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Rating: 
Summary: Made my other cookbooks obselete...
Review: I picked this up at a used bookstore, with not very high hopes for it, and was I suprised. I feel like my "recipe books" are holding me back. Tassajara cooking teaches you to cook in a spontaneous and practical (using whatever you have in the fridge) manner. The Zen Buddhist perspective is refreshing. It is a fun book and you never have to worry about having the ingredients because the recipes are more vague guidelines for going insane in the kitchen. I used to get frustrated by things not turning out, now I know that everything turns out in its own way. This also has a section on cutting and knife-sharpening. Definately track this out-of-print book down!
Rating:
Summary: Made my other cookbooks obselete...
Review: I picked this up at a used bookstore, with not very high hopes for it, and was I suprised. I feel like my "recipe books" are holding me back. Tassajara cooking teaches you to cook in a spontaneous and practical (using whatever you have in the fridge) manner. The Zen Buddhist perspective is refreshing. It is a fun book and you never have to worry about having the ingredients because the recipes are more vague guidelines for going insane in the kitchen. I used to get frustrated by things not turning out, now I know that everything turns out in its own way. This also has a section on cutting and knife-sharpening. Definately track this out-of-print book down!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a recipe book - but truly conveys "Joy of Cooking"
Review: Maybe you are learning to cook by following recipes in good cook books, and (one hopes) varying from the recipes based on the ingredients at hand. This is a wonderful companion for the student chef - and very much worth a little time tracking a copy down second-hand. (The book is, sadly, out of print.) The book is so friendly and accessible, with early editions including amateurish drawings and hand-printed messages, with such a playful (while certainly informative) tone, there is no intimidation. At the front of the book is a good orientation on knife care and safe chopping, as well as different styles of chopping (the "julienne" versus the "round cut," for example). The book is then organized into food groups, with chapters on basic ingredients essential for healthy (and tasty) vegetarian cooking. The facts about each vegetable, legume, or grain, and some very basic recipes to show how it might be prepared - with a strong encouragement to improvise!
Rating:
Summary: Not a recipe book - but truly conveys "Joy of Cooking"
Review: Maybe you are learning to cook by following recipes in good cook books, and (one hopes) varying from the recipes based on the ingredients at hand. This is a wonderful companion for the student chef - and very much worth a little time tracking a copy down second-hand. (The book is, sadly, out of print.) The book is so friendly and accessible, with early editions including amateurish drawings and hand-printed messages, with such a playful (while certainly informative) tone, there is no intimidation. At the front of the book is a good orientation on knife care and safe chopping, as well as different styles of chopping (the "julienne" versus the "round cut," for example). The book is then organized into food groups, with chapters on basic ingredients essential for healthy (and tasty) vegetarian cooking. The facts about each vegetable, legume, or grain, and some very basic recipes to show how it might be prepared - with a strong encouragement to improvise!
Rating:
Summary: A cooking book, rather than a cook book. Most excellent.
Review: Tassajara is famous as the first Buddhist monestary outside of Asia. I believe it's in California. But you don't have to give a damn about Zen to get a lot of useful info out of this book. I like it because it is very basic. It teaches you how to cook, rather than just listing recipes. Some of the stuff may be a little too basic for the practiced chef, but most people have never learned the best way to saute or even slice an onion. My favorite part is the recipe for soup. No particular kind of soup, just a chart for making any sort of soup, based on what you have on hand!
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