American TV personality Chef Emeril Lagasse wants to inspire cooks to use fresh, organic and locally-grown ingredients year-round.

Lagasse is the host of Emeril Green, a series about fresh and seasonal ingredients on Discovery’s Planet Green.

Coming out June 1, his new cookbook, FARM TO FORK: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh (HarperStudio), shows how to cook a delicious meal with local seasonal ingredients.  He covers the basics: leafy greens, herb, milk, eggs, cheese, meats, fish, grains, homemade preserves and fresh fruit for every season.

Says Lagasse: 

“Buy fresh, Buy local…is a slogan that both my restaurants and my family try to live by.  Support your local farmers markets.  Plant a small garden in your backyard, or even just an herb garden in pots on a windowsill. The wonder of planting a seedling, watching it grow, and harvesting it to eat is inexplicable. I can’t think of a better way to show a child the value of fresh food from the table.  It really can be about the choices we make.”

The new cookbook recipes include Crostini with Ricotta and Spring Peas; Sweet Corn Maque Choux; Fresh Mint Tea; Five Grain Salad; Spinach Sautéed with Garlic and Watermelon Rind Crisp Sweet Pickles.

Here is one of the recipes:

» Read more: Emeril’s New Green Cookbook