1 comments about Farm Journal's Best-Ever Vegetable Recipes: A Fresh Approach to Main Dishes, Appetizers, and Snacks, Soups, Salads, and Desserts--With 400 Never-Fail.

1. Every recipe I have tried in this book is top notch. They are easy to use and succinct. To begin with it clearly discribes a large vareity of vegetables and shows availability, how to pick the best in quality and basic cooking instructions. There is a unique section devoted to instructions for making edible centerpiece art. Of course there are salads hot and cold but also dressings, dips and sauces all a hit every time I use them. The Main dishes are both meaty and meatless. And how about desserts? A personal favorite is Carrot Cheese Cake. Then there is a large section devoted to canning and preserving your summertime and garden bounty. It also includes a spice chart to most effectively flavor your meals. Keep it handy for a lifetime of eating pleasure.

1 comments about Sensational Salads.

1. `Sensational Salads' by book assembler and editor, Barbara Scott-Goodman is a great idea with a mediocre realization. Salads are one of those culinary topics which deserves at least one or more great books. What the author has given us is nothing more than a collection of vaguely original salad recipes with poor exposition on ingredients and what I believe are modestly good results.
   
   There are at least four ways in which this could have been a much better book.
   
   The first would have been to begin with an exposition on major salad ingredients, their availability, their tastes, and their affinities with other ingredients. One volume that does this well is my old copy of a `Better Homes and Gardens Salads' volume.
   
   The second would have been to make a point of including all major named salads, including the Salade Nicoise, the chef's salad, the Caprese Salad, Panzanella, Cobb Salad, Salad Lyonnaise, and so on. One volume which comes close to doing this is my old friend the `Better Homes and Gardens Salads' and the `Williams-Sonoma Salads' volume.
   
   The third would be to do salads by the seasons. An excellent example of such a presentation is `Twelve Months of Monastery Salads' by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. This does salads not only by season but also by the month, based on produce that comes into season in each month. The author's introduction pays some lip service to choosing the recipe based on what is available and fresh in the market, but there is nothing in the book which assists us in doing the same thing.
   
   The fourth would have been to devote the time and energy into addressing a single type of salad, such as the `Pasta Salad' by Barbara Lauterbach.
   
   Ms. Scott-Goodman's book has the appearance of a volume on an express to the discount table at Barnes and Noble or Borders. Two signs are the fact that the author's bio gives her virtually no culinary credentials and that the bio of the photographer is longer than that of the author. These are only symptoms. There is nothing to say that a culinary newcomer can't put together an excellent book. Unfortunately, there is little in this book which distinguishes it from the very good to excellent titles cited above.
   
   I will give Ms. Scott-Goodman some credit for organizing her chapters by major ingredient. My sense of the logical is just a bit offended when there are chapters on vegetables and beans. Beans are vegetables! That same sense is also offended by the chapter title `vinaigrettes & dressings'. Vinaigrettes are, of course, just a special type of dressing.
   
   The introduction to the chapter on `Greens' shows a remarkably myopic view of the history of salads when the author describes the archetype for the recently past salads as being a wedge of iceberg lettuce and a bottled dressing. This may have been true of many suburban midscale restaurants, but all the classics mentioned above plus many more have been around for most or all of the 20th century and people enough interest in food to look up salads in a good cookbook would have found recipes for one or more of these classics.
   
   The very first recipe in the `Greens' chapter annoys me just a bit when the first ingredient is `4 cups mixed salad greens'. For the moment, I will forget that you can find cellophane bags of `mixed salad greens' in large supermarket produce departments. Would it not have been better to specify either such a bag of greens or a list of specific greens names such as endive, frisee, arugula, and red leaf lettuce? This same recipe calls for vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, with salt and pepper being tossed in after mixing the greens with the vinaigrette. My first problem with this is that I doubt most people would associate balsamic vinegar with a `classic' mixed greens salad. Red wine vinegar is much more appropriate here, as this recipe is probably most accurately traced to the French cuisine. My second problem is why in the world would you toss in the salt and pepper instead of adding it to the vinaigrette? The very first vinaigrette recipe in the last chapter is simply oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
   
   None of these little things mean that this is a BAD book. It is simply a journeyman author's effort that includes fairly good recipes but practically nothing special. There is no spark on inspiration that gives us some extra utility. There is certainly little which justifies the book's title.
   
   All in all, for decent recipes presented in a clear manner with average to better than average photographs, I give it four stars, but suggest you look for something better unless you can get this volume for a steeply discounted price. Other books on the same subject are better. The food is good but the communication breaks down here and there.

4 comments about Vegetarian Times Cooks Mediterranean: More Than 250 Recipes For Pizzas, Pastas, Grains, Beans, Salads, And More.

1. I adore this cookbook! It is witty, fun to read, full of healthful insight and provides an excellent history not only of the regions of the Mediterranean and their culture, but how the residents of this area developed a healthy diet out of necessity. The selections are outstanding and I am enjoying this cookbook immensely. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in healthy eating, diabetics and vegetarians. I have a new found desire to live in Greece or Italy, shop at the market daily for my day's meals and work in the olive groves!



2. Friends introduced us to this cookbook, knowing that we eat vegetarian and follow the Mediterranean diet. What a joy!

   My only problem to date (I've made 4 recipes to date - our friends an additional 3 or 4) has been a major typo in one of the recipes that left me unsure how to layer a casserole. I went with my best guess, and it was very good!

   Highly recommended. Great flavors, great variety. I get tired of people saying that to not eat high-fat (especially "bad" fat) foods like burgers, fries, bacon, etc., is bland and boring and somehow to be disdained. WRONG! We eat so much better than that! and will eat even better now that we have this book.




3. I have had this cookbook about a month and made 7 recipes...they have all been wonderful! I can't wait to buy more Veggie Times cookbooks!



4. This book is truly wonderful. I love to make dishes from this cookbook all of the time. This is a "must have" for vegans and vegetarians!

3 comments about Pasta Salad: 50 Favorite Recipes.

1. Whether you are a great cook or a family-pleasing cook, looking for something "different" to serve, do pick up the "Pasta Salad" cookbook by Barbara Lauterbach. She makes it so easy, by giving you a list of 22 different kinds of pasta, how to measure them and mix them with vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. There are many delicious and different dressings that complement the salads. You will love the salads offered by her family and friends, and delightful stories about each. This is a unique touch you will find in all of Barbara's books. This is a must, to add to your favorite recipes, or send to a friend you want to impress.



2. Barbara has done it again! Something for everyone. As
   in her last 2 books (50 Potato Salads and 50 Chicken salads)she begins with her always helpful "Basics" and "Master Recipes" which even if you "know everything" are a great easy to read review and if not will certainly enhance your knowledge. From there it's great fun with a refreshinghly creative compilation of favorite new pasta greats. The photos by Reed Davis are delicious. Just can't count carbs at this level!!



3. The author of `Pasta Salad', Barbara Lauterbach, is a culinary teacher and author of two other books on traditional salad types, `Potato Salad' and `Chicken Salad'.

   This type of cookbook is always one of the easiest to add to one's collection, in that if you like the single subject of the book, you are virtually assured of making good use of the book, unlike a volume by the latest celebrity chef or latest exploration of the cuisine of a former Soviet republic.

   There are three key aspects of the book which add to its attraction. First, almost all recipes are not only fairly simple, they virtually all follow the same pattern, just like gratins, braises, and chowders. Second, although there are a lot of similarities in method, the range of tastes is broad. While French and Italian flavors are the most common, there is a strong contingent of Asian, Greek, and Latin flavors and textures from the use of Oriental noodles like udon, soba, and rice noodles. Third, since the noodles, `supporting cast' of meats and vegetables, and the dressings are so interchangeable, improvisation can take you well beyond the nominal fifty recipes in the book.

   The book begins with five master recipes for vinaigrette, mayonnaise, roasting peppers, blanching vegetables, and toasting nuts and seeds. If you have few cookbooks, these are important to have near at hand. I may have added a recipe for aioli, at least as a variation on mayonnaise.

   There are four chapters on salad recipes. The first, largest, and most interesting is on the vegetable pasta salad. The very first recipe for a salad including squash shows the variety of this dish. Other favorite and unusual ingredients are mango, jicama, pears, and peaches. As you could tell from the master recipe on roasting peppers, this is one of the author's favorite ingredients. It appears in several different vegetable recipes. The second and shortest chapter adds meat, primarily chicken. I would not be surprised to see a little borrowing from an earlier book in this chapter. The third chapter of recipes covers seafood with all the usual suspects, lobster, shrimp, anchovies, crab, tuna, and salmon. The last chapter of recipes is a catchall of recipes `from family and friends'. It is altogether fitting that this chapter ends with a recipe for the great American `retro macaroni salad' with mayonnaise, onions, bell pepper, and celery.

   The book has the contemporary `de rigeur' feature of cookbooks is a headnote which tells a story of how each recipe was developed, it's life outside this book, and how it was chosen for the book. Except for attributions of recipes to family and friends, there is no credit given to any other sources. With a pinch of skepticism, I will believe that the author developed most of the recipes. I was almost expecting to see my favorite `World's Best' pasta salad recipe done by Jamie Oliver, but these are all just as good.

   There are a few blemishes that are as much a weakness of the publisher's copy editor as of the author. One is the flip side of my pet peeve where it is said that salt must melt into the liquid of vinaigrette before adding the oil. For all the times the word `dissolve' is misused, here is a case where it is missing and it should have been used. Another blemish is an inconsistency in the amount of water specified for cooking pasta in the text and in a table. None of these are serious. I just hope that pointing them out will encourage book publishers to be more vigilant in future volumes.

   Subjects the author may wish to consider in a second edition of this book are discussions of whole wheat noodles, the impact on a carb sensitive diet from these recipes, and a bit more discussion of mayonnaise and safe storage. I do give the author very high marks for notes on the `shelf life' of the recipes. That is, which should be served cold, which should be served warm, which can be refrigerated and for how long, and which should be served immediately. You don't always get this stuff in your Wednesday newspaper culinary supplement.

   Highly recommended if you make pasta salads. Slightly pricy for fifty recipes, but the chances that you will use a large number of the recipes is very, very good. Easy for all skills and ages!

1 comments about 100 Great Salad Dressings.

1. Salads have become a much more important part of our diet, since my wife and I have made a commitment to start eating healthier. The problem was that the ingredients in most bottled salad dressings read like a toxic waste dump. They also lack any real taste to speak of. So I bought Sally Griffiths book, "100 Great Salad Dressings" and thought I'd give making our own dressings a shot. The recipes are idiot-proof. Anyone can follow them. And, so far, we have gone through nearly a dozen of them and haven't hit a dud yet. We've got about fifty cookbooks of various sorts around here and "100 Great Salad Dressings" has become one of the top three most used.

5 comments about The Best Vegetarian Recipes: From Greens to Grains, from Soups to Salads: 200 Bold Flavored Recipes.

1. Shulman has authored a number of cookbooks, and although she is a former vegetarian, she knows food and cooking and she is familiar with the goals and hopes of current day vegetarian cooks. Her latest volume represents a good overview of veg cuisine, apart from the absence of most meat substitutes likes seitan. The book contains a very good soup selection, with a variety of both simple and complex stocks upon which to build soups. There are numerous frittata recipes and good selections for winter and fall dishes, for those who want to eat seasonally. Yellow Squash and Rice Gratin and Potato and Chard Gratin stand out. Shulman presents a number of polentas. Of the vegetable dishes, Leeks in Wine is the most unique. She emphasizes freshness and flavor in each recipe. The book includes cooking tips for beginners and enough of her philosophy with food to make for interesting reading. For someone needing a basic cookbook, this would be a fine selection.



2. Because I am a fan of Marth Rose Shulman's books, especially her classics Mediteranean Light, Feasts and Fetes, and Light Basics, I decided to try her new book. I have already cooked myself delicious meals and dazzled friends with her inventive recipes.
   What is best in Shulman's books, besides the recipes of course, is her ability to describe what she is up to and to add interesting commentary. Her recipes are obviously carefully tested and, as a result, are almost foolproof. She is obviously someone who loves food and wants the rest of us to enjoy her healthy and delicious discoveries.
   A real winner.



3. I own a number of Martha Rose Shulman's cookbooks and when THE BEST VEGETARIAN RECIPES arrived, I thought, uh oh, it's a greatest hits album. It's much better than that. True, earlier versions of several of the recipes appear in her other books but all are invested with a freshness here, with the latest wisdom in method and equipment. Shulman has a Mediterranean sensibility that lends itself to all the cuisines she draws from. The dishes are earthy yet sophisticated. I've made several of the recipes and they always turn out as intended. They are satisfying even for the roast beef eaters who have turned up at my table. This is a book for weeknight dinners and to cook out of when guests are expected.



4. I've owned a number of vegetarian books, and this is probably the most well written out of them. The organization is clean, the directions clear, and recipes delicious. I've made a few of her pies and salads, and all of them came out very well. Even though there are no photos in this book, in this case it's not a problem because she's pretty specific on what end product should look/taste like.
   In terms of recipes, I find the egg/dairy, and the salad section, to be the strongest. The pies and frittatas are all delicious, and just the right amount of oil for modern taste. Ms. Schulman mentioned that she lived in France, and it is clear from her recipe selection that her cooking has been strongly influenced by French, followed by Italian, cuisine.
   
   The only serious downside to this book is that there is a shortage of legume and bean main dishes. In fact, there's only really 2 or 3 of them, and one tofu dish, with different marinade suggestions. Also, if you are looking for Indian or Thai inspired vegetarian dishes, it's best to look elsewhere. However, I suspect the reason is that this is a "Best of" book, and Ms. Schulman's main strength does not lie in that area.
   
   That being said, I still rate this a 5 because when I just have random vegetables lying in my fridge and I want to make a quick comforting dinner, nothing beats this book.



5. I own several vegetarian cookbooks, and this is one of the few I actually use. The recipes are easy to follow, delicious and nutritious. I especially love the potato and chard gratin. The only complaint I have is there aren't any pictures--a minor complaint for such a fabulous book!

2 comments about Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad, and 38 Other Wild Recipes.

1. This is the first wild-foods book I have found that is ideal for children. Preteens and young teenagers can be intimidated or overwhelmed by Billy Joe Tatum, or tuned out to the personal story flavor of Euell Gibbons. This book is so clear and so beautifully illustrated-- it is perfect to get young people involved in the foraging lifestyle. It's botanically precise, as well, to assuage the fears of worried mothers! The book is not just for young people, of course; it is a joy for foragers of all ages.



2. Simply fascinating book on ordinary plants in your own yard. Great recipes and very entertaining. I did not know you could eat half of this stuff! Wowie!

2 comments about Quick from Scratch Soups & Salad Cookbook (Quick From Scratch).

1. I love this book so much, I've purchased one for the camper, the boat, home, and have even given it as gifts. Of all the recipes in it that I've tried, 99% of them are delicious, and need very few (if any) adjustments. The salad section is great for those rough summer days when you're so hot you can't even think, let alone come up with interesting meals. Each dish is simple, and most are colorful and nice enough for guests.



2. I cook a lot, and I have a lot of cookbooks (I consider myself a foodie), and I have to say that this is, hands down, my favorite cookbook. Almost everything that I have made from here has been absolutely delicious, with a few things being, at worst, good. I use it at least twice a week and plan my meals around it. Every recipe has a picture and a wine pairing, which is a nice little bonus. Each recipe is simple and takes very little time to get on the table, but they are SOOO GOOD!!! And they're soups and salads, so you eat healthy without even realizing it, practically--another great bonus... If the other "Quick from Scratch" books are this good, I'll definitely have to check them out!

5 comments about Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century (California Studies in Food and Culture).

1. I found Perfection Salad in a used bookstore in Manhattan ten or twelve years ago. I read it, was fascinated and stirred by its tale of the psychological manipulation of women - particularly, the women who were new immigrants to America at the turn of the century. I loaned the book to someone who never returned it, and have been quoting it -- and longing to re-read it -- ever since. I have just re-ordered the "back in print" edition...Here is what is important about this book: it details an overlooked, but critical, thread in the fabric of family and community life -- a thread that was quietly pulled until the greater tapestry unraveled.



2. This highly readable, beautifully researched book provides a fascinating look into American "cuisine" circa 1850-1920. The Boston Cooking School and other institutions promoted Americanization through cooking conducted on scientific principles, although immigrants proved reluctant to give up their "coarse and unsavory" meals for triumphs of digestibility such as the following, served to President Wilson on his first day in office: "cream of celery soup, fish with white sauce, roast capon with two white vegetables, a fruit salad,and a dessert made with gelatin, custard, and whipped cream"(212). Other triumphs included a salad made of bananas and pimentos bound together with mayonnaise and whipped cream and, later, grapefruit pieces mixed with dessert mints. Often funny and always interesting, this book
   also helps readers to understand the convenience food mania of the 1950s.



3. Foodies and feminists alike should read this book. As part of the Modern Food Library reprints, chosen by Ruth Reichl (who is known for her good taste and her own laudable literary contributions - "Tender at the Bone" and "Comfort Me with Apples"), "Perfection Salad" describes all the elements present at the turn of the century that combined to forever change the way Americans view food. Food, its preparation and presentation became a female obsession in an time where the kitchen was really the only arena in which a woman could rule. The female nutritionists and cooks from that era seemed bent upon exerting control on SOMETHING, and that something turned out to be food - with sometimes terrible consequences. After reading "Perfection Salad", I understood the recipes that my grandmother (born in 1898) and my mother after her learned and served. Don't be frightened by the scholarly look of "Perfection Salad" - there are hilarious nuggets in the text - like color-themed menus (everything green and white, for example), putting everything into gelatin for the sake of "daintiness" (no messy lettuce leaves hanging out of your mouth) and covering absolutely anything and everything with "white sauce". For more laughs, peruse "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" by James Lileks in which he has gathered some of the most revolting-looking photos of the consequences of "Perfection Salad".



4. the late 19th century movement for scientific household management is an almost unbelievable amalgam of middle-class protestant social standards and religious impulses, intellectural curiosity and discipline, political thought (compare it with leninism--everything the same for everyone all the time, and the middle class knows better than the proletariat), and naivete. while having less influence on its time than its proponents would acknowledge (even when reporting its failure), the movement led, through corporate exploitation and perversion, to many of the problems with eating, cooking, and "food production" in america today. it also led to many improvements we take completely for granted.

   the author seems to be unaware that there was a comparable movement in britain. my british mother could remember horrific results from the school recipes she was forced to produce (one stew was so bad her friend's dogs refused it) and the british government published many educational pamphlets about "proper" methods of cooking, to the same indifference or resentment that met the domestic scientists' efforts.

   i was a bit disappointed that the author did not pursue the links to the Transcendental Movement, though she did mention the connection with american protestentism. of course, the attitude of the 19th century cooks (and twentieth century nutritionists) has a long history: a Classical philospher (i'm too lazy to look up his name) wrote: "a man should eat to live, not live to eat" before the christian era. the author does discuss some of the social attitudes towards women and physical pleasure and how the ideal of a woman's being without appetite encouraged the domestic scientists to ignore the actual food in the cooking process.

   while there is much to amuse in the domestic scientists' efforts and belief (and horrify--did anyone actually eat this way?), and while the author does acknowledge the dire state of production with reference to, for instance, the stock yards, i don't think she understands the appeal of predictable levening (how many of us want to make baking powder from wood ash?) preditable results (my british mother adored measuring cups and spoons--as a very short woman, she couldn't use the "two handsful of flour" recipes her family used and), and flour and sugar that are actually flour and sugar (the colonial housewife was warned by one contemporary author to make sure the sugar she bought in loaf form [and had to pulverize by hand] was not plaster of paris). the fact that 20th century corporations, especially after the second world war, {influended} their ideals into food which has caloric content without nutrition or taste should not detract from the real benefits the movement bestowed in its heyday.

   this is an enjoyable popular history. i wish there had been more analysis of the movement's origins. the book's main strengths are its demonstration of how the movement's ideals were subsumed by industry and the analysis of the attitudes of the movement's founders.

   the worst part is the description of the baked bean and celery "salad"--with dressing and whipped cream. that will live in my nightmares for years. and years.




5. This is a "must read" for anyone who fancies themself a chef, professional or home-cook. The writing is fluid and interesting, laid out in a comprehensible and sensible manner, and quite the scholarly document. Even those not intersted in cooking, but enjoy great nostalgia and history will love this book. Highly recommended as a gift where appropriate interest exists.

1 comments about The Joy of Jell-O Molds: 56 Festive recipes from the classic to the contemporary.

1. This book is great. It has all of the classic Jell-o recipes you remember from when you were a kid, like Under-the-Sea salad, rainbow molds, ribbon salad. The book also has more modern recipes for the more recently developed "sparkling" jell-o. Great color photos throughout the book.

   Jell-o desserts had fallen out of fashion over the last few years, but with the retro food craze, I think we will see a revival. This book is a great place to start. My only complaint is that I wish there were more recipes.