Simple slow food satisfies chef and author Alice Waters.

While we may not be able to grow all of our favorite vegetables as urban apartment dwellers, listening to the engaging, delightful Alice Waters wax on about the joys of organic produce, fragrant herbs and made-from-scratch delicacies sent us straight to our local farmers market. Which is exactly her goal.

Promoting her latest collection of how-to basics and simple recipes, In the Green Kitchen (Clarkson Potter, 2010), at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books recently, the San Francisco Bay Area-based chef, restaurateur and doyenne of the slow-food movement shared tips while chatting with a rapt audience at the Cooking Stage.

“We need to come back to our senses and back to the beautiful, delicious aromas and tastes. The quality of fresh ingredients like olive oil and fresh garlic never fails to please people,” declares Waters, whose presentation aimed to “demystify the cooking process” in demonstrating how to make pesto and store produce, and revealing some novel uses for fresh herbs.

“If you want to make your house smell really good, burn a little rosemary. I’ll put it in a little pan and let it perfume,” says Waters, who also suggests frying rosemary and sage in olive oil. “It makes them so savory and crunchy. Mix them with breadcrumbs as a topping for fish, pizza, salad or vegetables. We use it on everything.”

With figs, think beyond the fruit, she says. “Fig wood makes a wonderful perfume on meat and everything else. The leaves are great to wrap fish or goat cheese to bake them in the oven, and they’re lovely to use as serving platters,” she says.

Waters is gratified by the current trend away from processed food in favor of fresh, local, organic ingredients. “We’re finally understanding that it has to do with our health,” she says, adding that “edible education” starts with children. “Give them something delicious and accessible and easy. It’s amazing what kids will eat when they can help prepare the vegetables. And it’s not just feeding them,” notes the founder of the Edible Schoolyard program. “It’s setting a table with care, somewhere away from the television. The more that you care about how important this is, the more your kids will.”

Waters is writing a sequel to The Art of Simple Food (Clarkson Potter, 2007), “with simple recipes based on varietal vegetables and fruits,” to be preceded by a history of the slow-food movement in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Waters’ restaurant Chez Panisse. Right now, though, she’s vacationing in Sicily. “I’m going to a farm and I’m going to cook and forage,” she told us. “I’m not taking my cell phone.”

Do you have a favorite slow-food recipe? Share it with us!

Photo credit: Frederick M. Brown/Stringer

Tags: Alice Waters, cellular telephone, chef and author, Cooking, Cuisine, favorite slow-food recipe, food, Frederick M. Brown, Hospitality/Recreation, Los Angeles Times, olive oil, Perfume, Pizza, processed food, San Francisco Bay Area-based chef restaurateur and doyenne, Sicily, slow food, slow-food movement, the Los Angeles Times Festival