Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons [Paperback]

Nava Atlas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

This season-by-season cookbook presents a bountiful selection of 100 soups that are low in fat but rich in flavor--hearty chowders, elegant broths, savory bisques, stick-to-your ribs stews, and tempting international specialties. From Orange-Butternut Squash Soup to Okra-rice Gumbo, this is the ultimate soup cookbook for vegetarians.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!" sang Mock Turtle, to which Atlas (Vegetariana) here adds a vegetarian refrain. Recipes for more than 100 savory soups, chowders, bisques, purees and stews are adapted from several different world cuisines; suggested garnishes and basic nutrition analyses per serving are included. Following two introductory sections outlining stock and broth recipes with soup-making (and freezing) tips, chapters follow the seasons. Gingered Pumpkin-Apple Soup and Southwestern Fresh Corn Stew help usher in fall. The winter section mixes comforting old favorites such as Minestrone with new inventions like Italian Vegetable Stew with Gnocchi and zesty Taco Soup, with bulgur, pinto beans and chilies. Spring features Greek-Flavored Spinach and Orzo Soup, heady with lemon and fresh dill, and summer serves up Cool Ratatouille, a no-cook Creamy Avocado Soup (made with buttermilk instead of cream) and a sweetly refreshing Melon Medley. A final chapter, "Accompaniments," adds recipes for muffins, breads, scones and dumplings?even croutons. Atlas's straightforward recipes, enlivened by quotes and drawings, promise soups of complex, rewarding flavor based on judicious combinations of ingredients rather than on complicated preparation.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Atlas is the author of several popular vegetarian cookbooks, including Vegetarian Celebrations (LJ 8/90). She has a nice style, and most of her easy, low-fat, high-fiber recipes?Southwestern Fresh Corn Stew, Mediterranean Eggplant Soup, Zesty Green Gazpacho?should appeal to any soup lover, vegetarian or not. A few, however, include ingredients, such as baked tofu, that will not be for everyone, and some purists may be put off by the use of a shortcut, store-bought seasoning mix. That aside, this cookbook is recommended for most collections; add it to the shelf with Victor Latourrette's Twelve Months of Monastery Soups (LJ 9/15/96).
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; Revised edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316057339
• ISBN-13: 978-0316057332
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nava Atlas is the author and illustrator of many books on vegetarian cooking, most recently Vegan Express, Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, and The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet. The Vegan Holiday Kitchen will be published in the fall of 2011, and a book on leafy greens will be on the shelves in the spring of 2012.

In addition to cookbooks, Nava also produces visual books on family themes, humor, and women's issues, including The Literary Ladies' Guide to the Writing Life (2011), exploring first-person narratives on the writing lives of twelve classic women authors, and commenting on the universal relevance of their experiences to all women who love to write. Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife (2009) is a satiric look at contemporary marriage and motherhood through the lens of a faux 1950s cookbook.

Nava is also an active fine artist specializing in limited edition artist's books and text-driven objects. Her work is shown and collected by museums and universities across the U.S. You can see her work at navaatlasart.com. Her home is in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, where she lives with her husband and two sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired one-dish meals, February 2, 2003

By 

Karen Chung (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons (Paperback)

For me, the one thing that matters about a cookbook is: is it *inspired* or not? The ones that are not may have one to a few usable recipes, almost by accident, but the majority are either based on stale ideas, or they are too heavy, due to their use of meat, fat, sugar, or other such ingredients.

This book far surpassed my expectations. The recipes are original, hearty, satisfying - and low-fat. One of these soups with some bread and cheese makes for a simple and delicious weekday meal.

Most of the soups we've tried from this book have come out very well. We got off to a good start with Garlicky Cream of Celery Soup (p. 39). Examples of other successes: Cream of White Vegetables (p. 15; this worked fine with Chinese white radish/daikon; turnip is unavailable in Taiwan) - very smooth, soothing and flavorful; Gingered Pumpkin-Apple Soup (p. 25) - I'm not sure I'll put the apple in next time, but we all enjoyed the complex flavors of this one; Cream of Broccoli Soup with Whole Wheat Pasta (p. 96) also wasn't bad, even with plain macaroni shells. The Moroccan-Style Vegetable Stew (p. 26), with pumpkin, chickpeas and couscous, was very unusual and quite tasty. I was less impressed with the Tomato-Rice Soup with Snow Peas (p. 93) - this ended up something like Campbell's tomato rice, but then but I did make some substitutions, like white rice for brown. And I probably should have let the Curried Cauliflower-Cheese Soup (p. 84) thicken more before serving. You can skip the Sauerkraut Soup (p. 36) - this was edible, but didn't much appeal to any of us; too heavy on the sweet and sour, and not very satisfying. Still, I'm very gung ho about continuing to try out the other recipes. Well over half the recipes look doable to me in our environment, and that's a remarkably high ratio. I have found no other soup cookbook that can compare with this one. The recipes that work - and that has been most of them so far - are excellent, and just our style.

The book not only gives individual recipes but in fact teaches a *method* for making good vegetarian soups, i.e. pureeing cooked vegetables for a thick and hearty but not too rich base. Organizing the recipes by the seasons makes it easier to find a soup suited to the weather.

P. 27 has a recipe for 'Squash and Corn Chower', but that's the only typo I've spotted. The pencil drawings and quotes are quite charming. I haven't yet tried the bread and other 'accompaniments' recipes in the back, but they look intriguing.

In short: if you like soup but not meat, and are looking for ideas for simple but very good meals on the light side, this book is an outstanding choice.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These soups are creative, easy, and delicious!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons (Paperback)

I checked this book out of the library and couldn't return it without buying my own. I tried two of the summer soups, Fresh tomato soup with sweet corn sauce, Cold zucchini and corn soup, and fall's black bean soup. They all got RAVE reviews from friends and family.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delicious recipes, in a well-organized, easy-to-use format., December 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons (Paperback)

This cookbook is unique in that the recipes are organized by season, so you can easily find soups that are appropriate for the types of fresh produce you can find in the stores, and that fit how you feel in each season. Each soup I have made from this cookbook has been delicious. Some combine ingredients that I would not have thought to put together, but they work wonderfully. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in delicious soups!