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Summary: This is now my primary cookbook.
Review: When I want a recipe, first I check my mother's recipes (of course), but after that I check my Deborah Madison cookbooks, especially _Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone_. If I don't know quite what I want to make, I think of an ingredient, look it up in the wonderful index, and go from there. In other words, Deborah Madison's book is the first cookbook off my shelf, and unless I need something very specialized it's probably the only cookbook off my shelf! Her recipes are that good. I've been particularly enjoying working through the section on soups, but it's always nice to know that if I want to experiment with, say, quinoa grains, I have a reliable source of recipes right here.
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Summary: For beginning vegetarians only
Review: A book like this might be useful for those with little experience in cooking or in vegetarian cooking. Personally, I find little of interest in it - the recipes are not challenging or innovative and often the flavors are poorly balanced. She often relies too much on exotic ingredients to achieve new tastes. I would recommend a less pretentious but more imaginative book like "Moosewood Low-Fat Cooking" or "Laurel's Kitchen" over this one.
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Summary: simple good food
Review: Madison knows her flavor blends. This is one of the few cookbooks where I don't adjust the proportions of the ingredients. If you try only one recipe from this cookbook let it be Cauliflower, Spinach, and Potato Stir-Fry with Coconut Milk. Prepare to go haywire over the smell of the cilantro, turmeric and serrano chile puree searing in your wok. Cooked turmeric is good for joints and alkaline foods (the three main ingredients)are easy to digest, making this an unbeatable meal. This afternoon I picked watercress from a ditch and tried the Stir-Fried Watercress recipe. With flavors so pleasant why brush my teeth? Aside from a slight concern about contracting giardia considering the source of the watercress it's another A+ simple recipe.
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Summary: Amazing!
Review: This is a must have for every kitchen. All of the recipes are great. I have bought this book for numerous people. I get compliments everytime I make something from this cookbook. I would highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: kill me now
Review: This cookbook is 723 pages of trainwreck. If you don't know what brussel sprouts are, or you want to know how to boil pasta, go ahead. Buy it. If you've ever stood in a kitchen before, don't bother with this book. Trust me. I was looking for a sort of Joy of Cooking without the meat and this cookbook appeared to fit that bill. Once I spent some time with it (desperately looking for recipes to make the $... I spent worth it), I found it to be almost completely useless and annoying to boot. For example: If you are looking for a recipe involving acorn squash, you get two listings. The first listing tells you what an acorn squash is. Gee. Thanks. The second listing tells you how to bake it. "brush with olive oil and place cut side down in an inch of water and bake at 375 for 30 minutes." Great. Thanks again. If I wanted to just bake the acorn squash, I really didn't need to open a cookbook. This is one of the most infuriating cookbooks I've ever seen. It appears to be full of interesting recipes when in fact it's not--it's full of useless and general information that most people capable of turning a stove on already know....
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Summary: Vegetarian or Not, This One is a Winner!
Review: This massive, information packed tome covers just about everything someone would want to know about non-meat cooking. Not just a book of recipes, she shares techniques and other useful information written simply so that any level cook can understand. There are lots of basic recipes for the hesitant as well as more complex (yet still doable) recipes for those wanting to explore. I found most recipes to be short and simply to prepare, allowing the flavor of the main ingredient or the style of preparation to shine through. The "Braised Carrots" are simply and very delicious! The layout is not exactly easy to follow at first glance. You can scan the table of contents or simply flip through the book to locate an interesting recipe, but if you are looking for a specific ingredient or preparation technique to use, turn to the index instead.
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Summary: Delicious, Comprehensive, and Practical!
Review: I think I'll start with the "Winter Greens with Fennel and Mushrooms," followed by a small cup of "Potato and Parsley Soup," and then the "Navy Bean and Pasta Gratin with Basil and Ricotta" (or perhaps the "Perciatelli with Roasted Tomatoes, Saffron, and Garlic?"). To top it off, let's have the "Rhubarb Tart with Orange Custard." Sound like something from the Michelin guide to Paris? It's Deborah Madison's excellent new volume," Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone." This book is more user-friendly than the author's "Greens Cookbook," Dishes are easier to prepare and not as time consuming. The book includes tips on various cooking methods, equipment, seasoning and sauces (apple pear chutney!), and over 1,300 recipes for delicious salads, sandwiches, soups, casseroles, vegetables, pastas, breads, desserts, and breakfasts. NOTE: This is not a vegan cookbook (i.e., dairy is included), but there is little or nothing on fish. It is also NOT a low-fat cookbook a la the Moosewood Low-Fat book. Unfortunately, there is no nutritional information, but again, this is a not a "Health" cookbook. Still, I think some attention to dietary issues would have strengthened the almost-encyclopedia quality of the book. The two paragraphs on salt, for example, delve only into matters of taste. As another reviewer noted, the few color pictures are good, but not great. Ms. Madison comments on almost every dish: what to look for in the ingredients, serving suggestions, and some notes on modifications. This is a very comprehensive guide to cooking; for example, she describes 9 kinds of squash and 8 types of cooking oil! There is a very helpful extensive index. If you're a beginning vegetarian, or one with certain dietary needs, you might want to begin with a more focused book. For the seasoned veteran, however, this is a thorough and well-written collection of recipes that taste as delicious as they sound.
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Summary: This book is truly for EVERYONE
Review: My wife and I both hunt, and this cookbook has become a wonderful resource for preparing side dishes to go with just about anything. Many of the recipes are simple enough to use as an accompaniment while some are complex enough to be the main course. The approach this author takes on preparing vegetables is wonderful. She has sections on many vegetables. In each section, she talks about characteristics of each vegetable, what it tastes like, and some general tips on preparation. After this, she has several recipes using that vegetable as it main ingredient. Probably the most important thing this book has done for my family is that it has given us ways to prepare vegetables that make them enjoyable, rather than just "something we need to eat to stay healthy."
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Summary: Not just for vegetarians
Review: This is THE cookbook in our house. My wife and I are not vegetarians, but this cookbook is our absolute favorite for everything in it. Not only does it tell you how to cook basically any vegetable you can image, but it's got recipes for custards, breads, etc. Nothing in this book has ever failed us. I made my first foray into custard with the corn custard recipe, and it was perfect. No one who likes to eat fresh vegetables should be without this book. My only complaint: I wish it covered fish. UPDATE 11/02: We still use this cookbook constantly. Besides what I mentioned above, it's got great recipes for risotto and muffins, amongst other fare. We own dozens and dozens of cookbooks, and this is the best.
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Summary: A great read and a great resource
Review: I own only three cookbooks, as I prefer to try new recipes from magazines. Yet this book is a resource I turn to repeatedly. I've learned so much in the way of basics from Deborah Madison, as well as many interesting new skills and techniques. There's nothing fussy or pretentious in this book. I've found her recipes to be rich and flavorful. It's great to come home from the farmer's market and turn to this reference to discover, "What can I make with these chiles or this eggplant that I just bought?" Her recipes have many variations and adaptations, so that you can return to familiar favorites and experiment with them in a new way, using whatever ingredients you might happen to have on hand. This book has made it even easier for me to be a vegetarian. I've followed Deborah Madison for 10 years, ever since I first discovered her Greens restaurant in San Francisco. It's been a joy to watch her grow as a cook and as an author, and to grow with her in my own greater commitment to vegetarianism and skill and experience as a cook. This truly is a book of "vegetarian cooking for everyone." It genuinely brings vegetarian cooking into the mainstream and makes it accessible for everyone. You don't need to have access to exotic or hard-to-find ingredients to prepare the foods in this book. It's a rich resource well worth the investment, for it will take me a long time to experiment with every recipe and variation in this book. It's inspired my curiosity to try more vegetables and has led me to appreciate the abundance and bounty that exists in simple vegetables--so much so, that I feel no sacrifice in not eating meat. Deborah Madison has helped cement a final step in my gradual path toward vegetarianism and has made it surprisingly simple to eat this way. It's been a great pleasure to discover how many varied and rich ways one can eat the simple products of the earth. A greasy hamburger pales in comparison to the treasures offered in this book. You don't have to be a vegetarian, however, to appreciate this book, and the author isn't preachy about vegetarianism at all. Rather than a collection of recipes, this is a book about discovery, experimentation, and growth in skill as a cook.
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