[.ca] Passionate Vegetarian: More Than 1,000 Robust Recipes ... (ISBN 1563057115)

From Amazon.com:
Crescent Dragonwagon shares a wealth of recipes and memories with humor and intelligence in her extraordinary Passionate Vegetarian. She promises that "here you will be well fed, well loved, well tended to, satisfied," and 1,000-plus recipes later, that's exactly what's delivered. For 18 years Dragonwagon owned and ran a country inn, where she fed glorious food to everyone including vegetarians, diabetics, the lactose intolerant, and people with food allergies. But the real draw here is that this is vegetarian cooking for everyday living. Ingredient lists are always reasonable and understandable; you won't have to search high and low for something esoteric that'll make or break a recipe. This is comfort food that's easy to prepare, and that deprives you of nothing. If you're not a full-time vegetarian, this is the biggest book of potential starters and side dishes you'll ever see. Dragonwagon's "swoon-worthy, knock-your-socks-off, delicious food" includes hors d'oeuvres; salads; soups; stews; layered dishes; dishes that star grains, beans, or soy; recipes for every vegetable imaginable; burgers and patties; quick dishes; and desserts. From the simple Melissa's Spinach Casserole and Susie Pryor's beautifully impressive "Perfectly Delicious" Stuffed Acorn Squash to the vibrant Stir-Fry of Asparagus with Black Bean-Ginger Sauce and Mr. Panseer's North-Indian-Style Spinach, Dragonwagon offers flavors and cooking techniques from all over the world--everything from old favorites to new twists. With notes on "cooking, eating, loving and living fearlessly," there's a lot to learn here, and it's not just about vegetables. --Leora Y. Bloom

a vegetarian encyclopedia:
Crescent Dragonwagon, chef, writer, and inkeeper, has been a vegetarian all this time! Who knew? Somehow she has found the time to create and test over 1000 pages of fabulous vegetarian recipes; with her signature enthusiasm and personal anecdotes, it's like having Crescent in your kitchen, cheerfully urging you on to try new things, in new ways. This is a very comprehensive volume, with lots of information about vegetables, grains, soy products, and beans, how to prepare them ,with variations on variations, and vegan adaptations. I personally have tried about 5 of the recipes and they are all fabulous, with readily-available ingredients (even in my rural location), healthy withour being fussy, innovative without being ridiculous. The ginger sorbet is intoxicating; it has literally changed the life of a family member who previously was in the habit of consuming entire pints of Ben and Jerry's or Sara Lee cakes at a sitting. Now all he wants is CD's Ginger Sorbet--be warned! it is addictive! One of the things I really like about this book is that the recipes are written such that each cook can find his/her comfort zone in terms of fat content, eggs or no eggs, dairy or no dairy. A soup, for example, can be made with cream, or low-fat milk, or soy milk, or yogurt, or just broth. This is a great book for someone who wishes to incorporate more whole grains, or soy, or vegetables into his/her diet but is unsure as to how to do it. It's also a must-have for a long-time vegetarian like myself, who has fallen into some ruts making the same tofu dishes, bean soups, and vegetable curries over and over. If you add just one cookbook to your collection, it should be this one. It will expand your repertoire exponentially.

Wonderful writing and even better food:
I loved not only Crescent Dragonwagon's writing style, but (most importantly) her amazing recipes. Her "Hungarian Potato Soup" is absolute heaven in a bowl. Her recipes are well-written and helpful - as a brand new vegetarian, hers was the first cookbook I bought. Every technique that was new to me was explained, and every ingredient that was new to me was explained as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Outstanding:
I love this book for a lot of reasons. Where to start? First, this is a very complete volume, covering everything from familiar vegetarian fare (greens, eggs, tofu, beans) to more esoteric items (seitan, nutritional yeast, umeboshi paste). Many recipes include variations, including how to make dishes for vegans, how to "gild the lily" of a dish, etc. Pick a vegetable, vegetarian protein source, legume, or grain, and you're sure to find at least two (four, ten, twelve) recipes for it in this book. Second, the writing is conversational, comforting, and humorous. You get a feel for not only Crescent, but the people she gleaned her recipes from and the people who have shared meals with her. Third, the recipes are solid. I've made a dozen items from this book, and some I've made several times over. I've yet to be disappointed. In quite a few cases, I was blown away. Fourth, the recipes are geared toward people who are fat conscious, but not fat phobic. She's lightened up many traditional meals without taking away flavor. Again, I've yet to be disappointed by anything she suggests. Fifth, the "quick fix" section! Nuff said! Even if you're a dyed-in-the-wool carnivore, I heartily and enthusiastically recommend this book to you, your Aunt Mildred, and your nextdoor neighbor Bob. It's a robust 1000-page invitation into a world of delicious vegetarian cuisine, and well worth the price of admission.

Cookbook Perfection:
I am a cookbook author and creative chef. Dragonwagon's book is brilliant. Vegetarians will delight in its content. This book defintely spends more time in my kitchen than it does on my shelf. It is a must have!

An Excellent Vegetarian Cookbook and Reference Tool:
I am an occassional vegetarian, always looking for inspiration on ways to take my family closer and closer to a vegetarian diet. I ordered this book through a cook book club and have been absolutely enervated by it. Not only does she have fantastic recipes for every grain, fruit, nut, or veggie under the sun, she also has pages and pages of how-to tips for those of us who have not worked extensively with some unusual ingredients. This is the part I really appreciated - she has lots of variations accompanying every menu. When I'm cooking something new, I want to know which way it can bend and turn, and her tips and casual recommendations for variations really help me learn that from her experience vs. my own. Time saving, big time. She includes some musings and biographical stories among the recipes, and I enjoy reading all of them. I am a big fan of cookbooks in general, I'll read them even if I don't cook from them, and her writing just made this one all the more interesting. You're going to enjoy this cookbook. I have half a dozen veggie cookbooks, but this is the OED of them all. Every vegetarian or veggie lover should own it.