This book landed here a few days ago, and now that I’ve had a chance to flip through the pages, I can say that I’m seriously excited to have Nancy Singleton Hachisu visit us in October for a tasting and book event.

It’s a totally unique farm-to-table cookbook by a California gal from the Bay Area who moved to Japan in 1988 to marry the (unlikely) love of her life, an organic egg farmer living in rural Japan. The book is filled with the stories and recipes from their life, illustrated by down-to-earth photos (like the ones posted here) from Kenji Miura.

Nancy makes Japanese home cooking more accessible than ever, and her poetic writing draws you into her farmhouse kitchen, where life is centered around the farm and the field. My favorite line: “Walking among the rows [of vegetables], I would stroke them and feel their energy….You don’t choose the vegetables, they choose you.”

The recipes are minimalist, seasonal and intimate, and they definitely show off her West Coast sensibility.  A few that caught my eye are sake-steamed sea bass, miso-grilled rice balls, and sweet-vinegared daikon and carrots. I love that salt-massaged vegetables make more than one appearance in her book: salt-massaged cucumbers with miso and sesame; salt-massaged Napa cabbage with yuzu slivers; salt-massaged raw eggplant with ginger and shiso.

Come meet Nancy on October 18th for a tasting and book event. She’s only in Brooklyn for a short visit and I think we’re in for a real treat.