Customer Reviews

Romancing the Bean: Essentials for Creating Vegetarian Bean Dishes

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

 

 

I bought this book several years ago and didn't like it, put it on the shelf and didn't look at it again until last month. I must have changed as a cook because what I thought was too complicated and bizarre before was now helpful and interesting. This book has changed the way I think about beans and my approach to creating new dishes. Anyone interested in improving their creative skills in the kitchen, understanding a cook's thought behind a recipe, as well as learning tasty ways to include healthy vegetarian bean dishes in the daily diet should treasure this book. It is really one of a kind.

I love the author's approach to bean cookery...the elemental "feeling" that the attributes to various types of beans...the taste, textures and energetics both in the bean itself as well as the various cooking methods. She really takes beans to a (deserved) higher level! My only reason for four stars is that frequently the recipes call for slightly odd ingredients which one might not normally have on hand; sometimes I was ready to prepare a recipe only to find I had no garam marsala, (or plantain, white miso, etc.)on hand and that this item was supposedly critical to the final taste. Personally I find it better to experiment anyway, and this gives you the springboard to becoming more adventurous.

This is a great book. I learned so much about how to prepare the different beans - and the cooking time to reduce the "bad" effects.....I would recommend to anyone new to cooking beans and veg dishes!