CitrusWondering what to give your friends this year and what to serve them for dinner? The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook is filled with simple,  seasonal recipes for your holiday table—colorful, refreshing winter salads; easy yet elegant soups; innovative side dishes; and of course, my favorite pumpkin pie and spicy persimmon pudding recipes.

And, with the winter citrus season about to start, look for my new blood orange recipes in the December issue of Bon Appétit Magazine. They’ll add joyful sparkle to your table.

I’ve just returned from Austin and Boston where The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook got a terrific reception—people everywhere are hungry for information about shopping and cooking local. In Cambridge, Mass., Chef Ana Sortun prepared a bountiful luncheon from the book at her remarkable restaurant, Oleana. She created the menu from what was available at husband Chris Kurth’s nearby Siena Farms, and miraculously, most of Chris’s staff were able to attend the midday feast. In Austin, I spent the day cooking at the downtown farmers’ market, and Emmett and Lisa Fox of Fino Restaurant hosted a book-inspired dinner with seasonal ingredients from urban Boggy Creek Farm (I learned a lot that evening from farmer Carol Ann Sayle) and incredibly fresh eggs and chickens from Alexander Farms.

As this celebratory season begins, I offer my thanks to you all for your tremendous welcome and support of The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes, and Stories from the Market and Farm.