Customer Reviews

Tassajara Cookbook

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

 

 

All the recipes seem to be very similar with minor exceptions. The book is a nice collection of condiments and spreads and will not tax your budget too much. All the cookies that I have tried have come out well, too bad the publisher messed up the end of the book and reprinted the dressings again after the cookie section. If you are interested in purchasing this book, first preview it from a library or your local bookstore. It really didn't inspire the vegetarian in me.

I was SO disappointed in this book. As a frequent visitor to Tassajara, I was expecting a range of Tassajara recipes -- because the title of the book is Tassajara Cookbook, not Tassajara Bag Lunch Cookbook (you have to read the fine print to find that). There are no entres, no hearty soups, no breads (for which Tassajara is justly famous), and no real desserts. The photos are mouth-watering. The book itself is not what it purports to be. Tassajara deserves better, and you'd be better off with the Tassajara Recipe and Tassajara Bread books, both cheaper and in paperback.

Some of the recipes are simply wonderful and the fantastic photography really makes the dishes look fantastic. As I took a closer look at the recipes, however, I noticed that some of them are not new and the pictures don't always seem to match the recipe. For instance, on p. 44-45 there's a beautiful photo of the "Persian Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Tapenade". Yet one look at the photo it's clear that there are other ingredients thrown in that are not listed in the recipe. Even though on the inside leaf it says these are "never before published recipies", I still thought I'd do a search on it to see if I could find some other recipes that might help me to adapt it. But what I found was THE EXACT SAME RECIPIE - TO THE LETTER that had been published in the San Francisco Chronicle. It made me angry that in the photo the item had clearly been adapted, but the recipe did not show that adaptation. Overall, this book is basically adaptations of recipes that have been published elsewhere. Some recipes do credit the source of the original, and it's clear that it has been adapted. It's nice to have this as a resource, but if you're the kind of person who adapt recipes anyway, you may just want to go online, find the original recipe and adapt it yourself.

I was given this cookbook as a gift and absolutely love it. The recipes that I have tried have been delicious. The recipes seem to have a unique way of blending textures and flavors that are a real pleasure. I have served dishes from this book to guests and they just could not get enough of the items. This book also divides recipes into vegetarian and vegan, which is handy for people who are looking for one or the other.

I am really surprised by the negative reviews of this cookbook. It is really wonderful and I often look to it when I want to make something special, especially for guests or parties.

This is the most poorly edited cookbook that I've ever read (and I've read many!). It's filled with numerous problems: recipe intros which refer to ingredients not listed in the recipe, incomplete instructions, and inadequate ingredient descriptions.

I'd read several poor reviews of the book but assumed they were written by very picky reviewers; not so! Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book despite the gorgious layout and photographs.

This book is a great collection of the food I had over the years at Tassjara. I have always wanted to get the recipes and here they are! I found them easy to make and the ingredients were easy to find. It was surprising how just a few ingredients make such wonderful tasty spreads, desserts and salads. I found this book especially useful for making lunches for my kids. I just whip up a spread, add some vegetables and put it on anyone of the suggested "alternatives" to bread found in the back of the book. The spreads keep really well in the refrigerator so I found making several at a time for variety particularly useful. And healthy!

I am always seduced by cookbooks that purport to give recipes for delicious vegetarian food, especially picnic goodies.

So seduced, I bought the book, paying full price at a wonderful inn with an equally wonderful vegetarian restaurant -- the Stanford Inn in Mendocino CA if anyone is interested.

When I went looking for a recipe, I decided to try the Honey-Mustard Tofu (p. 126).

The first direction is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Okay, that's clear. But then you see that you are supposed to marinate the tofu for at least 2 hours! With the oven on?? Obviously not, but a well-edited cookbook would not put the instructions in the wrong order. This cookbook either was not edited at all, or was edited by someone who never cooked anything AND lacked commonsense.

We see that the recipe is the most requested recipe for the Bag Lunch at Tassajara. Hmmm. Wouldn't you think that the author would take the time to get the recipe right?

Well, the author not only did not get this recipe right, but several others appear to never have been edited as well.

Thumbing through the book, I find Three Nut Pate on page 79. The introduction says it is best if made ahead and allowed to sit for a few hours. The recipe, however, says to spoon it into a serving dish immediately after processing it in a food processor and to garnish with fresh basil leaves. In my experience fresh basil leaves quickly turn brown and look really sad if left for a few hours.

Here again the author should have provided clear instructions regarding adding the garnish just before serving.

The publisher should publish a revised edition of this book. It's a discredit to Tassajara in its present form

the history and traditions of tassajara are evident in this collection of recipes inspired by the retreat centre's picnic lunches. i found this to be a much-used book both for the recipes (which can be easily adapted and taken in many different directions) and the photographs which capture the practice and peacefulness of the zen centre. these days, nothing slows you down more to the state of presence and joy like a well-made picnic!

This book is really great. All the recipes are pretty easy to follow. I found it particularly nice to find vegetarian ideas for lunch, picnics, and appetizers and for kid's lunches. Favorite recipes from Tassajara found in hundreds of cookbooks are all now easy to find in one book!