116 of 117 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Recipes good but overly complicated, layout of book poor, December 31, 2007
This review is from: The New Whole Grain Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains (Paperback)
I got this book the day it came out and I've probably used it twice. I'm of the feeling that you can't have enough recipes which make use of whole grains, especially the less common ones like quinoa, amaranth and farro. Yet when I feel like cooking whole grains, I find myself reaching for Rebecca Wood's "The Splendid Grain," which has, to my taste, better info and recipes and a much better layout. Don't get me wrong, I've liked what I've cooked from this book, but don't find it all that inspiring. As an example, the quinoa paella is quite good, but the recipe calls for fresh artichokes, which makes this dish affordable only during the very short artichoke season. No mention of whether you can substitute canned artichokes successfully. For the record, I did, and they tasted, well, canned, of course. I would have liked an alternative. In general, the recipes are rather complicated for the results, whereas in the Splendid Grain, they are far simpler and more varied. Also, this book is small and impossible to keep open during cooking, plus the recipes are on multiple pages. It's clear that cost was an issue and someone (publisher?) decided that pictures were more important than an easy-to-use layout. I'm happy to have this in my kitchen, but it feels like someone rushed this out and cut corners. I wanted to like it more than I actually do. Recommended, but not as a first choice for whole grain cooking.
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Woo hoo! Finally I have something to do with my whole grains!, February 16, 2008
This review is from: The New Whole Grain Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains (Paperback)
The reasons in a nutshell to love this book:
1. I can generally find the ingredients in small town Iowa.
2. The recipes taste good, are simply created, and are pretty darned healthy.
3. The pictures are great, and the text is easy to read and informative.
4. I am no chef. I cook for three little girls and a husband, and all recipes I've tried from Robin's cookbook have definite positive approval ratings. (It's hard to please all the kids all at the same time.)
5. Lots of substitution suggestions help me out greatly as I generally fly by the seat of my pantry.
I had some whole grains (quinoa, barley, and wheat berries, I believe) hanging around that only were used once in a blue moon whenever I thought, hey, maybe I can soak them, cook them, and what the hey, throw them in some soup or something. I had these in my pantry because I love to collect food items at the nearest Mennonite bulk food store, which is precisely where I procured these whole grains, but that is where the relationship between me and my grains ended unless they met my soup. When I have tried finding recipes for whole grains in the past, I was usually faced with some critical seasonings or ingredients that just did not exist around here in the town in Iowa I live in, you know, all 2000 of us in this dinky town. We just don't have things like fish paste or even not-so-exotic items that I've run into in my other cookbooks that mention whole grains. Alas, my adventure with cooking with whole grains stopped before it ever started.
I received this cookbook in my hot little hands and my eyes popped wide open. The recipes are good, varied, and simple enough for me to use. Finally, something besides soup to throw my whole grains in! I've tried a new recipe about each week since receiving the book with my favorite thus far probably being the premade biscuit mix (after the biscuits are made, of course). There are also handy tips on how to prepare the grains along with the recipes, a feature I appreciated.
The book's recipes pass my family's taste test, which is a great thing. I am always trying to encourage healthy eating and lots of fiber. Thank you for this wonderful cookbook, Robin!
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37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whole Grains: Not just for Ascetics any more?, September 8, 2007
This review is from: The New Whole Grain Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains (Paperback)
The first experience I had with whole grain cooking was at a now long defunct restaurant on the West Bank of Minneapolis in the early 1980's. While the meals I ate there were very tasty, they were presented in a way that made you feel you had to be part of a radical political movement or obscure religious sect. It was about the only place in town to get such fare, so it was hard to imagine whole grains going mainstream.
This book imagines it, and makes it real. I'm not much more than an occasional cooker--not at all a chef--and I rely on the clarity of recipes when I cook. Not only are the recipes clear, they build on the fundamental aspects of the grains as they employ. The brief but thorough histories and natures of each grain in the front of the book took away any fears I had about not getting enough flavor out of them. The recipes cover such a wide variety of entrees, desserts, appetizers etc. that I think anyone new to whole grains will read this book and stock up on whole grains regularly.
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