Our Blog

Field Guide to Herbs & Spices will forever change the way you cook. With this practical guide—including full-color photographs of more than 200 different herbs, spices, and spice mixtures—you’ll never again be intimidated or confused by the vast array of spices available.

Learn to discern the differences between the varieties of basil, the various colors of sesame seeds, the diverse types of sugar and salt, and even how to identify spice pastes like zhoug, harissa, and achiote. Each entry features a basic history of the herb or spice (saffron used to be worth more than gold!), its season (if applicable), selection and preparation tips, a recipe featuring the seasoning, and some suggested flavor pairings. Complete with more than one hundred recipes, Field Guide to Herbs & Spices is a must-have resource for every home cook.

Meals will never be the same again!

Just like people, plants search far and wide for perfect companions—their soil mates are special plants who bring out their best traits and keep bad influences away. And it’s our job as gardeners to help these lovelorn veggies find each other.

In this charming guide to companion planting for all your vegetable-garden favorites, you’ll learn why Broccoli ❤ Rosemary and whether Potato + Corn = friends with benefits. (Just watch out for Celery! “Leggy and leafy, she is notoriously easy-going and will happily settle down with just about anyone, raising a ruckus in your raised beds.”) Complete with 20 pairings, full plant information, tasty recipes, and more, Soil Mates is the perfect partner for your horticultural matchmaker.

SARA ALWAY is a graphic designer who believes in sustainable agriculture. She lives in Ohio, where she tends her own garden of happy soil mates. A former farm specialist at Seeds of Change, KELLE CARTER manages her own market garden and CSA in Colorado.