Customer Reviews

Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes From The Celebrated Greens Restaurant

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I started ernestly cooking vegetarian food a couple of years ago. I have amassed a large resource of vegetarian cookbooks and recipes. The cookbook I return to often, especially when I want to make something I can depend upon, is Annie Somerville's book. Her recipes are always reliable and use ingredients that I can come by pretty easily (in the Northwest). She has taught me a lot about how to cook with recipe explanations that really tell you what you're doing without making you feel you need a chef's degree in order to pull it off. And often, when I can choose between a couple of resources to make the same thing, Annie's recipe tastes better. I wish she would put another cookbook together. Why let Deborah Madsen have all the fun?

This is the best and most reliable cookbook I own. I love it! I've had this cookbook for ten years and I've cook many recipes from it. Here are the pros/cons, depending on how you look at things:

Pros -
1. Totally delicious, reliable, interesting, creative recipes. I have made many recipes from this book. My favorites include the Mexican lentil soup, the broccoli and sundried tomato salad, the coconut banana bread (which I make often, whenever I have browning bananas), wilted spinach salad, pancakes, corn with chilies and cilantro, and there are others. The salads and soups in particular are very good and imaginative. I also love the eggplant lasagne, which I just made. It is what in fact just spurred me to write this review.

2. No tofu/tempeh/faux meat substitutions. There are people who throw every meat type substitute in a vegetarian cookbook. IMO, that's not really cooking. There is no blended silken tofu with added chocolate to make chocolate mousse, ice cream or pie. Tofu is used where it makes sense - in certain salad or noodle dishes. You won't run into much, if any, tofu at all. There is no tempeh here and no other types of out of place substitutions.

3. It's really for people who like to cook. This is not one of those 1000 vegetarian recipes books or have your dinner ready in 10 minutes books. The food here is not slop. Some recipes are relatively quick and others, like the eggplant lasagne I just made are a bit more involved. It is a collection of recipes for people who care about ingredients, want quality, and don't always mind going the extra mile to put something good on the table.

4. Not a crunchy granola, beige, 70s, tofu, co-op type of vegetarian cookbook. The recipes are inspired by the produce and tastes of California. And so it emphasizes fresh food, good food. Some of the "exotic" ingredients may bother some people. Some recipes may call for champagne vinegar or borlotti beans. A good cook knows how to substitute, but it can also be worth it to seek out unfamiliar ingredients. If you don't like that or want to do that, this is not the cookbook for you.

5. These are recipes that you can serve to others, foodies and meat eaters even, and have them be satisfied and impressed. They are presentable and people won't laugh at you. The flavors are sophisticated and deep enough.

6. Written in the 90s, but the book is not dated like so many others are. The one thing that comes to mind is the amount of cream/milk-based sauces that are in some other vegetarian or nonvegetarian books at this time. Soups like corn that would have milk in them in other places, have none in this book.

Cons

1. Sometimes it seems like Annie thinks we're all living in Napa Valley or Bay Area with access to the most exotic, varied, or finest products. For instance, a recipe might call for Blue Lake green beans. Why can't she just say green beans? You can get Blue Lakes at Trader Joes or farmer's markets but I've never seen them anywhere else. I live in Los Angeles and can get lots of things but sometimes she puts too fine a point on things. Like I've said before, if you're a good/experienced cook, you'll just use the regular kind if you don't have access or substitute in some way. If not, you'll run around town looking for Blue Lakes (like I did when I first bought this book). Her eggplant lasagne called for fresh pasta sheets. It can be made with dried, which I've done, but I used fresh this time around. It's like 'earth to Annie.' But, she's entitled to her standards. You just need to work around them sometimes.

2. She doesn't really do shortcuts or convenience too much. I know I said it's a pro, but it can also be a con. For instance, some of her soup recipes will call for fresh marjoram, thyme, etc for stock or for the actual soup. Sometimes I'm just like, I'm not going to the store to pay $2 for a bunch of thyme when I'm only gonna use one sprig. She won't say, just use the dried. You make almost every part of the recipe yourself, which can be good.

3. If you need pictures and photographs to cook, don't buy this book. Please. You will be disappointed because there are none - except for the odd line drawing you'll see. Like I've said, it's not really a beginner cookbook in that way. It's not a con for me, but for others it is.


Sorry about the long review but with all the vegetarian books out there, I just had to chime in after all of this time to say that this is one of the best. But, it's for someone who knows how to cook I think. It's not for an absolute beginner cook. But this is the book that showed me that I could be vegetarian and a foodie.

I don't use much of this cookbook, although it might all be good. I'm recommending it on the basis of the soups, some of which are spectacular. Soups were not in my repertory prior to this book and "The Greens", as recipes frequently turned out flavorless. However,I've made a soup every week or two - using one of these two books - every since "discovery" of them 5 years ago. They might not be easy, but they're very flavorful, interesting and healthy and you can use good purchased organic stock in many cases to cut down the time (else you'll be at it all day, between stock and soup). Some of my favorites from this book are Palak Shorva (Curried Spinach Soup with Toasted Coconut), Winter Greens Soup (a kale/chard/spinach extravaganza), and Morrocan Lentil Soup.

I've also tried some of the curries, and they've been good (although again, fairly time consuming...processing all those vegetables takes a lot of time).

Chapters are: Salads; Soups; Pasta and Risotto; Pizza; Curries and Stews; Gratins; Tarts, Fritters and Savory Cakes: Turnovers, Filo and Tortillas; Companions dishes: Vegetables, Beans and Gratins; Frittatas, Omelets, and Scrambled Eggs; Sandwiches; Breads; Sauces; Morning Breads and Pancakes; Desserts; Condiments.

Whenever I serve a dish prepared from a recipe in this book I get RAVE reviews. Though the recipes can be time consuming and require unusual ingredients the results are well worth the effort. My all time favorite is the avocado/mango salad in citrus vinaigrette. Great during the hot southwestern summers.

After a marvelous dinner at Greens Restaurant, when I visited San Francisco recently, I couldn't wait to buy this cookbook. It's wonderful, not only for the ingredients featured and the imagination of its cook/writer, but because the recipes are accurate. (And unusual for Vermont, where I live,) but was delighted to discover that I could find all the ingredients called for (with the exception of flagelot beans). The recipes are a delight for both cook and guests. There is a definite "lightness of being" to the food, a great treat for people who gird up for the long winter months here by eating heavy

Everything I've made from this book has been exceptional. I will agree that the recipes can be time consuming, but well worth the effort. Just made the Artichoke & Leek Lasagna yesterday - fabulous. Another favorite dish is the Winter Vegetable Curry with Pineapple Chutney!!! This is a great way to get more vegetables into your diet and really enjoy it. I highly recommend this book.

I can't applaud this cook book enough. In fact, I've never written a review in my life, but felt compelled after last night's simple corn & potato chowder. I use this book more than any other in my collection. Even my boyfriend, who rarely eats vegetarian, agrees that this is a great cook book. Somerville knows how to balance ingredients just right. And I especially love her blurbs about ingredients and how they can be used. She also recommends complementary recipes which helps when planning a meal. All cooks, even non-vegetarians, would benefit from this cookbook.

Great recipes in thi s book - I made the potato, leek and fennel gratin last night and was compelled to write a review today. The recipes are interesting, new combinations that I wouldn't have thought of (for example the ptotaos and fennel from last night's dinner). And oh so tasty. I highly recommend this book

Don't remember how I stumbled onto this book about 10 years ago, but I'm sure lucky I did. Not only is it my favorite cookbook, it's probably my favorite book just because I use it more than any type of book and it's provided consistently amazing results. My parents say I'm a really good cook, I don't really think so. But this book consistently turns out food that I actually WANT TO EAT, tastes like something from a really good restaurant, and is simple enough to produce. For example, I actually used several recipes from Field of Greens on a camping trip where I fed 28 people. Everybody was so quiet while eating, I thought "great, people don't like the food". My anxiety at their silence overwhelmed and I asked "why is everyone so quiet? Is there something wrong with the food, please be honest and tell me." I was shocked when the response was 28 crazy positive responses of everything from "I'm too busy eating this awesome food to talk", "I'm trying to eat fast so I can get more before anyone else finishes", to "this is the best food I've ever had camping, it's like restaurant food". One guy came up afterwards and said it was the best food he'd ever had, not just camping. I am not making this up, people! I need to get a new copy of the book because my copy is so worn out. I don't always follow the recipes exactly like when I don't have fresh herbs or something and substitute, but the recipes always still turn out just fine. My only complaint would be I'd love to see this in a vegan version (still looking for truly humane sources of dairy and eggs).

some of the recipes are long in terms of ingredients, but they are fabulous, consistent, and delicious. the leek and olive tart is always a winner with all and the japanese vegetable pancakes are great. the pizza dough is one that i've used for a long time and produces great results. it's definitely worth owning if you like food and cook.