The Adaptable Feast: Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table [Paperback]

Ivy Manning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

After marrying a vegetarian, meat-lover Ivy Manning developed a collection of recipes that each had a "fork in the road" to a few vegetarian servings of a meaty dish or a few omnivore servings of a vegetarian dish. Over the years, the author has assembled a diverse and delicious array of recipes from cuisines worldwide that are flexible enough to accommodate everyone at the table. Typical entries in this beautifully illustrated cookbook include elegant Japanese Eggplant and Halibut with Miso Glaze, and a sumptuous Spaghetti Carbonara for gourmands of all persuasions.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Pity the well-meaning host who invites friends for an evening dinner only to find that some guests are vegetarian, some eat no seafood, some eat only red meat, and some are vegan. Too often the cook then must prepare three or four different meals to satisfy guests’ demands. Manning comes to the rescue with a clever cookbook. Each basic recipe has a stopping point in its process where a quantity of the dish is set aside to feed the vegetarians before any meat products go in. In some cases, the meat-free portion is then enriched with the addition of beans or tofu. For the vegan, Manning indicates which ingredients may simply be left out altogether. She turns to meat substitutes, such as seitan, as advice on ensuring that vegans get sufficient complete proteins for sound nutrition. --Mark Knoblauch

Review

Praise for The Adaptable Feast by Ivy Manning "The Adaptable Feast--what a great idea and what a helpful one, too, for there are many households that include both vegetarians and carnivores. This smart book takes the struggle out of trying to figure o

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570615837
• ISBN-13: 978-1570615832
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #700,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Manning offers a solid selection of recipes, October 27, 2009

By 

Christine Emming "christinereads [dot] com" (Denver, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Adaptable Feast: Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table (Paperback)

As I am vegetarian and my husband an omnivore, the title of Manning's book hooked me like a noose. Who wouldn't want to quickly (and with excellent results, no less) adapt a meal for every eater at the table? I rushed to order a copy of The Adaptable Feast: Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table by Ivy Manning, knowing full well it couldn't be done. But, hey, I wished to be proven wrong.

Maybe a less confidant cook would need to be told how to make a vegetarian meal and then add roasted chicken as a finishing touch. I certainly do not. So let's just say I was disappointed with the recipes at first review. What won me over is how Manning balances protein and calories for both the meat and veg dishes in the recipe. Rather than re-imagining the entire dish and ending up in unfamiliar territory, she substitutes veg ingredients, adjusts the recipe, and continues to make the dish with flavors you'll recognize. Easy peasy, or at least it seems that way.

Pad thai to potpie, the major plus to this book is the world cuisine it offers up to both vegetarians and meat eaters. With a slew of fragrant spices, the Vegetable and Chicken Korma with Cashews smells and tastes authentic. A true weekend recipe with multiple steps, Moussaka with Lamb or French Lentils is a masterpiece of slow cooking that you'll savor, even if -- like me -- you're too tired to make it ever again.

Particularly exciting to me are recipes that don't include any variations at all, like the ingenius Indian Spaghetti Squash Cakes with Yogurt Raita, or a one-dish dinner of Quinoa-Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes with Romesco Sauce, or the doubly nutty Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage and Walnut Brown Butter. I'm being generous if I say that a quarter of the recipes can easily be made vegan, though Manning's single dessert is chocolate vegan cake with vanilla frosting in a lilting recipe that sounds like a gathering dream. Yes, there's a photo of that one, folks.

Some of the recipes are a bit long and definitely not for beginning cooks, but overall Manning offers a solid selection of recipes to appease a variety of palates.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adaptable, and Awesome!, November 16, 2009

By 

Sarah J. Denman "reading junkie" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Adaptable Feast: Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table (Paperback)

Looking for fresh, modern, health-conscious recipes? Ivy Manning pulls together the concepts tidily in this beautifully rendered cookbook. The recipes are tasty and highly adaptable, and really show the author's understanding of the kind of kitchen challenges we all face (what DO you do with a big bunch of greens from the Farmer's Market that you bought on impulse?)

Ivy's style and humor shine through, and the whole sum is a lovely easy to read cookbook that provides simple, tasty recipes that will keep them coming back for more. Highly recommended to all 'vores (omni, carni and herbi!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy!, November 20, 2009

By 

Rob Etzel (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adaptable Feast: Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table (Paperback)

The Adaptable Feast is a unique and smart idea for a cookbook. You certainly don't need have a vegetarian in the house -- I'm not -- to appreciate the tasty selections in this book. The photography alone is enough to crank up your appetite!

So far my favorite recipe is the "Gooey Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Tomatoes." I'm a mac-n-cheese snob and this is by far the best I've come across (sorry mom!) In fact, I've made it three times already.

Don't hesitate to add this book to your kitchen collection. You are likely to find recipes you'll want to make again and again.