• Eat Your Books

  2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

• Vanessa on May 22, 2011

  This is one of the greatest books on my shelf. Oddly - though I've had it for years - I find that it is hard to page through it and find a good recipe. But with EYB, it comes up constantly in my search results and I've found some killer recipes. Top recommendations: Barley Salad with Dill and Lemon, Green Bean-Sweet Potato Salad with Peanut Dressing, The Prettiest Little Salad Around (horrible recipe title but great salad that includes papaya, bok choy, colored pepper, lemon grass, mint, etc.), Crispy Bun Tofu, Smoky Corn Risotto, Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza (its also got a cutsey title - Dinner for Henry). I could do without the mannerisms, but this book has great vegetarian recipes. And better yet, the recipes aren't really for "entertaining" but are easy, interesting, and useful for every day even for folks who think they would never be vegetarians.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Green bean-sweet potato salad with peanut dressing

  • Vanessa on April 16, 2013

    I made the peanut sauce yesterday, prepared the veggies today (and added a bit of tofu cooked in scalliion oil). Mmmm Mmmm. I really like this peanut sauce, which is super easy (OK, I did use chunky peanut butter instead of peanuts!) and super tasty. The lemongrass gives it an additional dimension. I always forgot (from one time to the next) what a pain it is to prepare three separate veggies (green beans, sweet potatoes, and cabbage), but it was perfect for the contents of my CSA box (OK, it had cabbage and sweet potatoes, but definitely did NOT have lemongrass!). Does anyone have a CSA that offers lemongrass? If you do, I'd be willing to bet the big bucks that you don't live in South Carolina! But I digress .... still, this is a great main-dish salad.

• Twice-baked potatoes with garlicky mushrooms

  • Nancith on November 15, 2015

    The mushrooms were a nice touch in this recipe. Should have added more sour cream/ buttermilk since my potatoes were huge; filling was a bit dry.

• Tempeh and bok choy in black bean sauce

  • dinnermints on June 20, 2018

    This was solidly good and fairly quick to prepare. The tempeh browned faster than I anticipated, which was a boon. For the rice, I used a combination of brown basmati, wehani, and purple sticky rice (1 cup total) with 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 10 cardamom pods, and some salt; that was a nice texture/flavor combo. Would make again.

• Mac 'n' cheese

  • Nancith on December 03, 2017

    Really nice flavor with this; the addition of the sweet potato is a nice touch. The texture, however, was somewhat too dry, which may have been because I was attempting to cut the recipe in half but might have still had too much macaroni. Would make again, but with more sauce.

• Smoky lentil chili

  • robinorig on October 23, 2016

    This is the best vegetarian chili I've ever had. I made it exactly as written. Used 5 chilis and it was perfect. I served it with a small dollop of creme fraiche and the toasted pumpkin seeds. Soooo good. I'll be making this again soon!

• Israeli couscous casserole

  • Nancith on March 20, 2015

    Yum! Hubby & I really enjoyed this dish. Creamy, with a little tanginess. Hubby had it with fish alongside; I just ate the couscous! I used lacinato kale, & Bulgarian feta. Will definitely make again.

• Red cabbage risotto

  • Hawley on October 27, 2015

    We didn't love this, unfortunately. Although we wanted too. I didn't have 1 cup white wine so used 3/4 cup water 1/4 cup lemon juice (a substitution I've used on a smaller scale), but at this scale I think it made the whole thing too sour.

  • Nancith on August 28, 2017

    This was quite fabulous! An interesting Germanic twist on a dish typically having an Italian flavor. I used the option of anise seeds rather than caraway, and did not use the scallion garnish. A wonderful substitute for dry white wine is dry vermouth, which is also shelf stable once it's opened, and worked great in this dish. The apple is not noticeable texturally, but adds a definite sweet-tart effect. The feta is a necessary & tasty finishing touch.