Book Corner: Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington

Canning is an important part of Amy Pennington’s book, Urban Pantry: Tips & Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonable Kitchen. In Urban Pantry, she has a whole chapter on small-batch preserving, including recipes for jams, candied cherries, pickled carrots, and mustard. In addition, she offers recipes and tips for all kinds of preservation, such as how to preserve lemons, how to make flavored sugars, and how to store and dry herbs properly. In short, she explains how to stock your pantry with foods and supplies that will last months and never leave you without SOMETHING in the house when dinnertime rolls around. And really, isn’t that what the Canvolution is about?

If you’ve heard Amy read in person, you’ll immediately recognize her voice in this book. It’s warm and funny–and sounds like a good friend giving you the inside scoop on how much more you could be getting out of your kitchen. Not only that, but the appeal of the book has gone Hollywood - Urban Pantry was recently recommended by actress Gwyneth Paltrow in her popular email newsletter.

Have you read or cooked from Urban Pantry? What did you think of it?

CAA Contributor Lisa Kennelly is a writer and food lover based in Seattle. A former sports journalist, she now works in public relations as a social media strategist. She grew up in a family that has always valued cooking and gardening and has fond memories of canning peaches and tomatoes as a kid. She blogs about eating and living in Seattle.