Customer Reviews

Passionate Vegetarian

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Passionate Vegetarian: More Than 1,000 Robust Recipes With Notes On Cooking, Eating, Loving, And Living Fearlessly is one of those ''bible" type of vegetarian cookbooks that contains so much more than recipes that it is almost an invitation to live, or to live more fully. Almost overwhelming in its 1000 plus pages, it is dauntlessly studded with jewel-like recipes within recipes for special sauces, seasonings, condiments and exotic blends.

Author/creator Crescent Dragonwagon is the famed Vegetarian chef and owner of the former celebrated Bed and Breakfast establishment Dairy Hollow Inn in Eureka, Missouri. Though it is now a writer's retreat, many remember fondly the days of its other operation which saw the evolution of many of the succulent recipes contained in Passionate Vegetarian. I never was lucky enough to be a guest there, but I had a friend who did with her husband and never stopped raving about the place and the food.

Chock full of delicious vegetarian classic recipes, Passionate Vegetarian is that wonderful composite, a cookbook designed to educate. Though you might be looking for, say, the definitive recipe for a garbanzo bean stew, when you arrive at the recipe entitled "Spice-Market Melange of Chickpeas and Cauliflower" in the chapter entitled "A Bountiful Bowl of Beans," you absolutely cannot help reading page after page about "Bean Diversity, ""Beans and Grains," "The Three Sisters (beans, corn and squash)," and more. Divided into fifteen exciting chapters, each crammed with scrumptious recipes and suggestions, Passionate Vegetarian covers all things vegetarian from hors d'oeuvres, to soups, stews, savory cobblers, wraps, beans, soyfoods, savory cakes, burgers and patties, to sauces, salsas and seasonings. And of course the grand finale of Just Desserts contains such gems as Triple-Caress Moch Chocolate Chip Cookies, Hazelnut Biscotti, and Ginger Sorbet. However my absolute favorite new recipe that I tried and fought with my husband over the division of was Roasty-Toasty Jerusalem Artichokes, a simple recipe made with Jerusalem artichokes, vegetable oil, and tamari sauce. Clearly, Chef Dragonwagon is unafraid of simple combinations and doing more with less, as well as complex and palate- teasing adventurous dishes, for which she must be justifiably famous. I really cannot rave enough about this cookbook.

It is a classic, a "must-have", and destined to become a favorite of vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. It is all the more enriched by the author's marvelous sense of humour and her willingness to share her history. I am very sorry to learn of the sudden death of her husband Ned November 30, 2000. Passionate Vegetarian stands as a splendid memorial to the rich culinary life they shared as vegetarians.

Vegetarian diets are becoming more popular as nutritional concerns arise and environmental awareness increases, and vegetarian cookbooks are a perfect gift for anyone who has a new domicile or simply loves to eat. In fact, Crescent Dragonwagon has crafted a cookbook so generous and intriguing that I think it would inspire anyone to roll up their sleeves and create a meal. Vegetarian meals are not for vegetarians only anymore!

Dragonwagon takes into account the time and budgetary constraints under which the typical reader may be living and gives wonderful suggestions about how making a little extra of one recipe will be such a time-saver when creating a new dish later in the week. She gives all kinds of anecdotal information about the recipes. I am reading the book cover-to-cover, honestly, because it's so interesting and fun. It conveniently stays flat while you're cooking from it, too-- amazing that all cookbook publishers haven't caught on to this trick yet.

This is the most accessible cookbook I have ever read, and at over 1100 pages and 1000+ recipes, the cover price is an incredible bargain. I predict that The Passionate Vegetarian will become the cooking tome passed from generation to generation and will have a venerated place in kitchens all over the world.

This book is a must for every vegetarian (and vegan, too) out there who spends time in the kitchen wondering what to do about the next meal. I am not a total vegetarian and, to be honest, I tend to be a very lazy cook, but the recipes in "The Passionate Vegetarian" are clear and simple enough for even someone like me to follow...and the taste rewards are enormous. Crescent Dragonwagon has convinced me that I don't have to rely on a rather bland diet to eat meatless meals, and she has dishes here that stack up better than anything I've enjoyed at the homes of great vegetarian cooks and the best vegetarian restaurants. I am kind of a picky eater, but there is so much in this golconda of vegetarian delights that I could probably eat these meals the rest of my life. This book has made a great gift for my vegetarian friends and relatives (hint: if you give this to them, they will cook up some of Crescent's delights for you!). Try the sweet potatoes with Grand Mariner in orange cups and you'll never forget it. The cabbage/apple kugel is to die for, as is the deviled corn and tomato pudding. If I were rich enough to hire a full-time cook, this is the one cookbook I'd give to that person. For vegetarians, a must -- for everyone who loves food, it's also wonderful. And the author's wry and profound reflections on life are an added bonus. Great writing, great cooking and great eating!

First the pros: She certainly has passion, and totally covers every possible grain, and ingredient with Asian, Italian, American influences. She also does a great job of suggesting alternative ingredients and substitutions, which is nice, since while northern california is pretty good about finding every ingredient under the sun, she still does use a fair number of ingredients that are local to her eastern location.

I really like reading it, but here is the con, I've tried two recipes, and both were disasters because of flawed cooking techniques. I've practically cooked my way through say Deborah Madison's or Mollie Katzen's or even Jamuna Devi's cookbooks for e.g. and while some recipes may be challenging and require hours of prep, I have never been left with raw, dry inedible casseroles etc. Which happened to me with a gratin recipe. As I prepared it according to her very much eyeballed measures I was concerned because most I've made in the past required more fluids or blanching to precook, and sure enough the results were off.

Similarly, another recipe I made also did not have good results, so I have now relegated this to least used category, and merely use it if no other cookbook I own has any suggestions for some really exotic grain or vegetable. Happens maybe once a year when you have deborah madison, alice waters, etc to look up first. I would cook/try a recipe from any one of the other mentioned authors in my review for the first time, for company, but will never trust this cookbook again to that extent.

With this exuberant, deeply felt, beautifully written work, I think Crescent Dragonwagon has reinvented the cookbook! While PASSIONATE VEGETARIAN is filled with recipes that will make you want to get into the kitchen immediately, it's also personal, funny, joyful, sad, full of dimension and color --- a vivid slice of life itself, as told through and in food. You feel the author as a friendly, reassuring kitchen presence: knowledgeable but gentle, careful to explain but taking time to laugh with you, swap stories, and enjoy every step of the way. Delicious (the artichoke-lima bean stew with lemon and garlic is on my must-make list; I've already tried her divine tempeh-broccoli-mushroom stroganoff, quick but irresistible Garlic Spaghetti, and fabulous "Killed Lettuce Salad," with hot sauteed mushrooms), it's also diverse (curries, chillies, lasagnas, Asian dishes, great appetizers and desserts), and definitive (info on every grain, every vegetable, every bean as well as an amazing trove of well-researched culinary information). Astonishing! It would be worth purchasing at almost any price, but at a 1000-plus pages (they say 800-something pages here, but it's longer)...[and this price](much less at amazon) it is a bargain... as well as the book everyone, vegetarian and otherwise, is getting from me for Christmas! For just as it reinvents the cookbook, making it literature as much as how-to (though excellent how-to it certainly is, in every recipe's clearly detailed instructions) it also rethinks vegetarianism, making it take its rightful place as a distinct and global cuisine, not just healthful or an "ism". Vibrantly flavored, this book has every color of the palette and palate. It is indeed passionate: also playful,intimate, full of life, and something anyone who appreciates good food would love. A joy to cook from, eat from, and read, its food and words will nourish the body, mind, heart and soul.

The Passionate Vegetarian is one of the all-time best cookbooks I have come across in 30 years of vegetarian cooking. Its sheer length alone (1110 pages) promises hundreds of recipes from which to choose, but as you thumb through the pages, reading and ultimately preparing individual recipes, you see the creativity, knowledge and attention to detail that the author, Crescent Dragonwagon, has put into each page.

In addition to the recipes, when appropriate, she includes descriptive sections, usually no longer than a page, for items the reader may not be familiar with or just be interested in reading more about, such as umeboshi, polenta or celery root. Occasionally, a very helpful "suggested menu" will appear in the side margin next to a particular recipe. The book is very well indexed and each recipe is introduced with a little bit of history and anecdotal background to bring it alive. The best thing about this cookbook however is the recipes. This book has a fantastic array of choices that are incredibly inventive. So often I will page through a cookbook, see one or two interesting recipes, but be for the most part unimpressed. I love the variety and imaginative nature of the dishes in this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates good food, vegetarian and meat eater alike.

Although it is true, as another reviewer has noted, that this cookbook is not oriented toward the conversion of contented meat-eaters, it does indeed have the power to convert. At some point in my life, I decided that I simply did not like food. Later, I revised my assessment: I only liked expensive food. Now, I have discovered, thanks to Crescent Dragonwagon's welcoming magnum opus, that I do, in fact, like food of all sorts. Not only do I like it, I'm willing to devote time, money and effort to the task of cooking, something that I never would have bothered to do in my pre-Passionate Vegetarian days. (I had a bottle of olive oil on my shelf for a year, during which time I only managed to use about a quarter of it.) The transformative magic of this cookbook lies in the thoroughness with which CD addresses each of the recipes, even those that involve two ingredients. (And what other cookbook would bother to include those 2-ingredient recipes? Now I no longer have to call home to find out how long to steam green beans or bake potatoes for optimum results.) Unlike many of the "healthy" cookbooks (hastily) published of late, this one elaborates on every step of every recipe so that it is virtually impossible to end up with something other than what you were led to expect. No more wondering how high you should REALLY set the burner heat, whether the lid should be off or on, whether you've arrived at the right color, odor, consistency, etc. Better still, one can easily modify the recipes to accord perfectly with one's own tastes. (I shy away from onions, chili peppers, eggs and mushrooms, but that hasn't held me back much.) Not only does CD offer variations and substitutions for many of the recipes, but she offers her personal taste as a benchmark. More than just a name on the cover, she inhabits the text and explains the particular appeal of each dish in the sort of honest, friendly tone that you'd expect from a close relative. Consequently, her book is perfect for novice cooks (like me) who are only just discovering what they like, and who need a reliable frame of reference. It's also perfect for students (like me) who cannot be satisfied with gross generalizations-- the cookbook is practically interactive, and much more so than the average TV cooking spot, wherein the resident chef says that everything is "excellent" and then cuts to a commercial break. The pervasive spark of CD's irresistible personality makes this mammoth volume especially perfect for people who read not just for instruction, but for pleasure. Although I have about 20 cookbooks on my shelf, The Passionate Vegetarian is almost the only one I ever use, and certainly the first one that I reach for on a daily basis. Since CD has a favored set of staple ingredients, as exotic as some of her concoctions sound, one need not routinely rush out to the store to satisfy the requirements of every meal. Not counting repeat performances, I have now tried 69 of CD's adventurous yet homey recipes (it would have been 70, but for the liquor store being closed on Easter when the spirit moved me to make Sweet Potatoes with Grand Marnier), and my husband and I, neither of whom are "vegetarians," have enjoyed them without exception. The Passionate Vegetarian has redeemed me from a life of dry cereal and raw broccoli, and I cannot praise it highly enough.

If you buy one veggie cookbook this year, make sure it's this one!

Crescent Dragonwagon takes you through these recipes with heartfelt (and very, very funny) tales of her life along with food history, thoroughly detailed descriptions of vegetarian food products, how to find them, prepare and cook them along with a sense of down-to-earth humor that will make this a classic for years to come.

Yes, you will want to make the "Polenta with Mushrooms Bechamel" over and over; it's an easy, warming, satisfying casserole and you can put a party dress on it for dinner company. "Parky's Pepper Mill Pasta Salad" is the perfect dish for veggies to take to a family celebration and it's one that even your non-veggie family members will love. Her recipe for "Boston (Mountain)style Baked Beans" is also something else a veggie can bring to a summer barbeque.

And the next time you volunteer to bring a dessert (or make one), do not pass up the chance to make "Chocolate Bread Pudding Maurice". It was the hit at my Christmas dinner.

And yes, there are a lot of vegan recipes as well as ones that can be made vegan.

This is a wonderful addition to anyone's cookbook collection.

This book is so clearly a labor of love. Every single thing I have made from it, from a chilled squash soup to an apricot glazed tofu, to a mixed grain casserole to a killer pecan pie, has been fabulous. The types of dishes range from homestyle family dishes and what the author calls "quick fix" dishes to those you could proudly serve the pickiest guest. It's huge! But besides the terrific recipes, all of which WORK, it's personable, warm, easy to use. I don't agree with some here who've found the recipes too complicated: I am an average home cook with two kids. I like to cook but am short on time, aren't we all. There are many simple choices here, but even the complicated recipes are so carefully explained that not only are they goof-proof, but you learn something as you go along AND you end up with such good food. I love the author's sense of how cooking, eating & life combine. She writes clearly, is lively, funny, educational & moving: much more than what you think you would find in a cookbook. All of this and the best green beans (the Greek Style) you ever ate! We are not vegetarians but lean in that direction (even my non-tofu-eating 9 year old, who fell in love with the broccoli-tofu enchiladas). But veggie or not, anyone wholoves good food would find an infinity to enjoy here. I can't say enough about this great book. I've bought 5 copies for gifts so that tells you something. Oh yeah, one more thing: also very reasonably priced.

Crescent Dragonwagon, chef, writer, and inkeeper, has been a vegetarian all this time! Who knew? Somehow she has found the time to create and test over 1000 pages of fabulous vegetarian recipes; with her signature enthusiasm and personal anecdotes, it's like having Crescent in your kitchen, cheerfully urging you on to try new things, in new ways. This is a very comprehensive volume, with lots of information about vegetables, grains, soy products, and beans, how to prepare them ,with variations on variations, and vegan adaptations. I personally have tried about 5 of the recipes and they are all fabulous, with readily-available ingredients (even in my rural location), healthy withour being fussy, innovative without being ridiculous. The ginger sorbet is intoxicating; it has literally changed the life of a family member who previously was in the habit of consuming entire pints of Ben and Jerry's or Sara Lee cakes at a sitting. Now all he wants is CD's Ginger Sorbet--be warned! it is addictive! One of the things I really like about this book is that the recipes are written such that each cook can find his/her comfort zone in terms of fat content, eggs or no eggs, dairy or no dairy. A soup, for example, can be made with cream, or low-fat milk, or soy milk, or yogurt, or just broth. This is a great book for someone who wishes to incorporate more whole grains, or soy, or vegetables into his/her diet but is unsure as to how to do it. It's also a must-have for a long-time vegetarian like myself, who has fallen into some ruts making the same tofu dishes, bean soups, and vegetable curries over and over. If you add just one cookbook to your collection, it should be this one. It will expand your repertoire exponentially.