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Rating: 
Summary: An uncommon and wonderful find!!
Review: ...I used to work as a Macrobiotic chef at a little place called the Organic Cafe in Oakland. I mostly learned from other cooks and didn't really consult cookbooks too often, but then I got a brunch shift where I had to make desserts--I knew next to nothing about how to make desserts, but I got lucky in thumbing through our well-worn reference books, there was an awesome vegan cake recipe in Mary Estella's book called the "Basic Great Cake Recipe". Over the next year or so, I made so many variations on that recipe, expanding it for as many as 120 people, and it always came out so tasty and wonderful. I was always so thankful for that book (which was always there, somewhat miraculously, although I'd never seen anywhere else and we didn't sell it in our bookstore), and yet years after I left the cafe, I often regretted that I'd never written that recipe down, even though I'd often thought to do so. So, I was thrilled recently, when one day I thought to look for that book on amazon.com, that there were a couple of used copies...
Rating: 
Summary: Learning and Using Natural Foods Daily
Review: This undersung book is a precursor to many of the more "modern" natural foods cookbooks; e.g. C. Lair's "Feeding the Whole Family." But what is a treasure in this book is Mary Estella's experience both as a gourmet chef and a mother, teaching how to not only make delicious meals but how to organize and do it expeditiously. The book has beautiful photos, a practical section on cutting vegies and even how to sharpen a knife and set up a kitchen to cut and prepare foods.Nightshades are used in the book, but can easily be eliminated from the recipes, IF desired. This is a treasure especially for those first coming into contact with whole foods. This book, coupled with Lair's book, or Rebecca Wood's "The Splendid Grain" or "Whole Food Encyclopedia" gives a firm foundation to your kitchen.
Rating:
Summary: Learning and Using Natural Foods Daily
Review: This undersung book is a precursor to many of the more "modern" natural foods cookbooks; e.g. C. Lair's "Feeding the Whole Family." But what is a treasure in this book is Mary Estella's experience both as a gourmet chef and a mother, teaching how to not only make delicious meals but how to organize and do it expeditiously. The book has beautiful photos, a practical section on cutting vegies and even how to sharpen a knife and set up a kitchen to cut and prepare foods. Nightshades are used in the book, but can easily be eliminated from the recipes, IF desired. This is a treasure especially for those first coming into contact with whole foods. This book, coupled with Lair's book, or Rebecca Wood's "The Splendid Grain" or "Whole Food Encyclopedia" gives a firm foundation to your kitchen.
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