curried zucchini bisque, poached turkey breast with walnut-goat cheese pesto, green beans with peanut sauce, kitchen sink frittata, and bourbon peach short cake. Other differences are discovered through a series of sidebars; her musings on whether or not to cook fresh road kill, for example, will evoke either a chuckle or a shudder from readers. The final difference? That her writing speaks, unselfconsciously, of a less hurried, friendlier lifestyle, chatting about her neighbors, the postman, a newfound regime, and the constant struggle to protect produce against woodchucks, rabbits, and other wild creatures. Barbara Jacobs