There are so many things I like about A Taste of the Maritimes, by Elisabeth Bailey, that I hardly know where to start. The recipes use fresh, local ingredients, and they’re broken into seasons, so you don’t have to thumb through the book to find ways to use what’s fresh right now. The spring section, for example, features Fiddleheads with Bacon, Curried Spinach Soup and Strawberries with Whipped Honey Crème Fraiche. Hmmm. What’s for seconds?

The recipes are concise, not overly complicated and the reward is delicious, fresh food no matter what the season.

Intermingled with the dishes are spotlights on several producers in the author’s home province of Nova Scotia—producers like Foxhill Cheese, Port Williams, and Ironworks Distillery, Lunenburg. Nimbus Publishing $22.95 ~AB