Rating: 
Summary: Innovative and colorful
Review: Author of the romantic historical novel, The Rebel's Pledge.We are not vegetarians, but I have used this book for vegetable recipes many times. My teenagers have enjoyed the pizza recipes. A few recipes I have had to figure out measurements or ingredients since it is written in Australian terms.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't confused w/the other "Essential Vegetarian Cookbook"
Review: I accidentally picked up this book looking for "The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook" by Diana Shaw (ASIN 051788268X). It initially looks very good, but we've found it somewhat difficult to use. The photographs of the prepared meals are excellent and probably the book's strongest suit. While browsing, you'll forget that you're eating healthy. Layout is like most cookbooks: soups, snacks, pies, pastas, salads, side-vegetables, sauces and desserts. What would be really helpful is a meal planner, or something suggesting sides that would complement entrees. Each recipe has a rating, one to three stars, relating to its complexity. The breadth of complexity is pretty wide. For example, baby baked potatos and vegetable pot pies are both "one star," despite the latter taking many more steps and ingredients. Pumpkin and herb ravioli would be a two-star (medium difficulty) while roasted vegetable lasagne is a three-star (the hardest). There's no correlation between the complexity and the time to prepare & cook. For example, the pot pies, ravioli and lasagne recipes (above) all take about two and a half hours from start to serve. Thus, it's practical only for the weekend chef. Finally, the mix of metric and imperial units is distracting. For example, one recipe might read: 500g (1 lb) fettucini
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley while another might read: 60g (2 oz) butter
1 cup (250ml/8 fl oz) olive oil On a couple of occasions I've misread the change in units. I would be much easier if they stuck with one system. There are some redeeming features, but you can do much better with other books.
Rating:
Summary: Don't confused w/the other "Essential Vegetarian Cookbook"
Review: I accidentally picked up this book looking for "The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook" by Diana Shaw (ASIN 051788268X). It initially looks very good, but we've found it somewhat difficult to use. The photographs of the prepared meals are excellent and probably the book's strongest suit. While browsing, you'll forget that you're eating healthy. Layout is like most cookbooks: soups, snacks, pies, pastas, salads, side-vegetables, sauces and desserts. What would be really helpful is a meal planner, or something suggesting sides that would complement entrees. Each recipe has a rating, one to three stars, relating to its complexity. The breadth of complexity is pretty wide. For example, baby baked potatos and vegetable pot pies are both "one star," despite the latter taking many more steps and ingredients. Pumpkin and herb ravioli would be a two-star (medium difficulty) while roasted vegetable lasagne is a three-star (the hardest). There's no correlation between the complexity and the time to prepare & cook. For example, the pot pies, ravioli and lasagne recipes (above) all take about two and a half hours from start to serve. Thus, it's practical only for the weekend chef. Finally, the mix of metric and imperial units is distracting. For example, one recipe might read: 500g (1 lb) fettucini
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley while another might read: 60g (2 oz) butter
1 cup (250ml/8 fl oz) olive oil On a couple of occasions I've misread the change in units. I would be much easier if they stuck with one system. There are some redeeming features, but you can do much better with other books.
Rating:
Summary: Something between ordinary cooking and fancy cooking.
Review: I really enjoy this book. The recipes are tasty, and ranked by difficulty. (One star is the easiest). The chapters are well organized and there is a photo for almost every recipe. Chapters include headings like "pastas, stews, desserts, appetizers, etc). There is little room in the margins though, for notes. There is a little bit in the front about nutrition and what to look for in a vegetarian diet. Each chapter also has a "feature" layout with some extra recipes that are organized by theme -- either an ingredient or a category like "dips." There is no nutritional info and the recipes are not labelled L, O, L/O or V so you will have to figure that on your own rather than at a glance. I haven't had any trouble making these, and they yield tasty results. I collect cookbooks, and this is among my top 5 to turn to when I need ideas. It's pretty enough to make a great gift, but practical enough to actually be USED.
Rating: 
Summary: a definite hit!
Review: in the hit and miss world of (vegetarian) cookbooks, this is a hit, and highly recommended. the recipes range from the common to the mildly exotic, and should provide stimulating recipes for vegetarians and omnivores alike. the book is beautifully photographed, and just paging through it is an inspiration for even the most unwilling cooks. recipes also give an idea of the time involved in their creation, from cutting board to tabletop. instructions are given in metric measurements as well.
Rating:
Summary: Great recipes!
Review: My family has both carnivores and vegetarians. Since I am the cook, it is very difficult to please everyone (especially the carnivores!! they are so picky!). The recipes in this book are beautifully presented, have obviously been well tested, and please everyone in my family, most of the time. My vegetarians use the dishes as their main dish; my carnivores use them as a sort of secondary main dish. So everyone is very happy. Buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Great recipes!
Review: My family has both carnivores and vegetarians. Since I am the cook, it is very difficult to please everyone (especially the carnivores!! they are so picky!). The recipes in this book are beautifully presented, have obviously been well tested, and please everyone in my family, most of the time. My vegetarians use the dishes as their main dish; my carnivores use them as a sort of secondary main dish. So everyone is very happy. Buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Mouthwatering!
Review: The term "vegetarian" is usually anathema to most meat-eaters or meat-lovers. It conjures visions of bland, chewey foods, yeasty extracts and soy-based replications of "real" food. As unfair as this may be as a characterization of vegetarian food, the fact remains that it is a loaded term. Well, this cookbook demystifies vegetarian cooking, and most of these recipes will make the tastebuds of omnivores and vegetarians alike happy. I eat a lot of meat, but I eat a fair amount of vegetables too, and this book is a godsend when you finally get tired of steamed green beans, steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, steamed brussel sprouts, and sauteed spinach. A lot of these recipes make wonderful appetizers or a light lunch, and if you are looking for fairly easy, tasty, artful and interesting side dishes to serve dinner guests alongside that slab of beef you've got sizzling away on the grill, this is a terrific resource. I have several vegetarian cookbooks that I turn to when looking for interesting things to do with vegetables, and I think this one has the highest number of recipes I actually use. The pictures themselves are quite appetizing, and they are helpful in providing ideas for presentation as well as helping you figure out which recipes will be most appealing to you. My only complaint is the lack of dietary information about the dishes- I pay attention to calories, fat and fiber levels, and you have to go it alone with this book, but it's not that big a deal. I am quite a fan of this whole "The Essential..." series. I also have "The Essential Pasta Cookbook" and "The Essential Appetizer Cookbook" and I think highly of those as well. There is also a dessert cookbook in the seies which looks great, but I don't make a whole lot of desserts so I haven't picked it up. I recommend you check them all out. My paperback edition came with a handy plastic dustcover as well, which keeps it in a much nicer condition than a lot of my other paperbacks. I think this is a very good buy.
Rating:
Summary: I thought it was impossible great vegetarian food
Review: This book is one of a series of "Essential" books. This like others in the series is well illustrated and explains in simple terms the cooking techniques for each recipe. There is an introduction which gives an explanation of why it is a good idea to incorporate more vegetarian type dishes into your diet. I am not a vegetarian but my partner is of that persuasion. I thus eat and cook a large amount of vegetarian food. I would like to say that this book has been a revelation. Most other vegetarian cookbooks tend to have dull flavorless recipes with ingredients chosen on ideological grounds rather than on flavor. For some years I actually gave up on using these sorts of books and made vegetarian food from Indian and Middle Eastern cook books. Those cuisines were able to produce food which would look attractive was interesting to eat and was nutritious. I was given this book as a present and started to go through making a few recipes. Each time I made something it would taste great and was generally not difficult. If you have a vegetarian friend give them a copy of this book it will save you from having to eat flavorless black bean stews and alfalfa sprouts when you drop in to visit them.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This cookbook is easy to use and the food is great. I really like that each recipe has a preparation time and a total cooking time so you know what kind of time commitment to expect. The pictures are helpful to get an idea of what the dish is supposed to look like. The other nice aspect of this cookbook is that most ingredients are easy to find and the spices are common enough that you would probably have them in the house.
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