Customer Reviews

Heaven's Banquet : Vegetarian Cooking for Lifelong Health the Ayurveda Way

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before this book, I'd be a devoted Ayurvedic cook for about one week and then fall off the wagon when I got bored "eating Indian" at every meal. Hospodar's recipies are varied (providing Ayurvedic versions of well-loved dishes from around the world) and their flavours and seasonings diverse (even finding favour with my non-vegetarian husband who claims the Moussaka on p. 96 is the "best dish" I make). Other family faves--scones, paella, squash with wild rice succotash, dal II, chili (be prepared for a taste surprise--it's not your traditional chili, but if I don't call it "chili" I always get compliments on the unique seasonings in this dish). Not only are the recipes simple to make, they're also easy to adapt, allowing even the non-experimental cook like me the joy of substituting ingredients and still having it turn out okay!

Hospodar's introduction to Ayurveda is an adequate first overview, but those interested will learn more about this ancient practice by reading Robert Svoboda or Nancy Lonsdorf's books. I also found a better background on Ayurveda in the first Morningstar cookbook (although her recipes, while delicious, are pretty much all "Indian" in taste).

I recommend this over any other Ayurvedic cookbook--and I've used several over the past 8 years. These recipes allow practitioners of Ayurveda to eat standard fare ("what's available elsewhere") without straying from a path to good health and balance. No need to be suspect of this review: I was introduced to this book at a panchakarma retreat so can't be counted as a friend or relative--just a grateful reader!

Hospodar has produced a vegetarian cookbook that executes a rare triple play: incredibly delicious recipes, healthful, and very entertainingly written text. As well as giving us many unusual dishes, the author has a knack for taking popular dishes, and giving them a twist that makes them something very special. For example, I've enjoyed the middle Eastern spread Hummus for many years, but found myself in hummus hog heaven when I tried her recipe which uses cashews and coconut. This book also imparts such valuable cooking knowledge, I find myself making up my own recipes as well as using hers, armed with my new-found knowledge of spice combinations and cooking techniques. Finally, this book is one great read! Check out "The Ten Commandments Of Bean Cookery" and you'll see this is a book for the living room chair as well as the kitchen.

I have been a serious cook for over fifty years and have a large cookbook collection. I love to read cookbooks for pleasure as well as resources for recipes. Hospodar's book is one of the very best reads - informative, imaginative, marvellously workable, delicious recipes and very funny as well. It is also visually beautiful. You don't even have to be a vegetarian to find the recipes exciting.

My partner and I have tried over a dozen recipes in this book and everytime they work like a charm. I feel like a gourmet cook when I use it. It is true the Ayurvedic classifications are not as clear as Morningstar's Ayurvedic cookbook, but I find myself reaching for Miriam's whenever I want to try a new recipe. My partner scoffed at me when I told her this is all the cookbook we'll need. Now she is a believer.

Thank you Miriam.

Update: After communicating with Miriam, I now understand why she avoids classifying meals by dosha. Single food items are easy to classify by dosha, but when they are combined the net result is not easy to classify by dosha. ** She recommends using the eight-pointed guideline on page five to determine what works best for the individual.

I was so excited when I signed this book out from the local library. I read through it with such enthusiasm and excitement and couldn't wait to start applying some of the Ayurvedic principles to my already whole foods diet. Well, my enthusiasm started to fade, then flicker when I started preparing her recipes. The recipes looked good on paper, but the finished product was bland in flavor and lacking in depth. Her overzealous approach of ghee, sugar, white flour and salt floored me. I will not even begin to list the host of medical problems that may ensue if this book was cooked from on a regular basis. Does a cookie recipe really need 2 cups of sugar? Must all of her bread and cookie recipes use white flour? Why not use more whole and natural foods - brown rice syrup for sweetener, spelt flour for the white flour, etc. I tried so hard to make this book work for me (I have tried over thirty recipes), but to no avail. Thankfully, I am not letting this book undermine my new found passion in Ayurveda. I will be looking elsewhere for inspiration for an Ayurvedic diet.

Heaven's Banquet has a recipe format that I've never seen before, that makes the instructions very easy to follow. Every recipe I've tried has come out perfectly and is utterly scrumptious. I feel that this is the last cookbook I'll ever need to buy. It has everything I need to make healthy and delicious meals--two concepts that don't usually fit together! also, Miriam Hospodar has a wonderful sense of humor that makes reading and using the book a lot of fun, and makes the serious knowledge it contains go down easy.

This is no ordinary cookbook! In addition to giving hundreds of scrumptious-sounding (yet easy to prepare, thank God!) recipes , it provides interesting and very useful information about such things as how to store and prepare various beans, grains, vegetables, herbs, etc., fascinating histories about various foods, what types of cookware are best, etc. etc. And it is so entertainingly written (including quotes about food from the famous and others sprinkled throughout), I find myself sometimes sitting down with it like a favorite novel. What makes it really stand out the most, however, is its description of the ancient science of health, Ayurveda. Finally, there is a system that defines "health food" as something more than "fat-free"! The beginning of the book includes the comprehensive but simple Ayurvedic system of body types and what foods are good for each. It also points out that other factors like how fresh the food is, how happy the cook is, and how settled you are when you eat also affect how healthy the food is for you. This cookbook should be the bible of every cook (and non-cook!) who wants to enjoy food that is both yummy and healthy.

I have accumulated many recipe books over the years. What most impressed me about "Heaven's Banquet" is that it is much more than a cookbook. It presents a philosophy of life and a philosophy of cooking and eating that create health by bringing mind, body, spirit and environment together. The author's warmth, humor and excellent writing style make this fascinating knowledge easy to understand and absorb. The recipes are easy to follow and scrumptious! I will be reading, thinking about, and using this book for a long, long time.

I've been utilizing ayurvedic principles in cooking for over 20 years and this is by far my favorite ayurvedic cookbook. Ms. Hospodar has a wide range of cuisines she draws from, not just Indian, and a great wit and charming way of sharing her wealth of ayurvedic wisdom. My understanding is that she worked on this book for many years perfecting every aspect until it was "cooked to perfection". I have a shelf full of good cookbooks but Heaven's Banquet is the main one that I use day in and day out.

As you can guess from my name, I'm related to the author - I'm her brother. Though this review has an admittedly built-in bias, I thought I'd let you know something about the years of work and dedication that went into this book, and why I think Heaven's Banquet would bring cooking and eating pleasure to people with diverse food preferences. Ever since she was a child, the author has been cooking family meals. She was always an adventurous cook, trying out different recipes on our family when it was her night to cook. Cooking and seeing people enjoy a good meal seems to be in her blood. At 17, she became a vegetarian and then in her early 20's, took a professional interest in cooking. This interest took her to several countries, working as a hotel chef. Everywhere she went, she picked up ideas and recipes, and in 1980 wrote her first cookbook. Heaven's Banquet was first conceived as a revision of that first book, but in time, took on a life of its own, incorporating the author's almost 20 years of cooking, travelling, and teaching experience since then. Several precepts have always been a part of her cooking. 1. The health of the person one cooks for is important. 2. Recipes should be easy to follow, and work. 3. Cooking is a creative act. More than merely printing recipes, her book gives you the knowledge and freedom to create your own recipes and cooking style. Heaven's Banquet is, then, the culmination of a lifetime of cooking, learning and experimenting, world travel, and a burning passion for delicious, healthful eating. Heaven's Banquet contains recipes from all over the world. Whether or not you're a vegetarian (I'm not), this book's recipes are just downright delicious! Lastly, her non-preachy personality and great humor are evident in her writing. Heaven's Banquet is a pleasure to read!