Listen to Your Vegetables – Quick Bites – Worldwide Giveaway
September 9, 2025 by JennyEnter our worldwide giveaway to win one of two copies of Listen To Your Vegetables: Italian-Inspired Recipes for Every Season by Sarah Grueneberg.
I love this book so much – I bought two extra copies to giveaway here. Listen To Your Vegetables – published in 2022 – is a vegetable focused cookbook of more than 200 Italian-inspired recipes that are surprisingly achievable for those at any level of cooking experience. This beautiful exploration of seasonal produce offers insights, techniques, and recipes to truly get the best out of your vegetables. You will learn how and when to shop for, cook, season, and seamlessly incorporate potatoes, squash, beans, greens, mushrooms, peppers, and more into your menu planning.
Each of the 15 chapters focuses on a vegetable (or fruit, depending on your definition) so they can take center stage, plus one devoted entirely to pastas, drawing on Sarah’s long love affair with Italian cooking and the methods that she uses at her renowned restaurant, Monteverde. The book is filled with gorgeous photography and lovely illustrations.
Sarah competed on and was a finalist in Top Chef Season 9, also known as Top Chef: Texas. She finished in second place (runner-up) in that competition and I became a fan way back then. For more information on Sarah and her restaurant – see my post on the James Beard weekend which included a visit to Monteverde in Chicago. You can get an idea about the content of the book on the author’s website.
I made the Rigatoni al limone with whipped ricotta and pecorino Romano and used the book’s Homemade lemon ricotta. The homemade ricotta was a breeze to make and made all the difference in the pasta dish which was bright and scrumptious. I also made the Cast-iron roasted carrots with carrot top salsa verde which were addictive – I had to hide them as not to eat them all before the full meal was completed. The capers provided an interesting pop of flavor and both dishes disappeared. I have loads of other recipes marked to try!
There are seven online recipes available for you to try now.
After a busy summer, Sarah took the time to provide a Quick Bites interview for our Members.
Sarah Grueneberg is the James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef/partner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago’s West Loop and author of Listen To Your Vegetables.
Since her childhood cooking with her grandparents on their ranch in Victoria, Texas, Houston born-and-raised Grueneberg knew she was destined to work in the culinary world.
After graduating from culinary school in 2001, she started her first career-changing job with a position at the iconic Brennan’s of Houston and by 2003 was named the restaurant’s youngest female sous chef. Grueneberg’s ongoing travels have taken her throughout Italy, Asia, Europe and the U.S., inspiring her culinary approach of “following the food” and truly understanding “the dish” by knowing the people and culture that created it.
Grueneberg moved to Chicago in 2005 to join the team at the award-winning Spiaggia under the leadership of Tony Mantuano. Beginning as a line cook, she quickly rose the ranks to Chef di Cucina in 2008 and then Executive Chef in 2010.
Grueneberg opened Monteverde in November 2015 and in 2017, she received the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best Chef: Great Lakes” and was a semifinalist for “Outstanding Chef” in the 2019 & 2020 awards.
Monteverde has earned acclaimed reviews from various outlets, including being named Chicago Magazine’s #1 Restaurant in the 50 Best Restaurants list of 2024. Monteverde earned a three-star review from The Chicago Tribune and in 2016, it was named one of Food & Wine’s “America’s Best Restaurants.” Other accolades include a top 50 finalist position in Bon Appetit’s “Best New Restaurants,” being named to Eater’s “21 Best New Restaurants in America,” GQ’s “12 Best New Restaurants,” Eater Chicago’s “Restaurant of the Year,” the “Worth the Wait” award in Chicago Tribune Dining Awards and named one of Chicago Magazine’s “15 Best New Restaurants.” In 2017, Monteverde was named one of “America’s 38 Essential Restaurants” by Eater and then awarded “Restaurant of the Year” in the 2018 Jean Banchet Awards.
Grueneberg has been a competitor and finalist on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Texas” and Food Network’s “Iron Chef Gauntlet” and was featured in the Chicago episode of “Somebody Feed Phil.” She has also been named a “Rising Star Chef” by Chicago Social magazine in 2009 and 2016 and Eater Chicago’s “Chef of the Year” in the 2011 Eater Awards. Grueneberg served as one of the James Beard Foundation chefs at the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Chicago O’Hare Airport and in 2025, she joined the Culinary Collective by The Centurion Lounge with American Express.
Grueneberg is a frequent speaker at industry events, including Utility Show, Cherry Bombe Jubilee and the American Express Restaurant Trade Program at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.
Grueneberg published her first cookbook, Listen To Your Vegetables, in 2022. A long-time champion of her peers and the food and beverage industry, she is a member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, the Southern Foodways Alliance and serves as a Board Member of Southern Smoke Foundation.
Grueneberg lives in Chicago with her husband and business partner, Jaime Canete, and their beloved Devon Rex cat, Parm.
Q: What first triggered your interest in cooking and what is your first cooking memory.
Watching my grandmother cook and putting her holiday table together first triggered my interest in cooking and my first memory of cooking was when I made Mac & Cheese from scratch. It involved Velveeta, but it was a great place to start.
Q: If you had to describe your style, what would it be?
My culinary style is layered in stories, ingredients and memories. I like to say “Follow your food” – dig in on the history of the dish and the ingredients and make the dish the best it can be.
Q: Are you a cookbook collector? If so, tell us about your collection – number of books, favorite genre, favorite author? What you look for in a cookbook. (If possible, can you share a photo of your collection?)
I probably have 300 cookbooks or so and they are all over the house. My collection is a mix of old school and new school books. I love a cookbook that highlights and does a deep dive on one topic: like pasta or vegetables.
I really appreciate books that have detailed notes and photos of how-to as I learn from seeing and reading. Also, I’m a sucker for a sideba.
Q: What is the best part of your job? Do you sometimes feel like working with food all day keeps you from wanting to get creative in the kitchen?
I’m obsessed with cooking. It’s impossible for me to not always think about food and deep dive about how to make recipes or dishes better. I am continually R&D dishes.
Q: What is your go-to for a quick dinner (and for dessert)?
In the summer, we’re all about grilling and like to throw veggies and a protein on the grill. Easy cooking, easy clean up.
In the winter, I’m a fan of one pot cooking. Brown off veggies or meat and make a quick pasta from the fridge or pantry. A fast puttanesca from the pantry is hard to beat.
Q: Tell us about your time on Top Chef and would you go back if asked?
Competing on Top Chef was challenging but a great opportunity to push myself. It was a long time ago and I’m not sure my body could take the pace (laughing). I think I’ll stay on the cheerleader side.
Q: Are you working on another cookbook? (Please say yes!)
I have a new cookbook in my head but I have not gotten it on paper yet. We’re still a bit away.
Be sure to follow Sarah and Monteverde on Instagram. Warning – the photos will have you craving her delicious food!
Enter to our worldwide giveaway to win one of two copies of Listen to Your Vegetables. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the Index would you like to make first from this book?
Please note we are no longer using Rafflecopter – so you will enter the giveaway as set out below. Once you leave your blog comment stating which recipe you would like to make there are three additional options that you can complete for more entries. If you have any questions about this process email me at jenny at eatyourbooks.com directly.
- Follow Eat Your Books on Instagram for another entry. Leave a second comment stating you followed and your Instagram name.
- Follow CookShelf.app on Instagram for another entry. Leave a third comment stating you followed and your Instagram name.
- Subscribe to the free CookShelf.app Substack for another entry. Leave a fourth comment stating you are subscribed.
Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on October 30th, 2025.
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