Product Description
Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking (Surrey Books, $21.95) busts the veggie mold, focusing on flavor and innovative recipes, rather than on philosophy and persuading tofu to taste like tenderloin. These are great recipes that just happen to be vegetarian.
This mother-son team offers more than 150 vegan recipes (and more than 100 color photographs) that are simple enough to pull together during the week, yet daring and delicious enough for dinner parties. This is vegetarian cooking for people who love to eat.
The book includes a world of meat- and dairy-free meals drawn from the authors’ culinary explorations – spanakopita from Greece, crostini and pasta from Italy, pad Thai and aromatic soups from Thailand, sushi and earthy noodle dishes from Japan, and plenty of comforting favorites from home – creamy mashed potatoes, fluffy biscuits, rich gravy and thick corn chowder.
Packed with advice for keeping cooking easy, efficient and always an adventure, Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking draws on J.M. and Michelle’s deep knowledge of vegetarian cooking and their pleasure in breaking the rules. They turn a simple Italian bread and tomato soup into something extraordinary with Southeast Asian spices, and give hummus a makeover with hot peppers and cashew butter.
John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods Market, offers an informative forward.
Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking: Bold Flavors for Meat- and Dairy-Free Meals
#1 by Easter Cat on November 30, 2009 - 3:38 pm
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I hate cooking. This is a problem, since I’m a vegan and not a millionaire. Since I have to cook, I tend to gravitate toward recipes that are tasty. In addition, these recipes also have to be simple to make (i.e., not require two hours and two pages of instructions).
When I first saw this book in the store, I figured it was just another ovo-lacto book filled with recipes that had a lot of cheese, milk and eggs. However, as I looked through it, I realized that 99.9% of the recipes are suitable for vegans. The only recipes that weren’t vegan involved the usage of honey. Because of the way honey is used in the recipes, it looked as though it’d be easy to substitute agave nectar.
The recipes that I’ve tried are fairly easy to make. However, there are recipes that do require some effort. But if you want to skip them or save them for a rainy day, they’re there. For example, there is a vegan chocolate cake that was created by the chefs at Cook’s Illustrated. They were challenged to create a tasty, vegan, chocolate cake. Even though it involves baking, I might actually try it one day.
In addition, the book minimizes the use of fake meats. Instead, it stays focused on more natural ingredients. While I personally enjoy the usage of seitan and other fakes, there are other vegans/ovo-lacto vegetarians who appreciate a choice in the matter.
The book is divided into appetizers, breads, salads, soups/stews, vegetables, pasta, grains/legumes, sauces/dressings/marinades, desserts and breakfasts. Even if you cook only a fraction of the recipes offered, you’ll have plenty of great dishes to eat.
Rating: 4 / 5
#2 by anastasia on November 30, 2009 - 5:43 pm
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This book rocks! Some of the most delicious, healthy and fun vege recipes I have tried in a while. Mostly pretty easy, but a few challenges make it fun as well. Check it out, I bought an extra to give to some lucky friend.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Mary Thompson on November 30, 2009 - 8:17 pm
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I found the book to be very good but as I have not tried all of the recipes yet I can not give a OK to all recipes. But what I have tried were very god.
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by A. Nichols on November 30, 2009 - 9:20 pm
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Most recipes that I’ve tried from this cookbook have been excellent, my favorites being the Thai Leek and Sweet Potato Soup (it is fantastic) and the Fruit Coffee Cake. The directions are clear and many recipes use unusual flavor combinations that work well. Also, they don’t rely on any meat substitutes of excessive use of tofu/tempeh, which I like. I’d recommend this as a good addition to a vegetarian cookbook collection.
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by Cherie J. Anderson on November 30, 2009 - 10:10 pm
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This book is great for those who want to get some variety and experiment with new flavors. The Asian-inspired dishes, the breaded eggplant with sweet tomato sauce, all really wowed me and made me want to try more. There are photos, which is nice, too, so you can check out what some of the recipes will look like in their finished form.
Rating: 5 / 5