Customer Reviews

Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Let me start by saying . . . I'm no cook! Every soup I've made from this book, though, has been unbelievably easy to prepare and the outcome's been fantastic every time! The prep time is almost nothing; the recipes call for easy-to-find ingredients; and the soups are so great that I take them to work and force co-workers to try them. The fact that the soups are low-fat is just an extra (undetectable) bonus!!

I'm a huge soup fan - not sure why but I just love it. So, this book hit the spot for me. I love cooking with vegetables that are in season and this book makes it so easy - this time of year (summer) when I can go to the farmer's markets to get really fresh foods it's just that much better. I just flip to that section of the book and can easily make my shopping list not having to wonder well do I have to go to the supermarket to get that other ingredientt hat needs to be flown here from half way across the world? The recipes are sooo tasty and there's lots of variety. There are curried soups, cream based soups, hearty bean soups, and they cut across nationalities/ethnicities. You won't be disappointed with this one.

I own about 35 vegetarian cookbooks, and decided to stop buying any more. However, finding a variety of good soups that I could center a meal around has never been easier once I gave in and purchased this book. I've so far prepared about fifteen recipes, and enjoyed each and every one, and plan to make them all again. This may be the one cookbook that I eventually prepare all of the recipes therein. A MUST HAVE cookbook...you won't regret the purchase. Your mouth, stomach, heart, and pocketbook will all thank you regularly for your wise decision!

I own about 35 vegetarian cookbooks, and decided to stop buying any more. However, finding a variety of good soups that I could center a meal around has never been easier once I gave in and purchased this book. I've so far prepared about fifteen recipes, and enjoyed each and every one, and plan to make them all again. This may be the one cookbook that I eventually prepare all of the recipes therein. A MUST HAVE cookbook...you won't regret the purchase. Your mouth, stomach, wallet, and pocketbook will all thank you regularly for your wise decision!

The book was in great condition and was shipped quickly. I would definitely buy from this seller again.

I usually make 1 soup recipe each week. I have several soup recipe books, but this is the one I use exclusively. I have enjoyed every soup recipe so far. It is also nice to know that the meals are healthy. I highly recommend this book.

I haven't yet made anything from the book, but as an experienced cook myself, I can read a recipe and know pretty much whether I will like it or not. I might make a mistake once in a while, but it's very unlikely that anyone who calls themself "a skilled and experienced" cook would choose as many as six recipes and not be able to tell they would be "vile" once made. I'm all for honest reviewing, and if you don't like a book, so be it, but this review was unnecessarily harsh and, in my judgment, probably the act of someone who has very little nice to say about anyone or anything.
Once I try some of the recipes, I'll try to report back on them. For now, I've just read through them, and there's hardly one that doesn't sound interesting to me. On that basis alone, I feel justified on giving the book 5 stars, since I can't say that about most non-dessert cookbooks!