Olive Trees and Honey

Customer Reviews

• You Don't Have to be a Vegetarian  Nov 14, 2004 (49 of 49 found this helpful)

  I was introduced to this wonderful book as a resource for an article that I'm writing about Sepharidic dishes for "Jewish Woman" Magazine. What a treasure trove! Not just of vegetarian Jewish recipes, but of the lore behind them. Marks talks about the history of cooking among Jews from Italy to Uzbekistan, and explains the "why" and "how" of typical ingredients from anise to yogurt. This is one of those rich, evocative cookbooks that you'll want to read in bed, like a good novel.

• Vegetarian recipes with "meaty" prose  Sep 7, 2005 (36 of 36 found this helpful)

  Having endured a rather bland week of institutional vegetarian menus, I returned home from a Jewish gathering eager to follow "eco-kashrut" but unwilling to eat one more bite of tofu. I immediately began searching for vegetarian recipes that might actually have some zest and pizzazz, and found that this book fills the bill. Olive Trees and Honey offers time-tested (some, over millenia) kosher vegetarian recipes from the Greater Mediterranean region, served with a rich fare of agricultural and social history. Learning the paths that various ingredients have taken around the globe is fascinating, and definitely fun to share with Sabbath dinner guests.
  

• Great Book  Dec 23, 2005 (17 of 17 found this helpful)

  I think this book amazing, it is definitely my favorite vegetarian cook book. I've tried about 10 recipes from it, and all of them turned out absolutely amazing, getting great reviews from my family. The Syrian spinach soup is my favourite so far. My dad isn't too much into spinach, but after trying this soup, he has changed his mind and has asked me to make it over and over again. The dishes offered by Gil are very versatile and diverse, coming from all corners of the world where Jewish people have lived and traveled through the ages. I was very impressed to find Bukharan and Georgian recipes -- two cuisines that haven't got much exposure in the western world.
  
  You can tell that Gil has put a lot of thought into every single recipe, he puts some variations after every recipe, as well as the history behind it. I'm really looking forward to trying out more recipes from this book.
  
  A plus for vegans -- every recipe is marked with either D for dairy-containing dishes or P for non-dairy (although they might have eggs). That said, Gil offers non-dairy alternatives for most of the dairy recipes.
  
  Thanks Gil for the great book! :0)

• One of my favorite cookbooks!  Nov 30, 2005 (16 of 16 found this helpful)

  I have a good number of Jewish cookbooks and vegetarian cookbooks, but this one is probably my favorite in both categories. The text and headnotes before the recipes are interesting, and virtually all of the recipes that I've tried so far have been terrific. I have particularly enjoyed the soups, including a fabulous red lentil soup, an Egyptian potato soup, and a Greek barley soup. Many of the recipes include variations which provide interesting and easy ways in which to change the nature of the dish. I highly recommend this book!

• Authentic, Educating and Delicious!!  May 4, 2005 (16 of 16 found this helpful)

  This is a great cookbook! I own way too many "Jewish" cookbooks and this one is by far my favorite because it covers so many 'cuisines'-not just your usual Jewish (American) fare. Plus, it's arranged in a very logical way (by ingredient) AND it doesn't assume the reader is familiar with the ingredients. There is a valuable culinary education in here as well as historical tidbits that will delight any Jewish cook! As a former vegetarian I am always trying to find interesting and new ways to get vegetables onto the table and this book definitely has some great dishes.
  I have tried many of the recipes and so far they have been very accurate and the results have been very good.
  I was also happy to see recipes for "cardoons"-an edible plant that I grow in my garden but most people (unless they're Italian) have never even heard of! This was proof for me that this book covers a very wide range of vegetarian fare.
  Very well done.