46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soup heaven!, April 1, 2009
This review is from: Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons (Paperback)
Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons is the fourth edition of Nava's book previously titled Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons. It is essentially the same book as the third edition, but with the color photos added along with the new cover. It is substantially different from the first two editions.
I am a total soup nut so I was very excited to try this one. I hadn't seen any of the previous editions but I'm a big fan of Nava's other cookbooks. This certainly lived up to my expectations. Like all of Nava's cookbooks, the recipes in this book were easy to make, used simple ingredients that I typically have in my pantry, and, most importantly, my family loved them.
The recipes are arranged by seasons, which is a really nice feature since we try to eat local, seasonal foods. It being January when I got the book, I turned straight to the winter soups and found several just perfect for a rainy winter suppers. The first soup I tried was the Three Bean Soup with Brown Rice. Well, actually it was only two bean soup (kidney and cannellini) because I didn't have any frozen green beans. I did have kale though so we still got the green in there. My daughters had bowl after bowl of this hearty tomato-based soup and I ended up with no leftovers for lunch the next day.
The second soup we tried was the Hearty Winter Roots Soup. This was a wonderful mash of potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, and parsnips in a creamy, cheesy soup. Another hit with the family. The third dish we tried was the Vegetarian Goulash--a great "meat" (seitan) and potatoes stew that reminded me of the Sunday dinners my mom made when I was growing up--except without the meat of course.
I can't wait to cook my way through the rest of the seasons. This spring, I'm looking forward to Asparagus and Spinach Soup, Leek and Mushroom Bisque, and Puree of Spring Greens. In the heat of the summer, I can try one of the many cold soups offered like Cream of Lettuce Soup, Classic Gazpacho, or Minted Peach Soup. Next fall (if I can wait that long), I'm dying to try the Baked Onion Soup, New England Clam-less Chowder, and Pumpkin-Apple Soup. In addition to soups, there's a lovely selection of breads, muffins, biscuits and scones. My daughters and I had a blast making Chapatis.
If you love soup or are looking for each meals for your family, this is definitely a good cookbook for you.
Review as seen on VegFamily Magazine www.vegfamily.com by Cathe Olson
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You don't have to be a vegan to love this book!, April 3, 2009
This review is from: Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons (Paperback)
As a person who has over 30 vegan cookbooks (My husband can't believe there are that many vegan cookbooks in print!) I definitely will add this one to those at the top of my list. One of the best things about this book is that it is divided into seasons, so it's easy to find the produce at a reasonable price in the grocery store and it's more likely that it will be locally grown. Another thing I like is that the ingredients are mostly easy to find. I love weird ingredients as much as anyone, but when you are trying to figure out what to make for dinner you don't want to have to run all over town trying to find something that's obscure.
My favorite recipe so far is a fall one, Sweet and Sour Sauerkraut Soup which includes carrots, celery, potatoes, diced tomatoes and of course, sauerkraut among other things. If you don't like sauerkraut or sour foods, skip this one, but I think it's even better the next day. Another favorite is the Okra-Rice Gumbo or the Thai-Flavored Coconut Vegetable Soup. These all go together pretty quickly and if you double the recipe you'll have enough for a couple days and the flavors have a way of melding together that makes them all the better.
Soup is always great with a big salad and some crusty bread and this cookbook has a lot of imaginative recipes, not just the same old standbys. It's one of those books that's fun to just go through and read because I always seem to find one recipe that is appealing for that particular day, no matter what sort of mood I'm in. Two thumbs up for this book! I'll be looking forward to more vegan cookbooks by Nava Atlas.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I Love Making Soup in the Winter!, July 22, 2009
This review is from: Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons (Paperback)
I love the fresh new variety of soups as well as the old veganized favorites of the past, i.e. mock chicken noodle soup, gumbo, tomato soup, etc. I mainly cook soups in the wintertime, but they do have summer fruit soups, winter root soups, fall harvest soups, and spring soups representing the early growing season. There's something for everyone's palate from broths, stocks, seasonal and regional soups, and breads.
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