If you love art, food, gardens, farm-to-table eating (as do HG/BSK), then Monet’s Palate Cookbook is a cookbook you must have. You probably have been dazzled by the visual beauty of Claude Monet’s paintings of the water lilies at his pond in the garden of his Giverny home. But, you may not have been aware that, Monet, a confirmed gourmand, had an extensive kitchen garden and relied upon the freshness and flavor of its produce. Monet’s Palate Cookbook is subtitled “The artist and his kitchen garden at Giverny.” The authors are Aileen Boardman, film maker and Monet authority, and Derek Fell, renowned garden writer. There are 60 recipes (all rigorously tested by Boardman), tips on gardens (big and small) by Fell, and beautiful photography by Steven Rothfeld. It is a stimulating book. You will have an urge to plant (even a few unambitious windowsill pots of basil and parsley), race to a museum to view some of Monet’s work (the best are in Paris), or simply prepare a meal of savory treats (the recipes, derived from Manet’s table, will make you ravenous). The introduction to the book is by Meryl Streep. The actress was also the narrator of the PBS documentary by Boardman, “Monet’s Palate: A Gastronomic View From the Gardens.” Viewed on 350 PBS stations, the documentary has interviews with Alice Waters and Daniel Bouloud among other culinary luminaries. Both the documentary and the book are treasures, fitting tributes to a great artist who linked imagination with a love of the earth and the pleasures of the table.
