“The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook” (Yankee Publishing, $24.95)

Today, the “Old Farmer” in “The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Cookbook” might just be a young mom or a 35-year-old single businessman who needs to figure out what to eat for dinner every night. At the least, it's an old farmer in a brand-new pair of spiffy overalls who is up on all the latest culinary trends.

That's because the recipes that stem from one of America's most trusted reference guides — which has dispensed wit, wisdom, facts and folklore since 1792 — are the perfect blend of old-fashioned comfort foods that have been embellished to fit perfectly in today's speedway-style home kitchens, where pit stops seem to be fewer and quicker than ever.

You won't only receive a sausage square for breakfast, but one that's tastily blended with zucchini to reflect today's interest in healthy eating and increasing our vegetable intake. Old-fashioned potato salad is a relic; try it blended with homemade pesto, noting our taste for gourmet international ingredients. An Old Fisherman's Stew instead becomes a Quick Fisherman's Stew for today's busy families requiring just 30 minutes to cook instead of hours.

It just may be that aforementioned new mom or trendy businessman contributed to the recipe almanac. Many of the recipes are Almanac prize winners from outstanding home cooks nationwide, while others are from the excellent editors of the Almanac.

The Almanac's famous wisdom is still on full display, also geared for today's quandaries and conundrums. Some of the many items include a page on how to grill individual vegetables “to achieve a professional chef's finish” as well as a section on the “Effects of Freezing:” canned ham becomes watery and soft, and milk, cream, custard and meringue fillings will separate.

If you have time, you can invite an old farmer in for a cozy meal he will recognize. There's still a sampling of old-fashioned treats — such as Maple Syrup Corn Fritters, “Perfect” Macaroni and Cheese and Edna's Ham Glaze (an until recently secret recipe from a reader's grandmother that uses ginger ale and red wine vinegar) — that help the balance of the book to reach just about irresistible status.

Here's a bite of the old followed by a taste of the new:

EDNA'S HAM GLAZE

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground mustard

1 cup (8 ounces) ginger ale

Yields about 3/4 cup of glaze, enough for a 5- to 10-pound ham.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, vinegar, cloves and mustard. Add the ginger ale, a little at a time, to create a consistency that is thick enough to cling to the ham. Set aside the remaining ginger ale.

Place the ham on the bottom of a roasting pan and spread the glaze over it. Pour the remaining ginger ale into the bottom of the pan. Bake the ham, basting occasionally from the drippings.

QUICK FISHERMAN'S STEW

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, undrained, mashed

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 pound skinless cod, haddock or other firm white fish fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 pound sea scallops

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Yields 4 servings.

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, and saute the onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, spices and wine. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes.

Add the fish and scallops and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork and the scallops are opaque and tender. Remove bay leaf and discard. Stir in parsley.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including “Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook” and “The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook.” She also writes the Creators News Service “After Work Gourmet” column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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