Simple Vegetarian Pleasures

Rating:
Summary: Another "Must Have" Cookbook from Jeanne Lemlin!
Review: Having learned to cook from Lemlin's first vegetarian cookbook, I heartily recommend her latest Simple Vegetarian Pleasures. Lemlin's books belong in everyone's kitchen, vegetarian or not. Her recipes are well written, her ingredients are easy to find, and her seasonings are perfect. Lemlin's descriptions will leave your mouth watering until you prepare and savor her recipes. She even provides a pantry list, and menus for just about any occasion.

I have prepared about ten of the recipes from Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, and all were fantastic. Some I have made more than once. I never think of this as a vegetarian diet, but instead as great food. Lemlin is probably the most approachable cookbook writer who understands the limits of time, energy and ingredient availability without sacrificing the desire to eat well and enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: These recipes are true vegetarian pleasures!
Review: I bought this book because it was highly recommended by a friend, but I found the first three recipes I tried overly complicated and bland. I doubt I'll try any more, since it's such a waste of ingredients to make things that aren't great. My current favorite cookbook is The Minimalist Cooks at Home by Mark Bittman. It's unbelievably good.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous and Fun
Review: Jeanne Lemlin's "Simple Vegetarian Pleasures" combines simplicity with imagination and delivers recipes that are a break from the ordinary humdrum standards. The best quality of this book is that it inspires you to cook at the end of a long day (and that is a difficult feat) ! Lemlin's choices are not only exciting in terms of the final product you can imagine devouring, but also in their approachable nature. You do not simply want to read this cookbook for entertainment; you actually feel compelled to pull together the basic ingredients and start cooking. Lemlin has clearly done an enormous amount of research and testing in the preparation of this book. Her recipes seem to be no-fail and I never find myself making notes about little things to change. This makes cooking FUN for the person following Lemlin's advice. She has done all the hard work already and you just have to follow her instructions and a gorgeous dish will result! I can't sing the praises of "Simple Vegeatrian Pleasures" enough. It is a masterful, fresh, and exciting new cookbook that everyone should have in their kitchen. It also makes a fantastic gift for the person who is interested in learning more about vegetarian cooking, but has no idea where to begin. This book will make that journey fabulous and fun!

Rating:
Summary: A gift to my college son
Review: My college son is a vegetarian, as is the rest of our family. This is his first year of living off campus and he and his two roommates are exploring real food shopping and cooking for pretty much the first time in their lives. They share a love of good food and a concern for eating healthy foods, but must accomplish this on a college budget, and within the time constraints of classes, studying, and holding down part-time jobs!

While shopping at Christmas for a suitable cookbook to add to their small but growing collection, I ran across "Simple Vegetarian Pleasures" by Jeanne Lemlin. The book intrigued me so much that it never got wrapped as a Christmas present because several of the dishes were in-process for our family Christmas dinner! The recipes are simple using ingredients that are easily obtained, yet sophisticated and interesting, drawing from a cross-section of cultures and cooking styles. The information that is presented along with the recipes is very informative even to those of us who have been cooking for a very long time! For instance, I always thought that "Au Gratin" meant "with cheese!" Nope! It means "with crumbs!" The preparation instructions are clear and concise so that everyone can successfully prepare these dishes, regardless of their level of cooking expertise. In fact, in the three weeks that this book was in our home, it affected my own preparation style so greatly, that several of the recipes have already been incorporated into our favorite "quick fixes."

My son left to return to school yesterday - and took this great book with him...so now my high-school age daughter and I need to buy two more copies - one for ourselves and one for my other son and his wife, the king and queen of frozen microwaved dinners! ("Yes, you guys - there IS a better way to eat and you DON'T have to spend all of your spare time in the kitchen DOING it!")

Rating:
Summary: Everyday favorites
Review: One of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks. Nothing fancy, but lots of reliable everyday meals and a few real gems. My favorites are the black bean chili (meat eaters don't realize it's veggie) and the triple rice salad (beautiful and perfect for the holidays). I've given this book as a gift to at least 3 others--none are vegetarians, but they all love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Gems!
Review: Our family stopped eating meat about 10 years ago. (There were so many reasons---health, humaneness, environmental concerns---but I'm probably preaching to the converted here.) My wife has a shelf full of cookbooks, but whenever a meal turns out to be especially delicious and interesting, it's usually from one of Jeanne Lemlin's books. I can't recommend them highly enough!

Rating:
Summary: Really easy - Really Great for those who like quality food
Review: This book is great for making really tasty food that just happens to be meatless. It is all elegant enough for company, but easy enough for a monday night. I am especially fond of the white beans and tomatoes. I would highly reccomend this cookbook for those who like to use canned beans and veggies in their meals. These dishes certainly don't taste like you did though! It's my favorite veggie cookbook.

Rating:
Summary: Really easy - Really Great for those who like quality food
Review: This book is great for making really tasty food that just happens to be meatless. It is all elegant enough for company, but easy enough for a monday night. I am especially fond of the white beans and tomatoes. I would highly reccomend this cookbook for those who like to use canned beans and veggies in their meals. These dishes certainly don't taste like you did though! It's my favorite veggie cookbook.

Rating:
Summary: It's a Simple Vegetarian book
Review: Vegetarians weren't known as such until 1847 (before thatthey were non-meat eaters known as Pythagoreans), but today there aremany Vegetarians, and what many people thought would be just a 'phase' has grown into almost a cult. Brigitte Bardot, Alex Baldwin, Candice Bergen, Richard Gere, Brook Shields, Michael Bolton, The Captain & Tennille, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Olivia Newton John, Bob Barker, and many more personalities are known Vegetarians. Most of these people have also been known for their social activities. Vegetarianism is here to stay, and every day there are more and more recipes to help non-meat eaters get all of their vitamins and minerals.
Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, written by Jeanne Lemlin and published by Harper Collins is one of those books. The fourth cookbook from the same author has the same theme as the others she has written. One thing I have learned from reviewing cookbooks, is that not all of the aesthetic problems with some cookbooks are because of the author. In fact most of them are the creation of the publisher. Maybe I should sit down with all of them and explain some of my special do's and don'ts. Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, as a source for some interesting recipes is above average, but the color scheme and layout are, in my opinion, less then average. I strongly believe that people who use cookbooks for the recipes, not those that use them as a guide or for ideas, should not have to turn a page to see the entire recipe on most occasions. The double-truck of the book should be enough for a majority of recipes. The other, in my opinion, concern with this cookbook was the red ink and the white on red blocks of ink. Red is a color that blurs easily. Red ink in small print is a little hard on the eyes. White on red in small print can cause headaches. I'm still looking for Michael Hodgson's copyrighted photographs.
All that aside, the book contains some 200 interesting recipes including a variety of vegetable stocks, Tiny Eggplant Turnovers, Cheesy Polenta Disks with Assorted Toppings, Salad of Baby Greens with Baked Goat Cheese, Mushroom Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans, Soba Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Mediterranean Vegetable Soup with Feta Cheese, Curried Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk, Tortilla Pizzas with Jalapeno Cheese and Roasted Peppers, Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Coconut Lime Rice, Portobello Mushroom and Caramelized Shallot Omelet, Gorgonzola Polenta with Spinach and Exotic Mushrooms, Curried Tofu "Eggless" Salad, Penne with Fried Tofu Roasted Red Peppers and Olives, Tortellini with Kale and Garlicky Bread Crumbs, Greens and Bulghur Tian, Caramelized Pear and Ginger Upside-Down Cake, and Wacky Cake. The back of the book contains some menu ideas, and the front offers ideas for the pantry. There are a suggestions, terms, or histories of food item scattered throughout the book.
With the author being a vegetarian for 30-plus years, I was surprised that there were not many personal stories and comments that introduced the recipes. Overall, I liked the recipes, the ingredients are readily available in most grocery stores today, with a few item available only at local health food stores.