Book Review: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Mark Bittman. This man has had more influence on our diet than any one person. His book, Food Matters, got us thinking about meatless eating and ethical farming. His blog continuously inspires us with new recipes. And his silly culinary vacation TV show has helped us to relax.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is the meatless version of Bittman’s masterpiece. It contains over 2,000 recipes and covers, well, everything. All that I love about Bittman’s style and approach to cooking comes out in this book. He is an unashamed home cook, avoiding anything fancy or putzy. If you can use a food processor to speed up a recipe, he recommends it.
What I Like
Encyclopedic. Almost every time we try a new recipe, we at least consult this book.
Simplicity. Each recipe is pared down to its bare essentials.
Real Food. The recipes avoid processed food, while maintaining approachability.
Ideas. Bittman provides variations that you can play with to make the recipes your own.
Information. There are great sections on cookware and technique. In addition, every food type is prefaced with helpful background information.
What I Dislike
Lack of pictures. I know it’s impossible with this many recipes, but I just like knowing what the result should look like.
Overly simple. Sure, I said I liked the book’s simplicity. But sometimes I feel like the recipes lack the polish that would really make them stand out.
Confusing. The recipes are written in a way that I have to read them several times before I know what I am supposed to do.
Conclusion
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is one of our most-used cooking references. That being said, it often does not provide the final recipe that we decide to go with. If you are looking for a couple stand-out recipes to add to your repertoire, look elsewhere. However, if you want a solid reference book to help shift your paradigm away from meat-centric meals, this is the book for you.
Tags: Recipe
6 Comments
Lucy
04 Oct 2010 01:10 pm
I use that book in much the same way – just go to it for inspiration. I have 2 copies {mainly because I used to date someone who worked for the publishing company}. I tend to use it {rarely} in conjunction with other ideas floating around in my head or even other recipes from other sources. I will say your picture makes me want to pull mine out of its hiding place!
Alex
05 Oct 2010 11:10 pm
You should pull it out of hiding, if not for recipes then for pressing tofu! Thanks for the comment!
Amanda @ bakingwithoutabox
04 Oct 2010 01:10 pm
Thx for the review. I always wish for more pictures in my cookbooks. Or at least a link to a website with a photo. Makes such a difference!
Jon
05 Oct 2010 08:10 am
I’ve used several of the recipes as a base & gone from there. I really like this cookbook. Thanks for the link to Bittman’s blog–headed over there next!
Alex
05 Oct 2010 11:10 pm
Definitely check out the blog. Bittman does a lot of videos for the NYTimes website, too. They are worth a view: The Minimalist on YouTube
Catherine
05 Jul 2011 05:07 pm
just found your blog and I love it. we share a very similar approach to eating. i also love this book and use it all the time. my favourite recipe so far is the midsummer vegetable burgers.
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