Customer Reviews

Greens and Grains on the Deep Blue Sea: Fabulous Vegetarian Cuisine from the Holistic Holiday at Sea Cruises

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

 

 

This cookbook has a very clean and nautically-inspired feel. My first impression made me feel at ease as I flipped through the pages, primarily looking at the recipe titles and admiring the tight yet whimsical format. Unfortunately, on my second pass through, to mark recipes that I wanted to trial, I started feeling a bit frustrated.

This cookbook was created by natural foods expert Sandy Pukel and chef Mark Hannah, as a collection of the most popular vegetarian recipes served on the Holistic Holiday at Sea cruises. Having heard about the reputation of these cruises, I have no doubt that these recipes will produce delicious results, keep that in mind. However, I am not sure how many of them I will actually trial myself. Possibly a few, with time, but I will definitely have to go to the store first, with a sizable food budget prepared.

Each recipe seemed to have at least one, if not more, ingredient that I don't readily have on hand, and because the recipes were not ones I was intimately familiar with, I didn't feel comfort leaving the ingredients out in most of the cases. I usually trial recipes before ever writing a review, but I am not really sure when I will pick up the book, find a recipe I actually have all of the ingredients for, that sounds good at the time of course, and make it.

Also, this cookbook desperately (can not emphasize this enough) needs an ingredient guide. I am fortunate enough to be familiar with many Asian, natural food, and macrobiotic-type ingredients, but even I would be stumped as to where to find the arame, Hokkaido squash, or lotus root; I honestly don't quite know the difference between kombu, wakame, and hijiki (they're all types of seaweed right?); and two years ago I wouldn't have had the faintest idea what umeboshi vinegar, shoyu, kuzu, aduki beans (okay, I've still never actually seen them), or agar were. Also, my local grocery stores don't carry Belgian endives or heads of radicchio with any regularity.

It would be easy to produce an entire chapter just to explain the new-to-many and hard to find ingredients in this cookbook. Yet I couldn't even find a simple mention in any of the recipe notes on these less than common ingredients. I later read on the back cover that it is a "user-friendly cookbook" that even the novice cook will enjoy successfully. While I completely agree that the recipes have easy-to-follow instructions, I think the novice cook (particularly if they aren't already into macrobiotics) might be less than familiar with many of the foods used, and need some introductions.

I feel as though this cookbook was created for a few specific groups: those who have been on the Holistic Holiday cruises and would love to recreate the food at home; macrobiotic enthusiasts; and those who already purchase a very wide range of natural foods, seasonings, and produce (and have a good sized food budget) and who love to experiment with (and have time to look up and locate) new ingredients. If you fit into one of these groups, then I definitely think this cookbook may be worth a look as many of the recipes do sound interesting, it has a delightful layout, and for health enthusiasts, it has a definite macrobiotic flare.

After many years of collecting and sampling vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, I have finally found "the one!" The ingredients are easily obtainable, simple, nutritious, and lean. Yet the recipes are definitely cruise-ship quality, and consistently good. For once, I consider it a worthwhile goal to systematically try every recipe in this book. The only improvement would be photos of finished products. I hope for a sequel.

I purchased this book for a friend who has cancer and is mostly a vegetarian and is looking for tempting things to cook (she does eat fish). She has tried several of the soup recipes and has called me to tell me how she and her daughter, have enjoyed them. I am very pleased I purchased this book for her and I know that she is thrilled to have it.

Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn and T. Colin Campbell's names were mentioned in articles associated with this book, but neither doctor would recommend any use of oil in cooking food. The recipe that was isolated was millet croquettes with tofu tartar sauce: 1/3rd of a cup of olive oil was recommended in the tartar sauce, and 2 tablespoon in the croquettes. The problem is, according to Dr. Esselstyn's research at the famous cardiac hospital the Cleveland Clinic, even one spoonful of oil, even virgin, virgin olive oil (which is supposed to be heart healthy but which is not) will dissolve the epithelial lining of the arteries. After this damage, our white blood cells will sacrifice their lives diving after the oil, and gobble it up like PacMan, bloating into a foam cell, which is a first stage of cancer. When one uses oil, one is pouring gasoline on a disease's fire. Better to not use oil at all. One gets enough of good fats in a plant-based diet that has no clarified oils in it. Dfr. Esselstyn's book, "How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" uses the word cure on the cover, as long as one uses no oils. If Sandy removes the oil, the book would have merit.

The author, Sandy Pukel, has included in this book many of the recipes served on the Holistic Holiday at Sea Cruises. I will be going on my 3rd cruise in March. The food has been proven statistically to improve health. This is the only book that allows the 1,100 or more participants to enjoy the meals served at sea and then, go home and cook those same meals. It's important to know this cruise isn't just about eating, there are the usual excursions, and so many classes presented by international speakers one can't begin to get to every class they want to attend. Yoga and Qigong starts at 7 am. Quantum breathing happens throughout the day. You might be surprised how many celebrities have chosen one of the presented lifestyles. Sandy Pukel is one of the main planners. I'm a recipient of significant improved health. Yeah!!