Ryland Peters & Small

2.5 stars

I have several issues with this cookbook. As someone who is lactose intolerant, there were too many soups that required dairy and didn't really allow for substituting things like soy milk or coconut milk in place of milk or cream. There are several spices and herbs that I know I wouldn't be able to find unless I ordered them from a specialty store. Letting you know that you need a food processor upfront to make many of these soups would be very helpful as well.

There are photos to go along with all the recipes. Glad I borrowed this from the library and didn't buy it.… (more)

This cookbook has great potential. The few recipes I tried worked and were decent or even good, but with a few small tweaks could be made even better. I am going to use the veggie loaf as an example:

- Some of the instructions need to be more specific. The way you prepare a pan and the way I prepare a pan are different: is it okay to just grease a pan or does the recipe NEED the parchment in the picture? (Important because parchment paper is getting harder to find) Parchment normally doesn't need grease - it is meant to absorb it - but there is no grease and little fat in this recipe, so do I need to grease it? This book is aimed at people who are more likely beginner cooks, but even we intermediate cooks could use some instruction some times.
- Small tweaks to make it better: the veggie loaf cannot be sliced, as instructed before applying the sauce, as it falls apart. Part of why may be the zucchini: zucchini is very moist and here are no instructions to squeeze out the moisture.
- more tips on alternative preparations: the loaf is good without the sauce (may need more salt, as most of the salt is in the sauce) and can then be added to other recipes (veggie loaf sandwich, anyone?).

All in all, it is a decent cookbook and you can use it as is right now. I applaud that there are a lot of pictures (not for every recipe but most recipes) and not the worst index. It has a fairly decent chapter organization. It had some good advice in the beginning for beginner cooks (though not enough if you have never boiled water, for example!). However, a few tweaks and it could be better. A loaf that remains a loaf, way better!… (more)

This cookbook has great potential. The few recipes I tried worked and were decent or even good, but with a few small tweaks could be made even better. I am going to use the veggie loaf as an example:

- Some of the instructions need to be more specific. The way you prepare a pan and the way I prepare a pan are different: is it okay to just grease a pan or does the recipe NEED the parchment in the picture? (Important because parchment paper is getting harder to find) Parchment normally doesn't need grease - it is meant to absorb it - but there is no grease and little fat in this recipe, so do I need to grease it? This book is aimed at people who are more likely beginner cooks, but even we intermediate cooks could use some instruction some times.
- Small tweaks to make it better: the veggie loaf cannot be sliced, as instructed before applying the sauce, as it falls apart. Part of why may be the zucchini: zucchini is very moist and here are no instructions to squeeze out the moisture.
- more tips on alternative preparations: the loaf is good without the sauce (may need more salt, as most of the salt is in the sauce) and can then be added to other recipes (veggie loaf sandwich, anyone?).

All in all, it is a decent cookbook and you can use it as is right now. I applaud that there are a lot of pictures (not for every recipe but most recipes) and not the worst index. It has a fairly decent chapter organization. It had some good advice in the beginning for beginner cooks (though not enough if you have never boiled water, for example!). However, a few tweaks and it could be better. A loaf that remains a loaf, way better!… (more)