Vegetarian Epicure [Paperback]

Anna Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1972

A friendly informal tone and some splendid recipes have made this a perennial bestseller. For all who love the fruits of the earth and the art of cooking. A classic with almost a million copies sold to date.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A friendly informal tone and some splendid recipes have made this a perennial bestseller. For all who love the fruits of the earth and the art of cooking. A classic with almost a million copies sold to date.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (May 12, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394717848
• ISBN-13: 978-0394717845
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anna Thomas is a screenwriter, the author of "The Vegetarian Epicure" cookbooks, "Love Soup." She lives in Ojai, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So you want to make your veggies happy?, January 14, 2004

By 

Bat-Radish - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vegetarian Epicure (Paperback)

It's definitely a cookbook of its time. The illustrations have a homespun look, and the introduction even makes mention of passing around a joint before dinner "to sharpen gustatory perception". I missed the seventies, personally, but the cheerful hippieness of this book is irresistable.

But what about the darn food?

It's good stuff. Not low-fat, really, but if you compare the olive oil, butter, and eggs called for in these recipes a meal would still balance favorably with the average meat-including diet. My favorite section is the one on curries--having had a lot of real Indian it's not QUITE the same, but it's reasonably close. Given that it was written when supermarkets were less global, I can forgive a few shortcomings in authenticity. She gets the basics across with readily-available ingredients. And every one of the curries is delicious on its own merits. There are sweeter ones, spicier ones, sides, a couple of desserts, and it's impossible to go wrong with any combination of recipes in this section.

Most of her soups and stews are also excellent. The ratatouille in particular is fantastic. However, in place of her potato peel broth or garlic broth I recommend saving a lot of time and effort by starting off with plain water and adding extra seasoning, or by the quick & dirty expedience of a veggie bouillion cube or two. It's okay to cheat.

Perhaps the best thing to bear in mind when using this book is that with a lot of the recipes you'll need either a fair amount of time or a liberal dose of common sense when it comes to cutting corners. The author had a lot of time on her hands, to make broth, clarify butter, and let things simmer for an hour. You probably don't, and neither do I. Use the butter plain. Heck, use margarine. Simmer for 30 minutes. Spice a little more heavily. And use that darn veggie bouillion.

It would be nice if we could all be so relaxed and agrarian about our cooking as the author is. Just reading the book is like taking a deep breath. But alas, most of have day jobs and time constraints. Rest assured that you can still use these recipes and enjoy some absolutely succulent grub.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Vegetarian Epicure, Books One and Two, April 16, 2000

By 

Dee Wieczorek - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vegetarian Epicure, Book 2 (Paperback)

I love both of these books. These are not cookbooks for anyone who has never cooked or baked before, but for those of us who have, I find both of them to be invaluable.

I've had both of them for close to 20 years, and I finally had to replace both!

From the first book, I adore the whole wheat bread with the optional onion. And, the herb bread makes *fabulous* stuffing for Thanksgiving if you cube it and dry it out a bit in a low oven. I love the "Dutch Cheese and Potato" soup and the recipe for Tomato Rabbit.

From the second book, my all time favorite is "Menestra de Veduras", or Spanish-style stewed vegetables. It's a *lot* of work, but so worth it. Do try it, especially in the spring when asparagus, peas and artichokes are fresh.

Another favorite of mine is the "melanzana al forno", aka "baked stuffed eggplant. Cook this in the summer when you can get tiny eggplants.

Both of these books are based on one concept - freshness. If you can't buy the best and the finest, change your menu. That's always a good philosophy to cook by, and Anna Thomas consistently emphasizes that concept throughout both of these books.

Just remember, this is *not* low-cal, low-salt, low-fat, no-flavor vegetarian cooking! It's almost vegetarian cooking with a bit of "Julia" tossed in for flavor. The dessert recipes are *to die for*.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great resource, August 10, 2002

By 

merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vegetarian Epicure (Paperback)

I love this cookbook! The recipes remind me ofthings that may have been popular in the 60s (I was born in 1969 so this is just my impression). But it has all sorts of comfort type foods that I grew up with like newburgs, soufles. casseroles, omelets. Lots of great salads too as well as different pasta dishes. Ithink this is a must have for any vegetarian. High;y recommmend and I'd buy itagain in a heartbeat.