Peanutty-Tofuey-Broccli(y) Deliciousness!
This spring I went over to a friend's house and his mom graciously made me a vegetarian dish from this book. I'm not sure of the exact name but it is amazingly good. Try it - now!
Beautiful and inspiring
Although not as practical as other cookbooks in some regards, this is definitely among my favorites. As other reviewers stated, some of the recipes are lengthy and best suited to weekends when you have a lot of time to do a major cooking session. What I love about this book is the whimsical nature of it, and the way Katzen conveys such love and joy at preparing the dishes. The hand-lettering isn't always super-easy to read, but it is such a treat! The illustrations, such as the comic-style guide to bread making, are fun. Also, it includes a really helpful guide to grains, including history, where to find it, how and why to use it, and especially, how to cook.
This book is a great addition to a vegetarian's cookbookshelf, though probably not ideal for a first book on veg cooking.
Recipies not good
Sorry to say but the recipies in this book are yukky! I don't know what Mollie was thinking, she however is not the good cook people think she is.
You will be much better off sticking with the Moosewood cookbooks...every single one is truly wonderful. And the other reviewer was right, what's so special about the title recipie...nothing. Don't waste your money, I threw my copy out!
A cute title but I expected more....
A fun cookbook to look through but when you start making the recipes, its actually a disappointment, especially considering how many gazillllllion copies have been sold of Ms. Katzen's books. Shows what the right marketing can do. The recipes that I tried were VERY hearty but not in a good way, too much fat and rich ingredients and strange combinations of these ingredients too . The Enchanted Broccoli Forest recipe is just a dish of rice with broccoli stuck into it, nothing special. I gave up after the 3 or 4th recipe. This is NOT one of the best veggie cookbooks out there, in spite of the hype!
awesome cookbook!
i have many vegetarian cook books (ive been veg for over 7 yrs) & i use this one the most frequently.
it's simple, delicious, & lots of cooking basics, like pie crust & the (BEST, EASIEST) Indian flat bread, that most veg cookbooks leave out. We have also made delicious enchiladas, upside down vegetable cake, and more. My boyfriend is not vegetarian but he loves the delicious food too. The recipes in this book hold up even with major improvisation & experimenting which I love to do. There are also wide margins to write your cooking notes right next to the recipe.
Yes, many of these recipes take longer than heating up a veggie burger in the microwave but if you are concerned enough to eat vegetarian you should be interested in how to eat right, and sometimes that takes time.
There are 2 things I dislike: 1)the "prep" time listed for a recipe is too short in many cases- but once you make it you get an idea of how long it takes for next time. 2) the pages are regular paper, not glossy, so splashes always seem to find their way onto my book. However, its cheap enough & it dries fine, so just buy it & find your new veggie favorites :)
