The Victory Garden Cookbook (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Even if you're not a gardener, The Victory Garden Cookbook is a great book to have; if you are a gardener, it's a treasure. The book grew out of a public television series called The Victory Garden, which was essentially a how-to program aimed at home gardeners, with a recipe segment thrown in. As the show's popularity grew, so did viewer demand for more recipes; eventually, Victory Garden cook Marian Morash decided that a cookbook was in order, resulting in The Victory Garden Cookbook. The book is a wonderful hybrid encyclopedia of information for both gardeners who cook and cooks who like to garden; Morash's first goal was to so entice readers with the pleasures of eating home-grown vegetables that they, too, would take up gardening--or at least shop for the freshest ingredients instead of settling for canned or frozen goods. The book, first published in 1982, has been a huge success ever since.

Organized alphabetically, The Victory Garden Cookbook includes all the vegetables Morash grows in her own garden; in addition to information about planting, growing, and harvesting the fruits of your labor, Morash gives advice about storing vegetables, converts yields into measurements (i.e., a half-pound of small Brussels sprouts equals 28-30 sprouts, while a half-pound of medium sprouts equals 12-14) and offers tips to gardenless cooks for finding the best produce. Whether you're an avid gardener, a gardener wannabe, or simply a person who loves a good vegetable dish, The Victory Garden Cookbook is guaranteed to become one of your best-loved and most-used cookbooks.

Product Description

An incomparable variety of more than 800 enticing recipes, basic gardening information, shopping tips for nongardeners, preserving and serving hints in oversize format. The book has sold 250,000 copies to date. 300 color photographs.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (July 12, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039470780X
• ISBN-13: 978-0394707808
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,705 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I still thank my mother for this one, September 2, 2000

By	M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The recipes have never let me down!, May 21, 1998

By A Customer

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!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT,ORGANIZED HOW TO CHOOSE,STORE &COOK PLUS MORE!, October 10, 2001

By	Ms Book "Ms Book" (Roseburg, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

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.