Customer Reviews

The Victory Garden Cookbook

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do not garden but this cookbook, a gift from my mother, is my standard resource for cooking vegetables. I always find a recipe for the vegetable in hand that is appropriate to the occasion for which I am cooking - myself, family, guests or a festive dinner.

The book includes a first person introduction to the use of the vegetable, its growing conditions, etc. The intent is to get the feel of a private conversation with the author regarding the vegetable. There are general instructions for preparation for those who prefer to wing it rather than follow recipes. There are a variety of recipes for the vegetable which generally include at least one for each of the basic preparations. Then there are nice tables of yields, storage, use for leftovers, hints for use, even microwave instructions. The book has color photos of the various vegetables, including photos of preparation of the vegetable.

The vegetables included, some of which are families of vegetables not a single vegetable are: asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, fennel, greens, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, onion, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, salad greens, salsify, spinach, summer squash, winter squash, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips & rutabagas.

This is the only vegetable cookbook you'll ever need.

This book has been in my cookbook library for fifteen years. In all that time I have never been disapointed in any recipe. It's the first place I look when I need information on cooking methods (both conventional and microwave) or for quick and simple ways to prepare a vegetable. We have lots of favorites and are still finding new ones to try. The tomato recipes are excellent and can help use up the bounty from the garden. The Marinara Sauce is especially good and there is always some in my freezer.Because we know we can rely on good results and a tasty dish, we have tried some recipes which we would have avoided if in another book; in every case, we've enjoyed the delicious results. Who would have thought that shredded raw butternut squash could be the start of a great salad or a "creamy" broccoli soup had no cream in it? You can't go wrong with this one!

IN RESPONSE TO:Beware the Calories, January 8, 1999 REVIEW
For me the best part of the book is that it is: (in order) alphabetical, reviews how to grow( I am not a gardener,so do not need this section),how to pick or choose when buying , how to store once at home, how to prepare for cooking, how to cook various methods, then various finishing touches for side dishes such as what spices go well, ( this is one part that does usually have butter or a sauce for serving ideas with herbs etc) this can be used for ideas and it does not take a lot of butter etc per serving to have a vegetable taste good, then there are recipes which I have not even tried!! But I love the how to buy,store, prepare and cook instructions even for those vegetable I have cooked frequently and for those I still have not cooked. I just recently picked it up out of my cupboard
again thinking I really need to cook more vegetables, even if I am the only one in my family that will eat it! My husband does not like very many vegetables, and my kids vary in what they will eat. Pleease do not let that review make you hesitate, I love this book!!! After reading another review I now have to try the marinara sauce mentioned! here is the review I am responding to. My thought is when you are trying to cook low fat you should read a basic low fat cookbook and then know you can substitute milk, lowfat milk,or evaporated skim milk for crream/half& half and use a broth base for a sauce instead of butter or oil. These are easy ways to alter recipes. I think this book gives great ideas on how to serve a vegetable for example it mentions adding pinenuts with broccoli, it is these additions that make my family rave about the vegetable instead of just serving with salt and pepper. It also gets me thinking what can I add to make it taste good. and helps me be creative. PS> My book is falling apart and it has a nice large margin and good thick paper. I am punching holes and adding metal rings so now it is easy to turn pages etc.
"Reviewer: A reader from Potsdam, New York
Based upon the 5 star rating, I ordered this book because I was looking for healthy recipes using vegetables. (I'm a serious veggie gardener and always have an abundance that needs to be used up.) However, after a quick perusal I realized that a goodly portion of the recipes use significant amounts of butter, cream, 1/2 and 1/2, etc. With my efforts to cook more lower-cholestrol and lower-fat recipes, I realized that many of these recipes would be "off-limits" and that I would be forever frustrated by reading great recipes that were not a good idea to feed my family on a regular basis. And in the introduction, Morash herself even admits that a lot of her recipes are once a week indulgences. So, sadly, I ended up sending the book back. "
AGAIN THE BESST PART OF THE BOOK FOR ME IS HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST, STORE, PREPARE AND COOK. THEN I USE THE REST FOR IDEAS ON HOW TO SERVE, WHAT GOES WELL TOGETHER ETC. ALOT OF PEOPLE LOVE THE RECIPES WHICH I REALLY HAVE NOT YET TRIED.

This is my all-time favorite cookbook. It isn't just veggies; there are plenty of main courses and appetizers, too. It isn't just gardening; I don't have a vegetable garden, but reading the gardening parts of the book makes me wish I did. You can see Ms. Morash's background in French cuisine, but she wears it lightly. She is so down to earth that her knowledge never becomes overbearing, and she includes plenty of basics about how to prepare fresh food and how to cook it simply. The book doesn't have recipes with essential but arcane ingredients that you couldn't possibly find outside Manhattan or LA, and it doesn't have recipes with junky ingredients or weird combinations. Best of all, everything is explained well and thoroughly tested, so you can cook it right the first time, even if (like me) you're not a terrific cook. It's an outstanding book for just about anybody.

Yes this book may be dated and has non-vegetarian recipes included but that does not exclude it from a good vegetarian cookbook library. I have some of the biggies of the cookbook genre and with internet access so easy I rarely use any cookbooks at all. However this cookbook is the mainstay of my library for a few reasons. One it lists vegetable chapters alphabetically and if one is not listed it is easy to locate in the index. Two before the formal recipes are given for say carrots it tells you all about carrots and gives a number of quick ideas and methods for using carrots that involves 1 or two steps only. Three and I could go on, the recipes go from basic, to country, to sophisticated and everywhere inbetween with substitutions often suggested. If I had to keep one cookbook, besides the one I bake with, I would keep this one.

That is, unless you have a taste for some really exotic vegetables. This book thoroughly covers most of the vegetables grown in the American garden. (I'd never heard of some of the entries) Not only does it give tasty recipes, it lists the growing seasons, gardening tips, and ways to preserve the vegetables that cannot be cooked right away. This is my favorite feature - especially since my father (avid gardener) will show up with two bushels of snap beans, eight heads of cabbage, etc. and I am panicking about how to use them before they spoil. If you are a gardener or the friend of a gardener, this book is indispensable.

I just love this book. Arranged alphabetically by vegetable, it is encyclopedic in theme and delicious and inspiring in tone. No need to plan your menu ahead of time and hope they'll have everything you need. Go to the market, choose the very best there is to offer that day and settle in with this book; your dinner menu recipes will jump from the pages. Along with gorgeous and informative photos, practical cooking and storage information is included for each veggie.

The recipes in this book are excellent. They combine great taste and eye appeal with ease of preparation. Most helpful are the recommendations about the amount to prepare,whether the vegetables are able to be frozen, how long their shelf life is, and the many ways to cook each one . I like this book so much that I have purchased at least ten copies as gifts.

This is the best book I know of that has so many recipes for using vegetables and describing how to preserve them also. My own copy which is from when it was first published is starting to fall apart from use not just by me but by neighbors who borrow it.

This a fantastic cookbook. We belong to a farm share CSA where we recieve a 20 lb basket of organic vegetables each Friday. When we have an excess of a certain type of vegetable or recieve something we have never cooked with before, we reach for the Victory Garden Cookbook. Recipes are organized by the vegetable type, so you can always find some enticing ways to use up the excess. We have cooked dozens of the recipes and not hit a bad one yet. Highly recommended... don't be intimitated by the high price.