Customer Reviews

The Bold Vegetarian Chef: Adventures in Flavor with Soy, Beans, Vegetables, and Grains

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The recipes in this book are so easy to follow. And they're not your run-of-the-mill boring vege recipes either. This book offers a creative array of ideas and the writing couldn't be any easier to follow. The ingredients are easy to find and I couldn't be happier.

I bought this book because my vegetarian daughter's tastes have evolved beyond the usual fare offered by cookbooks for vegetarian kids or teens. Now she wants her dinner to be something worth salivating over during soccer practice. This book delivers on its promise: the recipes use readily available ingredients in innovative ways and combinations that result in memorable dishes with a ton of flavor.

Yes, we already have a dozen recipes for really nice lentil soup, so why buy this book? I mean--think hard, now--when was the last time you were truly surpised by a bowl of lentil soup? Mr Charney gives you recipes for lentil soups unusual enough to make you raise your eyebrows before you start licking the bowl. Yes, we already have a serviceable recipe for vegetarian shepherd's pie, but Mr Charney's shepherd pie puts those other pretenders to shame. Yes, we already have a teriyaki tofu recipe, but Mr Charney's teriyaki tofu is so good you'll want to raid the fridge for it at 3 AM. And so on and so on, right through the sandwiches, burgers, pastas, side dishes, salads...

The recipes do not require weird ingredients (I can get everything at my regular market or at Whole Foods), no fussy techniques, no equipment you can only get at the cooking specialty store. There are plenty of recipes that give you a great dish in 30 minutes or less, but there are also some recipes for those long, dark, bone-chilling January days when you want to spend an hour or so in a steamy and tantalizingly fragrant kitchen. The book is intuitively organized and has a good index.

When it's time to start the holiday gift shopping, I will be getting this book for all the vegetarians and parents of vegetarians on my list.

The recipes in this book are authentically appealing and full of flavor. Vegetarian food has never looked so delicious and flavorful. The food, filled with spicy, fusion flavors, is sure to tickle the palate of any vegetarian. Keeping the true vegetarian in focus, I was offered clear instructions and creative ways of cooking with soy, tempeh, and seitan.

i am a fool for owning this book for many years, and just getting around to cooking the INCREDIBLE recipes out of it. please order it, but get crackin the minute you take it out of the padded manilla folder.

as a vegan, this cookbook is my BIBLE because many of the recipes can EASILY be veganized or are already suitable for the diet, and i could really get rid of all my other cookbooks at this point. BOLD VEGETARIAN CHEF is where it's at. things i make religiously include the caramelized fennel and mung bean salad, which once made, i will dip into like it's crack. and the caramelized onion and sweet potato butter: it is versatile and SO TASTY!!!! awesome with pretzels, corn chips, and slathered on bread. the ONLY TOFU SCRAMBLE WORTH MAKING OR EATING is from the recipe in THIS cookbook. i can NOT condescend to eat any others at the vegan restaurants around here and i have pimped it out to all my veg friends. i almost had a stroke the first time i made it... ps i am very discriminating of the food i eat and have insanely high standards, and i am just floored every time i cook from this book. i include that just to emphasize how amazing this book is.....

last but not least (and here is was prompted me to get on here and WRITE THIS REVIEW for a book that should be on every vegetarian's kitchen shelf): THE TEMPEH REUBAN... i took the time to marinate the tempeh, sliced, overnight in this really special marinade (crucial step), and baked it for 15 minutes (glad i didn't do the other option of frying, as the baking seemed to perfectly mimic the consistency of corned beef). using the coleman's spicy mustard, the VEGAN RUSSIAN DRESSING on the following page (goes under the tempeh), plenty of sauerkraut, and a vegan gourmet cheese (goes over the kraut), i fried the whole sandwich which was buttered in earth balance.. i just polished it off. it was so serious it just handed me a business card. and so i'm on here freaking out.

i have not tried the recipes for seitan just because i'm in school and working a lot but they look ridiculous.... I LOVE YOU KEN CHARNEY!!!!!!!

Finally, I found what I was looking, a vegetarian cookbook full of flavor. Bland food is my nemesis, so I was very delighted when I saw his very creative style of cooking and flavorings. and so many things to choose from!!!. from reading the book my brain started briming with ideas of my own. seitan tamales, and empanadas yippy!!!. I can now return to my native hispanic flavors without having to use meat yeah!!!! Im in love with this book. Most vegetarian books out there--which are not vegan--use fat and dairy to make food tasty which to me gets boring rather fast. as one who does not want to eat meat and is also trying to loose weight the fact that he relies on herbs and spices for flavor instead of fat is very useful.

I LOVE this cookbook. It is so much better than a lot of the bland fare in vegetarian cookbooks. Charney is innovative and not afraid to spice things up. He must be a well trained, skilled cook because his recipes are far from ordinary! Everything I've made in this book so far is great. Our family loves the teriyaki tofu, the spicy tofu sald, the black bean and avocado soup and the lentil soup wtih taragon. I've given this book as a gift more than once and have really enjoyed cooking vegetarian dishes where I don't miss the meat one bit. By the way, most of the recipes in this book are actually vegan!

We've only had the cookbook for a week, but the Tempeh Reubens are amazing! Had to hold back from licking the plate.

After reading a recent review of the Bold Vegetarian Chef from "RissaRoo" I just had to respond.
I purchased Chef Charney's book several years ago, and from the start, it's been a winner. I never wrote a review but better late than never. Over the years I've created one great, bold recipe after another and many of the pages are now dog-eared and stained with food--the ultimate compliment! What's more, I had the pleasure of attending some of Chef Charney's cooking classes, which were a blast and full of great treats to eat.
So I found it quite funny how this reviewer calls the tofu scramble "disgusting." In all the classes I took with Chef Charney, and from my own experiences at home, I found his tofu scramble to be incredible. It looks and tastes as close to "real" scrambled eggs as you can get. In fact, in his "Joy of Soy" classes, the scramble was the most popular dish he demonstrated.
Considering his creative and clever use of chilies, herbs, spices, and tons of other interesting ingredients, it makes no sense that this woman would find his other recipes bland.
Besides the scramble, I highly recommend (to name just a few) the Broiled Polenta with Mushroom Ragout, Crispy Tempeh with Habenero/Yellow Pepper sauce, Seitan a la Bourguignon and Lentil Scallion Fritters with Feta.
I wanted to make sure other potential readers are not misled by "Rissaroo". It was very cool to see so many other reviewers also found the book to be tremendous.
Thank you Chef Charney!

Elise

I purchased this book because I began a vegan detox part of a diet to drop weight and get healthier. As a beginner I had no idea what to do with tofu or tempeh. Getting the BOLD Vegetarian chef book opened my eyes on how to cook with healthier foods and learning and liking new tastes. The recipes are easy to read and follow. I am now cooking and enjoying a few new recipes every week. I now cook for 5 not just one my daughters are always willing to eat with me.

I am not a vegetarian but I was looking for a vegetarian cookbook to add to my cookbook collection and to help me keep my kitchen kosher. I have made a number of the recipes and have received many compliments from my family and friends. I was really impressed with how Chef Charney wrote the book with all types of cooks in mind--from beginner to the more experienced. The variety of recipes are outstanding, easy to follow, and delicious! My favorite part of the book is called "Chef Talk," Chef Charney's personal notes and tips. The book has made my experience with vegetarian cooking simple, fresh, delicious, and uncomplicated. I highly recommend this book for any type of cook-- vegetarian or not!