'Genuine Skagit Cooking' book joins shelf of classics

"No one who cooks, cooks alone," the novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin once wrote. "A cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past ... [and] the wisdom of cookbook writers."

A cloud of wise "cooks past" certainly surrounds the talented new cooks and farmers showcased in the new cookbook "Genuine Skagit Cooking."

Published in April, "Genuine Skagit Cooking" was written and compiled by Blake Van Roekel of Genuine Skagit Valley and writer Stefanie LeJeunesse, with photos by Charity Burggraaf and Colby Mesick. Its 60 recipes and 24 farmer/producer profiles delight the palate while raising awareness of the Valley's agricultural products and services.

Longtime chef and culinary arts teacher Suzanne Butler likes the way the cookbook "shows how much the crops in the valley have changed," she said.

"Instead of peas, we grow Brussels sprouts and fava beans," she said. "Before, we never had a fava bean, even at farmers markets." Her recipe for Leek, Potato and Pea Soup is on page 10.

The gorgeous four-color book fits right into the long line of earlier cookbooks like the 1982 "La Conner Cooks!," which was black-and-white, spiral bound and sported ads for local businesses.

Butler says her dog-eared copy features "wonderful cooks like Barbara and Clayton James, who ate local and were forward-looking for their time" but is also heavy on convenience ingredients like Jello, frozen spinach and canned soup. "I don't think even non-thoughtful cooks use those anymore."

Instead of canned food, said La Conner chef Georgia Johnson, "Today we experiment and add in herbs you at one time wouldn't think of changing out." Her recipe for Smoky Creamy Carrot Soup is on page 15.

Another significant predecessor is Samish Island resident Julie Rousseau's 1985 "Alice Bay Cookbook." Inspired by the 1949 Burlington Lutheran Church cookbook, Rousseau sought out skilled local cooks, farmers and chefs of the new cafes "that were adventurous in their attitude towards fresh regional food," she remembers.

Many of the recipes she already served at her Alice Bay Bed and Breakfast. To gather others, "you just invited yourself into the kitchen," she said, "and all of a sudden Dorothy Anderson (former owner of what is now Bow Hill Blueberries) is telling you everything about blueberries."

In print for 40 years and briefly on the New York Times bestseller list, Rousseau's book remains a staple for many local cooks. "I still get a lot of comments on the blackberry cobbler."

In 1996, the late Lavonne Newell, a former Fir Island resident, whose recipe for poppyseed cake was on page 206 of "Alice Bay," published "Skagit Valley Fare." Her cookbook blended recipes with art by Guy Anderson, Anne Martin McCool, Al Currier and Maggie Wilder, along with the work of local poets. The epigraph comes from Tom Robbins' "Another Roadside Attraction." Both Wilder and Johnson have recipes in it. So does Rousseau. One recipe from the 1916 La Conner Billiken Club cookbook was updated to include seasonings from Beth Hailey of Dona Flora.

Copies of "Alice Bay Cookbook" and "Skagit Valley Fare" are hard to find now, but "Genuine Skagit Cooking" can be purchased at 30 locations. Besides Butler and Johnson, younger cooks like Ben and Chelsey Mesman of Mesman Farms (pages 64 and 66) and Rachel Sobczak of Water Tank Bakery (106-111) offer their favorite dishes. There are recipes for cocktails, Caesar salad with raddichio and cheese balls with edible flowers.

Since Van Roekel started with Genuine Skagit Valley in 2019, the program has grown to serve over 100 Skagit growers, food producers and businesses allied to agriculture. Creating a cookbook seemed like a natural way to lift up the ag community, "but a lot of people thought it would be spiral bound," said Van Roekel. "When they saw it, they thought, 'Oh this is a real cookbook!'"

Johnson appreciates how the new cookbook celebrates what comes out of the soil. "We grow the best carrots, best potatoes, best leeks and these recipes elevate the vegetables themselves," she said.

Besides pulling from a wider variety of cultures and using new ingredients like farro, says Butler, the recipes aren't too long for today's busy cooks.

Want to know more about Skagit County Extension or the Skagit County Historical Museum? Learn the history of Sakuma Brothers Farms, Hughes Farms or Viva Farms? Van Roekel weaves these stories in between recipes. "I want people who read it, those who live here and who don't, to understand all the moving parts of keeping a farming community vibrant," she says.

Add "Genuine Skagit Cooking" to your own shelf of cookbooks by picking up a copy at Seaport Books or Christianson's Nursery.

And then get cooking.