Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook

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Summary: A great cookbook - and story book!
Review: Great cookbook for living on a budget, but having gourmet tastes. Interesting, tasty and low cost meals that are easy to prepare. Uses alot of basics - beans, rice, etc.

Rating:
Summary: the most inspirational book on my shelves
Review: I've collected hundreds of books - from philosophy to mysteries to cookbooks. And, I'm a philosophy teacher who reads (lots of) fiction for pleasure. But if I were to save only one book for eternity, it would be this one. The recipes are presented clearly and are simple to prepare. But the book is more than the recipes. It is also a collection of inspiring stories from around the world. For those of us in the US, with luxuries and overabundance the norm, it is a humbling look at how the rest of the world struggles with the simplest needs. I have no particular religious affiliation but this is the book I turn to (at least once a year) for a spiritual overhaul and reality check. I can't recommend it enough.

Rating:
Summary: Best cookbook I've ever owned!
Review: I've had this cookbook for ten years. It's been dragged all over the world with me and I think I've actually tried over 60% of the recipes. Every meal has been delicious; beating-out "gourmet" recipes that take twice as much time to prepare. It's a wonderful way to get to know the cuisine of the real people of other cultures, too. I wish they were all written like this!

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Cookbook
Review: The recipes from all over the world, mainly third-world nations, are delicious, easy-to-prepare, healthy, and can be made from inexpensive ingredients after an initial investment in spices. My husband and I were unemployed students and this cookbook gave us an endless variety of ideas for how to prepare lentils, at 50 cents a meal! I buy fresh garlic and ginger and keep both in my freezer. No need to peel the ginger if you've washed it before freezing it, and it breaks apart easily when it has been frozen. Though seasonings can be expensive, they can make the most basic ingredients--dried beans, lentils, grains--savory and satisfying! If you don't have the ingredients the recipe calls for, improvise! These recipes are extrememly versatile.

There is a index for the recipes origin, so you can decide to have a complete dinner featuring a particular nation or region. Many meals can be prepared with one or two pots on your stove, as many kitchens in the world contain only a wood-fired stove.

If you buy this book, spend some time just reading it-- it is filled with stories and observations from MCC volunteers who lived in community with the poor of the world and experienced generosity and hospitality of their neighbors. Some stories will bring you to tears. You will never think of food in the same way again.



Rating:
Summary: the most inspirational book on my shelves
Review: This is a lovely cookbook and general user-friendly guide to world conditions. It is inviting and the recipes are clear and tasty -- or at least authentic. You get the impression that you would like to have the authors over for dinner.

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Summary: Buy this cookbook now!
Review: This is positively the best cookbook I own! I bought it while living in Belize, where specialty ingredients are scarce, and I was cooking all the time. Every single recipe I have made from this book (and I've made a few!) turned out perfect and amazingly tasty the very first time. The authors and testers have clearly done their work well. This book is worth buying for the (very-simple-to-prepare) Korean spinach salad recipe alone. People who *hate* spinach will love it! Hope you enjoy this cookbook as much as I have.