Customer Reviews

The Vegetarian Compass: New Directions in Vegetarian Cooking

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

 

 

I recieved this book as a birthday present from my sister. It covers a very wide range of vegetarian cooking, with a DEFINITE emphasis on non-traditional approaches to some "old favorites". Some of the recipies are quite humble, with simple ingredients and preperation, and it ascends all the way up to high-style gourmet. A number of recipies are meant to be shared with others, and will yield numerous servings, which is great if you love having dinner parties! The layout of this book is eye-pleasing and easy to understand; it is categorized by main ingredients (such as Vegetables, Rice, or Tempheh, Seitan, and Tofu) and then SUB-categorized into preperation methods (braised, fried, baked, etc). However there are no illustrations or pictures, and often the specific ingredients or preperation methods are somewhat exotic, so a refrence manual might be useful to those who are not professionals. Many of the ingredients are VERY ethnic, and thus it might be difficult for those who don't live in or near a large city with a variety of markets. And some of the ingredients aren't "truly" vegetarian- such as bonito fish flakes, or fish sauce. However these are usually called for in small amounts and a substitute should be found easily enough.

However, don't be intimidated by this book- the absolute #1 reason that I love it so much is because it is PACKED with little stories and personal details from the author- how she got the idea, trips to places near and far, stories about other cooks that inspire her. She draws inspiration from her midwestern family's cooking, and will mix it up with ethnic influences. The author's love of food and the culinary lifestyle come through almost effortlessly, in these moments as well as in the recipies themselves. One gets the idea the recipies are MEANT to be experimented with! This book is very inspiring and is sure to fire up the imagination, even if you don't prepare a single recipie.

The typical Vegetarian book takes one of two paths: (1) tofu and granola or (2) vegetable as art. This book, however, takes a different road and rethinks cooking with vegetables from the ground up. The recipes are of medium difficulty and there are no pictures, so some cooking experience is desirable. If you can appreciate the full variety of vegetables and think of them as building blocks for creating meals, you will enjoy.

My husband and I have loved every recipe we've made out of this book. I especially loved the potato gratin stuffed with collard greens and leeks, which I'm also going to try stuffing with spinach. And the caramel parsnip cake was fun and beautiful to mix together, as well as delicious, like a spicy-sweet carrot cake. The vegetable kabobs with peanut sauce were the big hit of our best barbecue ever.

The organization of the book, by ingredients and by method, makes it easy to find the kind of food (or type of cooking) you're in the mood for. And the author's stories are understatedly hilarious. (Don't miss the chapter about the Seventh Day Adventist ladies teaching the author to make seitan.)

Visually the book is pretty unappetizing, with no photos and printed in purple, gray, and black - the colors of decay, or a bruise? But please look past the design and try this book. I haven't tried a single recipe in it that wasn't imaginative, fun to make, and delicious. This book is a gift to cooks everywhere.

This is a fresh and very usable vegetarian cookbook. It contains lots of inventive recipes using unusual (though not weird) combinations. Fava Crostini, for example, is made with fava beans, avocado and asparagus. The mixture is great on a crusty bread and just as good thinned a bit and served over pasta -- it has a bright, fresh flavor and a beautiful green color.

Many recipes suggest equally unexpected combinations and provide a starting point for your own variations. Refried Beans with Truffles combines pinto beans, olive oil, roasted garlic & shaved truffles. If you don't have the truffles, follow the recipe note and fry the beans in truffle oil -- it's terrific -- like no refried beans you've ever eaten.

The author, Karen Allison, died of breast cancer shortly before the book appeared. The Foreward, written by her husband, Len Allison, includes a brief description of her role in the New York restaurants they ran together. Their last restaurant, Onda, closed nearly 20 years ago, but her style of cooking is still fresh and interesting. This is a big book (nearly 400 pages) with hundreds of recipes that capture a unique & wonderful way of cooking.

Part of the reason that I and others buy vegetarian cookbooks (or ones labeled as such) is because we don't eat our fellow creatures, nor do we want to see them as a menu item.

This book has bonito flakes, shrimp paste, anchovies, and fish sauce listed as ingredients and is, therefore, not even close to plant-based cuisine. We can only hope that the author, while still alive, did not serve unsuspecting people animal parts and secretions, marine life or otherwise.