The flagship book of the award-winning, best-selling series, is back-bigger...
(back cover) The Art of Enjoying Good Food and Elegant Dining Alphabetically...
(back cover) Open this new fourth edition of "The New Food Loveras Companion...
We've got a lot of cookbooks at home. This one ranks right up there with my battered copy of Tassajara Cooking, the one that taught me how to cook in college - and that's saying something. There are two vegans and one, well, carnivore in our house. I've made a lot of the things in here, and there hasn't been a badly received one yet. The pizza crust recipe is a terrific intro to bread baking in general. Just take a look at it.
I love this book with all my heart. There is not one meal that I have made that hasn't been delicious; the fact that my incredibly carnivorous and generally unhealthy food devouring family is duly impressed with each new dish is amazing. I appreciate the simple yet malleable nature of most of the recipes (well, the ones I've tried!). A vegan due to a variety of food related health issues, I also have to keep my foods gluten free, and do my best to keep them low-fat. It's incredibly easy with these. The recipes don't rely on battering and frying tofu 101 ways and they are not overly carb-heavy. The result? Foods that are immensely satisfying and incredibly tasty as well as easy on the stomach, the blood sugar, the belt notches, and the wallet. (In my experiences anyway!) I cannot stop making the Chickpea-Broccoli casserole (with added spinach and peas, and sometimes TVP in place of the sorely missed Japanese breadcrumbs) or my version of the Veggie burgers (baked). I also love the Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy on Mashed Potatoes (even on mashed chickpeas) and the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Garlic. Dessert wise, I've only made the Mexican Chocolate Rice Pudding. I plan to try other desserts,pizzas and waffles when I'm ready to experiment with GF flours...but not before I've made every soup and entree. Looking forward to reading VEGANOMICON.
I really love this book, and I'm always amazed by how Isa can make really basic foods taste sooo good with such a perfect texture and flavor. This is my favorite cookbook to whip out if I want to make something particularly fancy or special. That said, many of these recipes take hours -- sometimes days -- of prep time. I remember cooking for a potluck and having it take nearly 2 hours (and I was fortunate to have had a fully stocked spice rack and fresh veggies already in my fridge!). Some of the recipes are shorter and easier to use for quick-cooking. That said, I've found that I just pick my favorite recipes and try to do my prep 1-2 days in advance. As the sole cook/eater in my apartment, though, this means quartering and halving recipes so that the (very fresh) ingredients don't go bad over a few days worth of cooking. All that said, this cook book is delightful, and it's hard to turn the pages without drooling.
I received this last year for xxx-mas from melissa. (yeah?) Seriously, Isa does a good job about telling a story and making it interesting, but her flavor profiles are off. I KNOW that being a good cook doesn't mean following a recipe, but sometimes when it says "This is really good and yadda yadda" in the book and on the web site I trust too much. So... with a grain of salt (literally TASTE everything you make in a small batch before you commit to ANYTHING in this book) I enjoy this book for it's great ideas, but momma needs to catch up with someone who will make her CHECK and RECHECK her ratio's and flavor profiles. rar rar rar food.
As a professed hater of vegetables, it's nothing short of amazing that I even picked up a vegan cookbook, let alone gave it 5 stars. I don't consider myself a vegan, in fact, I love meat. But I do hate tortured animals and chemical additives, so I thought I'd give it a try. I've made about 8 of these recipes and each one has turned out divine. What do I mean by divine? Suffice it to say that my fiance is usually considered the best cook in the house, but after cooking those last 8 recipes, he quickly abdicated the throne and I now feel like a vegan Rachel Ray:)
A quick read that speaks to everyone, regardless of your faith or views.
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