Bean Banquets from Boston to Bombay

Rating:
Summary: Clear recipes, poor indexing.
Review: The recipes in this book are simple and easy enough to prepare. I'm dissapointed not to find any descriptions of ingredients that give hints as to which kinds of beans can be substituted for which other kinds, and along the same lines, an index of recipes by primary ingredients would be nice.

Also, the emphasis on lima beans is very heavy and I find it difficult to pick out which recipes will have a strong lima bean flavor, and which will not.

Rating:
Summary: Should be a vegetarian classic...
Review: This book was one of the first vegerarian cookbooks that I purchased, and it has remained one of my favorites. Not only are the recipes very tasty (the "Cuban Black Bean Soup" recipe has become a family favorite--even though my parents are meat-eaters!), but the cultural/historical information given about each dish makes for an interesting read.

Before I bought this book I had never cooked with dried beans. However, Patricia Gregory's clear directions (a detailed introduction to working with dried beans is provided) convinced me that using dried beans really is easy (and economical).

Moreover, a good number of the recipes in this book are time-tested...they're classic dishes from around the world (like a wonderful lentils and rice dish from Lebanon [mujaddara] and a recipe for the sweet red bean paste found in lots of asian pastries). There are also "non-traditional" recipes like "Bean and Leek Chowder" and "Creamy Mexican Soup" that will become classics in your kitchen once you taste them.

There are two points to consider before you buy-- All of the recipes in this start with dried beans, and if you want to cook with canned beans, the conversion could be tricky. Also, if you usually use a pressure cooker to cook your dried beans, this book might not be for you (unless you're a whiz at converting standard recipes to pressure-cooker recipes) because the author doesn't provide any guidelines for using them.

However, if you're seriously into vegetarian bean dishes, this book is a must-have. In my opinion, this is one vegetarian cookbook that should be better known than it is...

Rating:
Summary: Should be a vegetarian classic...
Review: This book was one of the first vegerarian cookbooks that I purchased, and it has remained one of my favorites. Not only are the recipes very tasty (the "Cuban Black Bean Soup" recipe has become a family favorite--even though my parents are meat-eaters!), but the cultural/historical information given about each dish makes for an interesting read.

Before I bought this book I had never cooked with dried beans. However, Patricia Gregory's clear directions (a detailed introduction to working with dried beans is provided) convinced me that using dried beans really is easy (and economical).

Moreover, a good number of the recipes in this book are time-tested...they're classic dishes from around the world (like a wonderful lentils and rice dish from Lebanon [mujaddara] and a recipe for the sweet red bean paste found in lots of asian pastries). There are also "non-traditional" recipes like "Bean and Leek Chowder" and "Creamy Mexican Soup" that will become classics in your kitchen once you taste them.

There are two points to consider before you buy-- All of the recipes in this start with dried beans, and if you want to cook with canned beans, the conversion could be tricky. Also, if you usually use a pressure cooker to cook your dried beans, this book might not be for you (unless you're a whiz at converting standard recipes to pressure-cooker recipes) because the author doesn't provide any guidelines for using them.

However, if you're seriously into vegetarian bean dishes, this book is a must-have. In my opinion, this is one vegetarian cookbook that should be better known than it is...