The Whole Foods Market Cookbook (Paperback)

by Steve Petusevsky (Author), Inc. Whole Foods (Author) "Bring the water to a boil and remove from the heat..." (more)
Key Phrases: teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, large sauce pot, handheld immersion blender, Monterey Jack, Creamy Peanut Sauce, Italian Herb Vinaigrette (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The first Whole Foods Market, selling only minimally processed natural and organic products, opened in 1980. In response to all the customers who ever asked, "How do I cook this?", chef Steve Petusevsky and the Whole Foods Market team members present The Whole Foods Market Cookbook, an enormous collection of healthy recipes, filled with comprehensive explanations and descriptions.

Many of the recipes are longtime customer favorites. The "Big and Small Salads" chapter includes Sonoma Chicken Salad, a bestseller made with sweet red grapes, crunchy pecans, and a creamy, sweet-and-sour poppy seed dressing. Thirty-five soups and chilis include a heartwarming Roasted Corn Poblano Chowder and a rich, fragrant Sweet Potato Chili. There are a multitude of vegetarian and vegan recipes in every chapter, all clearly marked, and even if that's not what you're looking for they'll have you thinking differently about healthy eating. Try the vegan Lentil and Mushroom Tagine, a traditional Moroccan stew, or the vegetarian Spicy Roasted Eggplant with Sesame Honey, delicious as a side dish or sandwich topping, or as a main course served with noodles or rice.

If you've ever looked for more ways to use tofu (try the Kung Pao), seitan, millet, quinoa, or mung bean sprouts, or if you'd rather make meals heavy on flavor and nutrition and light on fat and artificial additives, The Whole Foods Market Cookbook offers 350 delicious, well-tested solutions. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly
The Whole Foods Market has been a pioneering natural-foods-oriented alternative supermarket since it opened in 1980, and their broadly appealing cookbook reflects a gourmet approach to healthy food. Appetizers such as the Spicy Chickpea Patties with Cilantro, Lime and Chilies and such soups as Sweet Potato, Corn and Kale Chowder have flavor kicks often missing from other health-conscious cookbooks. One-Pot Meals such as Spicy Mac and Cheese and Thai-Style Green Curry Chicken abound, along with hearty salads and sandwiches like the Mediterranean Tuna Salad and the Mushroom Goat-Cheese Quesadillas. Naturally, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan recipes, such as Kung Pao Tofu and vegan French Onion Soup. Main courses such as Athenian Chicken Roll-Ups, Lime Seared Scallops over Baby Spinach and Firecracker Shrimp emphasize fish and white meats. Sauces and dips such as the low fat Buttermilk Ranch dressing and the Spinach Artichoke dip double as marinades or toppings. The uneven Cooking with Kids chapter is sandwiched between some great smoothie and drink recipes, and to cap it off there's a dessert chapter with Lemon Lime Bars and Unbaked Brownies. Recipes include nutritional information. A glossary and information panels throughout the book explain how to do everything from storing chilies to keeping vegetables from losing their color. This ambitious book is one of few that both vegetarians and omnivores keen on gourmet-quality organic foods will embrace.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (August 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609806440
• ISBN-13: 978-0609806449
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Back to the Test Kitchen, January 15, 2003

By A Customer

I've been a regular shopper at Whole Foods Market for years and I've been waiting for the company to put out a cookbook with some of their own great recipes, like Ed's Tantalizing Tofu, for the home cook. So when this book finally appeared, I was one of the first in line for it. Unfortunately, it's not what I'd hoped for.

I have no complaints about the ingredients list, that's why I shop at WFM -- beautiful fresh, organic produce, all varieties of grain and pasta products, and a wide assortment of gourmet and International foods not found in other stores. For many of my favorite cookbooks [like Nina Simonds' Asian Noodles] Whole Foods Market provides one-stop shopping.

The problem I have with the book is that of the half-dozen or so recipes I tried, I had to make repairs midway through the making, or the flavors or ingredients didn't come together as I expected, or the end product just plain didn't taste good. I was left with beautiful food made into lousy meals.

If you're looking for great-tasting recipes tailor-made for WFM shoppers, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while longer. This one should be sent back to the test kitchen.

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Riddled with typos, June 23, 2003

By	villekulla - See all my reviews

This is a beautiful cookbook, with a few very good recipes--Fragrant Ginger Lime Chicken Fingers and Southwest King Ranch Casserole among them. Unfortunately, these are far outnumbered by the recipes that simply do not work, especially those involving the delicate manufacture of dough. At first I thought I had it wrong, but over the course of repeated failures, I realized that the problem was in the testing and/or proofreading. And it's not just dry measures; the text of one recipe calls for onions, when it means potatoes. Several re-readings later, I finally cracked the code. I sincerely hope that the authors try again to get it right. The tragedy is how close they came...

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to like this cookbook...., April 20, 2005

By	Kayla Pruett (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews

...but I have to agree with the other reviewers who said that the recipes fall short. Many of them sound absolutely delicious, but I have found many errors and in recipes where there are no obvious errors, I often have to make adjustments to the seasonings or ingredients (for example, I made the Lemon Tahini Sauce tonight to go with the baked Falafel Balls...the falafel balls recipes is missing a step, and the lemon tahini sauce calls for way, way too much tahini and the end product is not what the recipe describes. I could fix both mistakes, but I shouldn't have to). I wish they would do some heavy revising to this cookbook, because it has so much promise.