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Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
What Julia Child is to French cooking and Marcella Hazan is to Italian cooking, Deborah Madison is to contemporary vegetarian cooking. At Greens restaurant in San Francisco, where she was the founding chef, and in her two acclaimed vegetarian cookbooks, Madison elevated vegetarian cooking to new heights of sophistication, introducing many people to the joy of cooking with...more
Hardcover, 752 pages
Published
October 27th 2010
by Broadway
(first published 1997)
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if you like to eat food you will like this book. if you like to cook or wish you knew how you will like this book. if you love to cook and love vegetables and are a nerd this will be your bible.
this is my bible. and i am not the only one.
sometimes when i have a few extra unplanned minutes i will sit at my table and randomly open the book. how better to pass 4 minutes then reading about kambocha squash.
she has some elaborate recipes in here but what i really lo...more
this is my bible. and i am not the only one.
sometimes when i have a few extra unplanned minutes i will sit at my table and randomly open the book. how better to pass 4 minutes then reading about kambocha squash.
she has some elaborate recipes in here but what i really lo...more
Elizabeth
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone! (especially those of you who like vegetables)
Shelves:
cookingandbaking
This is the best cookbook I have ever used. The most useful part of it is the vegetable section, where each fruit or vegetable is listed in alphabetical order, and each section discusses choosing, storage, and preparation of the fruit or vegetable, and then follows with at least one very simple recipe (green beans with butter and basil), and then more complicated ones. The way I use the book is by buying whatever looks good, and then coming home and figuring out what to do with it. That's been w...more
My mom has characterized this as "the vegetarian Joy of Cooking," which is pretty accurate. However, it's not just for vegetarians, but for anyone who might ever feel the need to cook some vegetables (or grains, beans, and other non-meat foods). That is to say, EVERYONE SHOULD OWN THIS BOOK.
One of Deborah Madison's basic ideas is that covering a vegetable in garlic, olive oil, and parsley will make it more delicious, and I have found this to be true. She has some other equa...more
One of Deborah Madison's basic ideas is that covering a vegetable in garlic, olive oil, and parsley will make it more delicious, and I have found this to be true. She has some other equa...more
view all 5 comments
I am not a vegetarian; in fact, most of the time I'm carefully watching my carbs. This means that there is a high percentage of this book that I can't even use - all the pasta, rice, grain, bread, bean, and dessert recipes!
Why do I rate it so highly, then? It's simple - the vegetable recipes! Far, far, far too many vegetarian cookbooks assume that the objective of a vegetarian cookbook is to show people how to create a high protein entree. Often these vegetarian entrees are just ...more
Why do I rate it so highly, then? It's simple - the vegetable recipes! Far, far, far too many vegetarian cookbooks assume that the objective of a vegetarian cookbook is to show people how to create a high protein entree. Often these vegetarian entrees are just ...more
my friends sandra and ann have always talked about cookbooks as legitimate reading, and i always thought that was a little bit of a stretch. as in most matters, i didn't know what the hell i was talking about.
turns out, actually reading through recipes start to finish assists a person in the successful completion of the recipe (rather than being surprised at the end with a "now cook this for 8 hours" when its 6pm and everyone's hungry).
i love cooking vegetaria...more
turns out, actually reading through recipes start to finish assists a person in the successful completion of the recipe (rather than being surprised at the end with a "now cook this for 8 hours" when its 6pm and everyone's hungry).
i love cooking vegetaria...more
Recently read this cover to cover, making a list of recipes to try in the next few months. Full of winners. I've had this book for a few years and have made several recipes from it and have never been disappointed. I consider this book one of the basic cookbooks that everyone should have in their repetoir, vegetarian or not. A few sample recipes:
Apple and Celery Salad with Gruyere
Carrot Red Pepper Soup
Butternut Squash Gratin with Onions and Sage
Eggplant Rollatin...more
Apple and Celery Salad with Gruyere
Carrot Red Pepper Soup
Butternut Squash Gratin with Onions and Sage
Eggplant Rollatin...more
this book is so awesome i can't even begin to describe it because it would take too long. in summary, this book is not just for vegetarians but for anyone who wants to know how to cook non-meat things. most cookbooks use up most of the room for meat recipes leaving other things as just things to eat on the side. this book tells you how to cook delicious things and whether you choose to add meat to them or have them on the side is totally up to you. everything is great in this book from sandwich ...more
Amberle
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who wants to be a well-informed cook
Shelves:
food-glorious-food,
reference
This is by far the most informative cookbook I've encountered. It's clearly the result of a painstaking writing/re-writing and editorial process; every bit of the book, from the index to the individual recipes, is clear and informative without being overly wordy or pedantic. The prose is simply nice to read - yes, I did take this into bed with me for some pre-sleepy-time reading!
I've already noticed that I've become more adroit in the kitchen with a little help from the section on kn...more
I've already noticed that I've become more adroit in the kitchen with a little help from the section on kn...more
Hard to say one "read" a cookbook...but I checked this out of the library and enjoyed going through it page by page because I love her chatty tone and pragmatic how-tos with each recipe, as well as general instruction on cooking. She makes "cooking by feel" something that can be learned, breaking it down into principles so it isn't a mystery for those who weren't just "born with the gift". Most of the recipes are accessibly presented. There are ridiculously simple b...more
I love this book for two reasons. One, the recipes describe simple ways to make complex and subtle flavors. Think black bean spread with a sniff of smoky chipotle. The simplest lentil soup finished off with a dash of mustard and vinegar. Marjoram-scented tofu salad. Sherry-caramelized bell peppers in a potato/chickpea stew. And two, there is just so much here. I will be exploring this book for the rest of my life, I'm sure; for example, while flipping through it tonight I discovered that I can p...more
Deborah Madison was the founding chef of The Greens restaurant in San Francisco. While I have most all of her cookbooks this is my absolute favorite. My absolute favorite of any cookbook (except Fanny at Chez Panisse).
This is not just for vegetarians. I have yet to make anything in this cookbook that is not truly good. All of her recipes are simple, concise and scrumptious. She also explains things to people who are intimidated by cooking as a rule. This is much more than a coo...more
This is not just for vegetarians. I have yet to make anything in this cookbook that is not truly good. All of her recipes are simple, concise and scrumptious. She also explains things to people who are intimidated by cooking as a rule. This is much more than a coo...more
VCFE by Deborah Madison is my bible. Dave and I are not vegetarians, but we do try to eat less meat and we have found we do not even miss it when we use Madison's creative and delicious (and not overly complicated) recipes. There are some winners that are now staples in our repertoire: black eyed peas, lentils with rice, lentil soups, yummy and inventive ways to cook veggies and tofu. All yummy! If I had to live with only one cookbook (god forbid) I would choose this one. Oh! And she is su...more
A great cookbook, truly for everyone: vegetarians, meat-eaters (who will find lots of good side dishes or who can change dishes according to their preferences), kosher-keepers (it's easy to find parve/dairy dishes), and vegans (Madison specifically notes that almost all recipes can be altered to make them vegan). This is our Food Bible: we make the leek and potato soup all the time, as well as the golden gratin. The golden gratin is the first dish I ever tasted rutabaga in, and I subsequently ...more
Michael
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Cooks unsure of where or how to start
Shelves:
food
This is the book that taught me how to cook, or, at the very least, set me on my way. Her approach to cooking anticipates the currently popular philosophy of Pollan &c. More importantly, she transmits both her approach and her prowess in the middle section of the book: vegetable by vegetable, she describes varieties, choice characteristics, complementary flavors, and cooking methods; she then teaches by example with a few recipes. This book contains numerous recipes, but its value is in the s...more
This book is an intensive guide to vegetables. However, the reason I love it are the cakes. These might be the best cakes I've ever baked.
I'm not a huge fan of cookbooks (unless they are the family ones with all the favorite family recipes). I feel like they just take up shelf space and only give you a few good recipes, and with the internet you can find a recipe for just about anything. Having said that, I LOVE this cookbook. We feel like it has revolutionized the way we eat. We haven't had a recipe fail yet. Some of our new "family favorites" are now in this cookbook. I feel like it is really comprehensive sharin...more
i am in awe of deborah madison. this is the best cookbook ever. i use it all the time and every recipe is fabulous. i bought it years ago and for some reason (probably the lack of pretty photos..) i rarely used it until recently. but when i actually started reading it i realized what a gem it is. seriously, deborah madison makes it all make sense. this book is comprehensive. she taught me to be a much better cook (and has made living and eating in rural honduras so much more delicious... n...more
I read this book every spring- seriously, I read it from cover to cover, skipping through some recipes and culling others for ideas and inspiration. This is the tome I inevitably grab and pore over every time I come home from the farmers' market with bags full of produce I'm not sure what exactly to do with. Not only does it have a good recipe for virtually every fruit or vegetable imaginable, it describes them in great, delicious detail.
Every vegetarian should have this book to gui...more
Every vegetarian should have this book to gui...more
I was hoping for something... different maybe? I'm not sure. I love vegetables, and I wanted to become more proficient in cooking them and with greater variety. This book certainly has plenty of recipes, and they look easy enough and well explained enough.
The problem is, I'm not much of a fan of squash of any kind. And onions are great, but as a seasoning, not as large cooked squishy mouthfuls. I enjoy eggplant every once in a while, but again in small bits as bonus zing rather than ...more
The problem is, I'm not much of a fan of squash of any kind. And onions are great, but as a seasoning, not as large cooked squishy mouthfuls. I enjoy eggplant every once in a while, but again in small bits as bonus zing rather than ...more
This cookbook is huge. On the plus side, it's quite comprehensive and works pretty well as a general vegetarian reference. Some of the recipes aren't the best, but I'm quite fond of the miso soup and the kombu stock.
If you're a vegetarian and looking for a general cooking reference it's not bad. But, there are better books with more focused content. That said, if I'm going to try something new, this is usually the first book I look at.
If you're a vegetarian and looking for a general cooking reference it's not bad. But, there are better books with more focused content. That said, if I'm going to try something new, this is usually the first book I look at.
This is the cookbook that piqued my interest in cooking vegetarian and vegan at home. Deborah Madison's recipes have yet to fail me, and I have barely tested a tenth of the recipes contained in this tome. In the introductions to each recipe she states whether or not it can be adapted to be vegan (if it is not already) and how, which I find very helpful when I'm sourcing from this book to cook for a group of friends.
Not stuffy, uses ingredients I have or can easily purchase and focuses on simple recipes that showcase the flavors of food. This could (and probably will) become my encyclopedia of basics like pizza dough and peanut sauce, but could also become my source for fancier fare. I love her tips and I love that she includes a healthy sprinkling of all ethnic flavors.
Try as I might, I cannot commit to being a vegetarian...but I do love vegetables (and cheese and pasta and fruit and bread), and this cookbook is for me! It's also for anyone who loves food in general and enjoys the intricate, romantic process of cooking. Favorites (so far): cauliflower with fresh tomato sauce and feta cheese, and goat cheese souffle. Yum!
Yummmmm..... a comprehensive cookbook for me! I don't mind cooking meat, but while constantly adapting recipes to accommodate separate vegetarian and omnivore portions has made me a better cook, it's great have a full arsenal of purely vegetarian recipes. it's much easier to adapt for Frank than the other way around! On my list to buy.
Along with Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, this is one of my go-to cookbooks. The recipes are easy-to-follow, easy to customize, and easy to enjoy. While I'll go to Yamuni Devi or Madhur Jaffrey when I want Indian food, or Ken Hom when I want Chinese, I go to Madison and Bittman for just about everything else.
Everyone should own this book, vegetarian or otherwise. Like it or not, vegetables are vital to our complete nutrition. The genius of this book is the large array of vegetables it covers as well as best practices for preparing, cooking, saucing and serving them. The fact that vegetable dishes are separated by main ingredient please me.
I borrowed this from the library. I hope to own my own copy someday. It had great recipes in it, and i liked the format. It was easy to find what you were looking for and had GREAT tips on things. Info on what pairs well with other things, on the differences between ceertain veggies that make a difference in the taste or texture of a dish.
I had to return it to the library but plan on checking it out again... at least until I can get a copy for my shelf. I think this is a cook book that I ...more
I had to return it to the library but plan on checking it out again... at least until I can get a copy for my shelf. I think this is a cook book that I ...more
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone has more than 1,400 recipes so it's going to be awhile before I actually read all of it. With that said, I did read the entire introduction, which I found really helpful in jumping into vegetarian cooking. So far the recipes I've made we've enjoyed but it's the realistic encouragement in the introduction/tips that I value most because now I'm not as intimidated.
Another one that had to go back before I got to cook anything in it. I can't overstate how huge this book is: as I said when the hold came in: when she says everyone, she means Everyone. Looks fantastic, had a bunch of post-it notes for things to try. But will wait until I have an actual kitchen again someday.
I'm not a vegetarian, but I love this cookbook. It goes through just about every vegetable in alphabetical order and offers several great recipes for each. I especially like the recipe for cranberry sauce, tomato sauce for spagetti and the pizza sauce.
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Deborah Madison is an American chef, writer and cooking teacher. She has been called an expert on vegetarian cooking and her gourmet repertoire showcases fresh garden produce. Her work also highlights Slow Food, local foods and farmers' markets.
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