Profiles of farmers and their farms in western Massachusetts and other nearby areas fill The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook: 125 Homegrown Recipes from the New England Hills by Elisa Spungen Bildner and Robert Bildner with Chef Brian Alberg (The Countryman Press, $24.95). Springtime lingers in this simple, approachable book with an egg on a bed of fava beans, peas, garlic scapes and zucchini; summer shines in a handsome casserole of eggplant with tomatoes and mozzarella, and a pizza topped with fresh Greek salad. Easy carrot soup with sage and mint, white bean dip, and cauliflower with cheese are evergreens. And it's not all about vegetables and fruit; some of the farms featured raise livestock and make cheese, and seafood recipes are included. Blue Hill Farm, owned by chef Dan Barber's family, makes an appearance, and a few restaurants and inns are represented.
