Three Bowl Cookbook [Hardcover]

David Scott (Author), Tom Pappas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2000

According to the fifteen-hundred-year-old tradition of Oriyoki, monks of a Zen monastery receive their meals in three bowls. Though adhering to the Zen way of simplicity, the food they eat is anything but boring. Now authors David Scott and Tom Pappas bring the succulent pleasures of a Zen monastery kitchen to Western readers, offering one-hundred-and-twenty delicious recipes-forty three-bowl menus-along with fascinating Zen stories and enlightening haiku. Three Bowl Cookbook is a delightful way to bring the healthy, delectable foods of an age-old way of life into modern kitchens.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Three Bowl Cookbook," is by Tom Pappas, tenzo, or head cook, in Zen Mountain Center in Southern California, and David Scott. The idea here was clearly to provide an abundance of recipes, sorted again by season, with a minimum of text. There are some 80 pages of recipes, from white bean and roasted garlic puree to winter squash soup and unusual dishes like basmati rice with grilled eggplant chutney. The beauty of these dishes is in their straightforwardness, assuring that any of us can prepare them easily. (Beliefnet, July 2000) -- From Beliefnet

About the Author

David Scott is a widely published writer on Japan, zen philosophy and cooking. He has published over twenty-five books including Elements of Zen, Simply Zen and The Way of Zen. Tom Pappas, the former Tenzo (cook) at Zen Mountain Center located in the San Jacinto mountains of Southern California, is also an award-winning artist and teacher currently lives in Boston.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804832390
• ISBN-13: 978-0804832397
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recipes that work!, May 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Three Bowl Cookbook (Hardcover)

I know that recipes that actually produce edible food should be standard in cookbooks, but that isn't the case. This book, though, is full of knockouts. I've made about 25 of the dishes, and each one was fantastic. What I really like is that each spread in the book is a complete meal, taking away the need to worry about what would pair well with what. I wish other cookbooks were so well thought out.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 bowls, 5 stars, April 18, 2002

By 

B. J Murray "rumplestimpskin" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Bowl Cookbook (Hardcover)

This book is a wonder. Essentially, all the menus come in balanced threes, and are also split up by season. Spring brings feta spaghetti, shredded carrot and apple salad, and minted lemonade; Summer and muesli, warm fruit compote, and spicy chai; Fall's penne with sweet onions, beet salad, and garlic lemon rasam, Winter brings polenta, black bean soup and braised endive (and I don't even like endives!)

The recipes are generally short and easy to accomplish with few ingredients, and are balanced well so that you can start one, move on to the next, and finish the last in time for the beginning of a meal. The text is thoughtful and fun, full of anecdotes on monastery life, zen koans, and a upbeat spirituality -- it reminds us to be mindful while cooking, that it's not just something we do to get over with so we can stoke an engine, but that it's a worthwhile activity unto itself -- something people often forget.

The recipes themselves are from all styles and nationalities -- italian polenta, japanese miso, spanish paella, swiss oats, greek tzatziki... 120 recipes in total, 40 menus. Everything here is vegetarian, but I would recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to not only widen their repertoire of international recipes, but also to anyone who wants to slow down, start with some basics, and be reminded of how simple, worthwhile, and truly fulfilling cooking can be.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simple, easy, great for the coffee table, March 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Three Bowl Cookbook (Hardcover)

I'm not a typical cook book buyer (mainly I buy fiction from Amazon) But a vegetarian diet and a desire to cook more led me to purchase this book. recipes are easy, some more complicated. All are healthy, and the photos and the book cover demand to be displayed on the coffee table, not hidden in a kitchen drawer.