Customer Reviews

The Adventure Cookbook: A Transformational Food Journey from the Australian Bush to the Vines of Provence

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a fabulous, fun and informative adventure! How I envy Sophia and admire her love of life and sense of adventure! I'm ordering this for all my daughters and plan to read it again myself. Fun, fun, fun with delicious and easy recipes!

Martha Smith

I thoroughly enjoyed this interesting unique book. It was recommended to me by my daughter and after reading it, I can fully understand why she enjoyed it so much. From the very beginning, I was hooked by the interesting writing style. Couldn't wait to find out how the adventure was going to unfold. I actually read the beginning part to my husband on a car trip...and now he even wants to read it! I can't wait to try some of the neat recipes; I want to make my own yogurt! I must say I've never had a cookbook that I wanted to read cover to cover ...so many interesting tidbits to make you smile again and again! What an interesting change of pace. Definitely a keeper!

I enjoyed reading this Adventure Cookbook, the author is a great story teller. I like to read in Spanish most of the time, so when I read in English it has to be extremely entreating. So therefore I think this book is absolutely fascinating, when I started reading I could not stop until the end, I read the whole thing in one night. Never mind about "Eat, Love and Pray" . Sofia's book is much more entertaining, and at the same time I found the cook book to be loaded with easy to follow recipe instructions and descriptions. I work really long hours and I don't have time to cook for myself. As a single woman in the corporate world I also really related to Sofia when she wrote about her former career. This book was a real wake up call for me, it put my life in perspective. I highly recommended this book to all my friends for the fun, funny stories and for the healthy and original recipes.

Other reviewers have raved about the adventures--I want to rave about the recipes! For the last three years, I have been on a quest to learn to cook "clean and green". In the process, I have bought dozens of vegan cookbooks from Amazon and cooked hundreds of healthy meals. I have to say, Sofia's recipes are really delicious and easy to prepare. So far, I have cooked four things: the Tartine with Eggplant, the Rockin' Rocket Salad, the Penne Provencal, and the Thai Green Curry Provencal. They were all very tasty and perfectly seasoned. My only comment is that even though she says each recipe should serve four people, they are so good that four hearty eaters will be fighting for their share. You've been warned! Enjoy.

I saw my mom reading The Adventure Cookbook and it amazed me to see her reading it for hours knowing that she gets sleepy after reading for more than half an hour. I asked her what is in this book that attracted her so much and she answered that she loved this book because the writer, Sofia Brandon, has a unique, clear and inviting way in describing her exotic six year journey around the world and also mixing it with delicious and healthy recipes.

I started to read the first chapter and to my surprise I found myself reading the book until the end. Her descriptions of her experiences have depth yet at times are funny and insightful. I admit that I have tried some of the delicious recipes especially the olive oil dishes. Its a fun and light read that will inspire you to try the recipes and perhaps even finding yourself booking a flight to one of the regions that she describes.

Who ever reads a cookbook from cover to cover? I don't. "The Adventure Cookbook" on the other hand was oh, so different! The recipes in this book is like the dessert you can't say no to, after a great meal. Each chapter "literally" takes you on a journey like no other, and tops it off with a recipe that's reminiscent of the author's experiences in Dharamsala, India or at the Chateau in Provence, France to the streets of Thailand.
The author takes you around the world on her travels from one country to the next; reliving with the reader, the experience of each journey, the spiritual enlightenments and the lessons learned form embracing another way of life, from following your dreams and living your life's desires. The recipes, I find, are an added bonus.
Her travels awakens the traveler in each reader with a desire for more, yet, in some way manages to leave you with a tangible gift from every region - a recipe that will transport your taste buds and imagination to France, or Australia or India - if you please.
For the millions who read "Eat, Pray and Love", you will absolutely love "The Adventure Cookbook". It's as much uplifting, as it is inspirational. It's surprisingly funny and witty. Simply put, within the walls of "The Adventure Cookbook", get ready for a life experience, one that appeals to all the senses, and then quenches your yearning desires with a unique, yet, tasty recipe.

Sofia Brandon's The Adventure Cookbook makes us dream of what might have been if we had the nerve, brains, and the ability to free ourselves of all obligations. Her many destinations are described in a way that we can thoroughly enjoy them. She brings us there with her. I recommend that others join her by reading her book.

Thad Andress
Minden, Louisiana

I don't love to cook so the part I liked the most was the humor that was in the stories in every chapter. I nearly died laughing when I read the story of her grandmother cooking meatballs. Sofia makes fun of herself and the comedy kept me interested. There is a very serious message about how we eat and about living healthy.

At first you assume from the title that this is a cookbook, but once you start reading, you can't stop! It's so cool how the stories are blended with recipes, it was like a friend teaching me how to cook healthy, but leaving me the freedom to create new stuff on my own. The tone of the book felt like it came from the heart, not from a rule book. The author didn't go to cooking school, she learned when she was trying to heal herself the natural way, through food. And I feel that if she can do it, I can do it.

I loved the descriptions of the places where Sofia has been. I could picture them all so vividly, it was like watching a movie.

I loved the chapter about lunch in Provence. Not just the delicious food she describes, but taking the time to enjoy a meal, savor the flavors and relax and enjoy life. The part about breaking the rules in the kitchen gave me easy, fun ideas to create an exciting dinner/lunch without having to spend lots of money.

I also got a sense for what kind of person the author is. She seems kind, extremely adventurous, willing to learn and fearless about taking risks to live a happier life. This book is so inspiring because her travels remind me of how fun life can be.

I just watched that new Julia Child movie, and I loved it too, but I can't cook or even eat like that. I think it's an illusion that we can eat the kind of food in that movie and still feel healthy. This book reminds you that eating healthy has everything to do with feeling healthy and happy.

At the end of the book, I was left wanting to know more about this author. I will definitely keep up with her through the book website.

Do yourself a favor and read this delightful book. It made me wish that I had traveled more when I was young. Sophia is funny, clever and also a good cook. What more could you want? I started it the day that it arrived and did not put it down. Don't miss out!

What an amazing book in its simplicity and its reach. The author takes us on a journey with long stopovers in Italy, Provence, India and places I never thought I wanted to visit. At first you think it's all about food, then you see that the journey is also about finding herself after she left a high-pressure life. It's a smart book without trying to be smart, which is the best kind of smart for me. For instance, I learned lots of things about health, nutrition and cooking without feeling I was being taught. In fact the experience was more that of a James Bond movie. Sofia Brandon's tone fun, gentle, so approachable you can almost touch her. Sofia Brandon reminds me a bit of Robyn Davidson in Tracks, another adventure of a woman trying to find herself. That book has been on my bookshelf for twenty years. Sofia Brandon's book is going to be one of my new classics, it's so inspirational.