A Vibrant Color Palette

 Photo Credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink

"I love the wonderful clarity and focus of this book: simple, vividly photographed dishes that highlight the unique flavors, colors and textures of every season."

-Alice Waters, author of The Art of Simple Foods

 

Fall is a great time of year; cooler temperatures give way to cozy sweaters and many of us find ourselves gravitating towards warm and delicious comfort foods. But more than that, it is fall’s colorful foliage that keep us day dreaming of this season all year long.  Since many of us eat with our eyes, there is something intuitive about adding the color and hues of autumn to our dinner plate that takes our exploration of food to another level.

San Francisco-based Kimberly Hasselbrink, food photographer and creator of the acclaimed The Year in Food blog, would probably agree. Hasselbrink brings us on a colorful journey with her recent cookbook Vibrant Food. She begins with a single ingredient at the peak of freshness and much like an artist, allows color to be her guide. Each recipe pays artful tribute to the season’s magnificent bounty.

Kimberley Hasselbrink

Organized by season, the 60-plus recipes, ranging from cocktails like Sparkling Pomegranate Punch to appetizers like Persimmon with Broiled Goat Cheese - are broken down by type of seasonal ingredient. This cookbook contains sensible recipes for the home cook, while still inspiring readers to seek out food in new and creative ways.

We are almost halfway through October Unprocessed month and I’m guessing that a colorful recipe book that highlights fall’s most appetizing line-up might inspire you to keep strong and unprocess on.

Here's How To Enter - 

To win a copy of Vibrant Food, simply leave a comment below answering this question by Tuesday, October 28, 2014 (one entry per person please).

What is your favorite vibrant fall ingredient and why?

  
No purchase required. Limit one entry per person, please. Entries will close on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at 8:00 am. Winners are chosen by Random Number Generator and announced on our blog on Tuesday, October 28, 2014.

Thank you for all the delicious comments! 

The winner chosen at random is Anne who said:

Squash is my favorite fall ingredient. It goes so easily into so many different recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It stores well and is easy to cook. A picture cook book with recipe ingredients by season is an awesome idea! Can't wait to see your new book!

Photo Credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink

PERSIMMON with BROILED GOAT CHEESE

This is inspired by a dish that I love to serve as an appetizer in the fall. Often I’ll just serve slices of firm Fuyu persimmon with plain goat cheese—that alone is tasty enough to surprise and intrigue guests. But I decided to fancify it a little by broiling the goat cheese, which makes it a warm, melty, tangy, wonderful thing. It’s really important to select firm Fuyu persimmons for this dish. Soft Hachiya persimmons are unripe when firm, and once ripe, they won’t support a slather of cheese.

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces soft, fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Fuyu persimmons, quartered, seeded, and thinly sliced
Fresh thyme, for garnishes

DIRECTIONS

1)   Preheat the broiler.

2)   Place the goat cheese in a ramekin and drizzle the olive oil over the cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil about 6 inches from the heat source for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is a deep golden brown. Allow to cool for a couple minutes.

3)   Spread about a teaspoon of baked goat cheese on each slice of persimmon. Garnish with thyme and black pepper and serve immediately. 

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Reprinted with permission from Vibrant Food written and photographed by Kimberley Hasselbrink (Ten Speed Press, © 2014)