Customer Reviews

The Moosewood Cookbook

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Absolutely fabulous recipies that are extremely simple to prepare. The names of the vegetarian dishes are inventive and somehow make the recipes really come to life.

If you're like me, you like eating healthy and great-tasting food, but dread food preparation time and following hundreds of directions and end up missing a crucial step that ruins the dish. Some people are born with a gift for whipping up recipes from their own imaginations, but I'm not one of those people.

The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars from me is that it should have been spiral bound. It's almost impossible to keep the book open on a kitchen counter unless you put heavy objects (very heavy) on both pages or you go an buy one of those gizmos that hold books open.

Nonetheless, this is my favorite recipe book. My kitchen is full of them, but this is the only one that almost never has any dust on it like the other ones. :-)

First published in 1977, this classic vegetarian cookbook still has the same charm and warmth of hand-drawn pictures and handwritten recipes, and now it also has bright color photos interspersed among the familiar pages. There are 30 new recipes, and many of the old ones have been rewritten, since, as the author describes, her cooking has become "more streamlined in preparation-and lighter in `weight' while richer in flavor" over the years. The oil content has been pared down and only 15 recipes include eggs. Tips for "dairy reduction or substitutions" are included, so this version will probably appeal more to the vegan set. Also included: pantry notes, recommended tools for the kitchen and a table of conversions.

I purchased the Moosewood Cookbook last summer, during one of my many attempts to revive the "health" level of my diet. I'm so glad that I added this book to my collection.

The recipes use a wide variety of ingredients. So, you'll never get bored if you cook from it on a regular basis. The variety in the collection also allows you to make use of fruits and vegetables that are in season throughout the year.

The time required to prepare most dishes is under an hour. This makes the book ideal for weekday cooking, a time when most of us should be eating better, but don't due to busy schedules. I made the vegetable chowder for dinner last night. I needed about an hour total. The result was a delicious, healthy, lowfat meal in a bowl. Perfect for a hectic Wednesday.

Finally, I'd like to say that everything I've cooked from this book has tasted FABULOUS! I haven't missed the fat. I love the fresh ingredients, particulary the use of herbs. And I love the fact that I'm eating healty food that also tastes wonderful.

Hats off to Mollie Katzen and the Moosewood crew. This book is a godsend.

I loved the original Moosewood cookbook. I had borrowed it from a friend and cooked with it often. When I bought the new version, I was quite surprised at the changes in the recipes. The recipes had lowered the fat and upped the sugar content. That's good you might say - well I didn't know too many fat vegetarians in the 70's. Good fats from eggs butter and cream - satisfy your hunger plus give you good nutrition. Sorry to say these revised recipes are just not as good as the old ones. I am very disappointed in this version. Plus the new photos take out the charm of the book.
I do recommend buying the original version used if you can find it.

I don't like to cook. It bugs me. But I love to eat. I'm a strict vegan, and the only one in my family, so its hard to find good food to eat. To be honest, I don't like tofu much more than the average schmo, and I like to eat entrees that actually has flavor, not something like a slimy "healthy" greens salad you'd be served on an airplane. If you can relate to me, you can appreciate the New Moosewood Cookbook. The recipes in this book are meatless and pretty low-fat, but I'm sure you can add something meat-based to them if you wanted to. The recipes are simple, and they taste good. They are recipes you wouldn't mind giving up so time to make. One of my favourites was the Lentil-Bulgar salad. Instead of the refrigerated tabouli like version, I just ate it fresh and warm. It was so good I scarfed it all in about two days, a total of 12 hours, and I made enough for the average household. Lentil-Bulgar Salad and the other recipes in the book are that good. Even non-vegetarians enjoy her recipes. Thank you, Mollie.

This cookbook might be a good introduction to vegetarian cooking, but I prefer the "old" version of this cookbook, although that one was a bit heavy on more fattening ingredients (cheeses, for example). The "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home" might be a better choice for someone who doesn't already have a Moosewood Cookbook, or who is looking for a beginner vegetarian cookbook. Still, it's worth having on your cookbook shelf if you don't have the original version, and already have started your veg cookbook collection with other cookbooks.

Look, all I wanted to do was start eating more vegetables, and this book is getting me to do just that. All the recipes are easy; very few call for ingredients I can't find in rural Nebraska; and, most importantly, everything tastes *wonderful*. Do NOT assume that only vegetarians will find this book useful.

In college, I was a summer intern at an international school and one of my jobs was to prepare lunch for 30+ people who came from all over the world. I wasn't going to just put out cold cuts, so I found this cookbook on a shelf in the kitchen. I recognized it because my mother often used it and so I knew the recipes were vegetarian-friendly and healthy. But I had no clue how to cook (the only thing I knew how to do was to boil water for pasta)! That summer, I made the ratatouille, spanikopita, carrot-mushroom loaf, gazpacho...basically most of the dishes! This book is fabulous; a great step-by-step guide. It is very basic and the directions are clear and simple. Everything is spelled out. I had no clue how to cook and I learned by using this book. At the end of the summer, the head of the school toasted me for "the best lunches in the history of the program." Thank you Moosewood! ps: and these dishes pleased everyone from France, Japan, Russia, Bulgaria, and Italy!

A friend gave me this cookbook six years ago and I have tried nearly every recipe. This began my collection of vegetarian cookbooks, namely those from this author (Mollie Katzen) and the Moosewood Collective. I highly recommend it--it is easy to follow, has a lot of great information about ingredients, and the recipes all are delicious! The only drawback is that some of the recipes are time-consuming, but each recipe has an estimated time for its preparation and cooking. This is very helpful, especially if you are cooking for company. If you are vegetarian, this is a MUST for your collection. If you are not, it's a great cookbook to have anyway. Treating non-vegetarian friends to these recipes has often resulted in their reconsidering their eating habits!

I've had this cook book for about 9 years now and have cooked nearly every recipe in it. It's easy to follow and the recipes are delicious. Each recipe has an estimated preparation and cooking time which is a great way to gauge the intensity of what you're in for before you start. I'd highly reccomend this book for beginers as well as more advanced cooks. Katzan explains each step in clear and easy langauge and also adds hints for where to obtain some of the more exotic ingredients. I've gotten so used to cooking some of the dishes that I've begun experimenting by substituting ingredients and seasonings. This cookbook includes dairy and eggs so it's not for vegans, but if you are ok with dairy and eggs then it's a good source.