5 Responses to “The Greens Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine from the Celebrated Restaurant”

1. H. Grove on October 29th, 2010 8:42 am

   When I made a handful of recipes from Deborah Madison’s cookbook, “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone,” I wasn’t incredibly impressed with the flavors. Well, everything that her other cookbook isn’t, this one is. “The Greens Cookbook,” based on the cooking of the Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, delivers enough fantastic flavors for any two cookbooks.

   Recipes are laid out very well. This cookbook covers the basics right down to brown rice and egg pasta; it never leaves you stranded wondering if you have a recipe for such-and-such. Also included are seasonal menus, wine pairings with vegetarian food, a glossary of ingredients, and a list of useful kitchen tools.

   But this cookbook doesn’t stop there. There’s a Wild Rice and Hazelnut Salad that includes currants and orange juice. There’s an Asparagus Soup that’s quite good. The Mexican Vegetable Soup with Lime and Avocado is fantastic! There’s a Basque Pumpkin and White Bean Soup, a Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere Cheese, a Grilled Tofu Sandwich, Creole Egg Salad Sandwich, Basil Fettucine with Green Beans Walnuts and Creme Fraiche, Spinach Noodle Pudding, Potatoes and Chanterelles Baked in Cream, Squash Stew with Chilies Spices and Ground Nuts, and an absolutely fantastic Cheese and Nut Loaf… among many other fantastic recipes.

   This cookbook does occasionally call for the odd hard-to-find ingredient like hazelnut oil, but it doesn’t get out of hand, and I think it’s quite worth it. Ms. Madison takes her inspiration from all sorts of cuisines to wonderful effect. All in all this is a fantastic cookbook, whether or not you’re a vegetarian!
   Rating: 4 / 5

2. Daniel Bush on October 29th, 2010 9:33 am

   This, together with Yamuna Devi’s “The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking,” is my favorite cookbook.

   As has been mentioned in other reviews here, the recipes are somewhat complicated. I am slowly working my way through the book and have already attempted almost 50 of the recipes.

   The first few recipes were daunting and I was tempted to give up on the book, but the more recipes I tried, the easier it got. I found that I was learning something.

   As others have mentioned, I also don’t have all day to prepare a meal, and more often than not, I will only cook from this book on weekends, though to be fair, not all of the recipes are as time-consuming as they seem.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone who also considers cooking a hobby and not just a means to an end.
   Rating: 5 / 5

3. Anonymous on October 29th, 2010 10:04 am

   I’m sure every recipe in this cookbook is delicious, but I seldom use it and regret buying it. This would be a good book for people who see cooking as a hobby: something they do occasionally, for fun, without worrying about time, convenience, health or expense. For everyday cooking, it’s pretty much useless. The recipes are all quite time-consuming and complicated, requiring, for instance, special stock which must be homemade and for which store-bought substitutes would be unacceptable. Lots of the recipes are heavy on the butter and cream, which is fine for special occasions but not the way I want to cook on a regular basis.

   I would recommend this book to anyone looking for special-occasion recipes. Everything I’ve cooked out of it has turned out great, and I would definately consult it for dinner parties or similar occasions. But I don’t think it will be a particularly useful cookbook for busy people trying to eat in a reasonably healthy manner.
   Rating: 2 / 5

4. Anonymous on October 29th, 2010 12:51 pm

   I have a weakness for buying cookbooks and probably have far too many. Whenever I go to make a meal (7+ times a week) I think that I should use some of the untouched cookbooks with glossy photos, but inevitably I return to the Greens. Even though I eat meat, I don’t notice that this is a vegetarian cookbook. With the advent of more varied produce sections in most grocery stores, you owe it to yourself to get this book and use it. You will be eating healthy without even realizing it! There are some wonderful pizza recipes (including homemade crust that is fun to make) and an intriguing spinach soup with Indian spices. The restaurant in San Francisco is also definitely worth a visit; the tempting menu vies with the stunning view of the bridge for your attention.
   Rating: 5 / 5

5. Mr. Finicky-timbers on October 29th, 2010 1:35 pm

   I’ve tried over ten or so recipes in this book and all were both delicious and easy to prepare, however, if you can’t cut or chop vegetables, then don’t buy the book and stick to your macaroni and velveeta or have a bowl of cereal instead.

   This book is for elegant vegetarian cooking and, like the book “Olives Table”, is for special occasions and intimate dinners.

   I learned a great deal while reading this book, especially about vegetables that I don’t use on a regular basis (celery root, parsnips, brussel sprouts). I also learned about making thin-crust pizza and a different way of making homemade pasta.

   The only problem I found was that she uses measurements like “one celery root” etc. Since her restaurant uses organic vegetables, they tend to be smaller that your average supermarket variety. If you know how to read a recipe and figure out proportions, this should not be an issue. If it looks like you’ve added too much of one vegetable, then you probably have. But not to worry, the recipes are very forgiving. Let’s face it, how can you screw up a carrot?
   Rating: 4 / 5

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