High quality ingredients in a recipe that tastes great
926839
I've been lunching on Vega shakes every day for the last four weeks and apart from the great taste, these are ideal for maintaining energy in the afternoons and keeping trim. No protein shake is going to taste like a chocolate ice cream but the Vega formula is about as close as you can get to palatable when you consider how few calories are involved. I've played with the mixing recipe and discovered:

1. Unsweetened almond milk works really well as the mixing liquid, providing a creamy base to the powder and absorbing any possible chalkiness;
2. Using a resealable gym water bottle, I can mix quickly without using a blender to create a smooth consistency without lumps;
3. Adding some chia or flax seeds can alter the thickness and create a more "chocolate shake"-like texture.

Overall, I'm delighted with the Vega flavors I've sampled and really enjoy this chocolate recipe. It's not always easy to get simple, tasty vegan products but this is one I've now added to my Amazon Subscribe & Save.
3426944
I love this book, and am busy cooking my way through it.  The photos are spectacular, but more importantly, each recipe is clearly written and consistently produce lovely, flavorful, delicious results.
1974129
I have lots of recipes marked in this book that I would like to try. I have made two so far, with great results. The Stewed Chickpeas & Okra, served over basmati rice, was full of deep rich flavor and just the right amount of heat (I used the other half of the bag of okra on a recipe from the new cookbook "Cook the Pantry", the Pretty Good Gumbo. YUM). The Ramen was FANTASTIC. That broth was amazing!!! I also used the broth with rice noodles. I look forward to trying many more recipes from the book, including Garam Masala Pancakes, Hearts of Palm Patties, and Artichoke Garlic Cashew Ravioli.
3698066
We have tried 4 recipes since purchasing this cookbook, and so far, I'm impressed.  The Chow Mein is delicious, and requires fairly minimal prep.  Other recipes require more investment than they are worth.  For instance, the Orange Chicken is good, but it's not worth the time to bread and fry the chicken.  Next time, I'm going to grill and chop the chicken, and then just use the sauce.  Also, you'll need access to a good Asian grocery store to get some of the ingredients.  We live near San Francisco, and I find myself going out of my way to find a few of the ingredients needed.
1408651
The ingredients are simple and each recipe is well illustrated and the whole family can enjoy.i will use it often.
3619883
This cookbook has become the one I turn to for any American dish I want to recreate from childhood. American cooking is so varied that trying to recreate a dish from childhood can be difficult with all the variations out there. James Beard doesn't always produce what I remember a dish tasting like, of course (I'm from the Deep South), but his version is always good. I trust his taste much more than Joy of Cooking's, especially since he has firm opinions and doesn't leave you guessing with multiple iterations like in Joy. His rendition of the following are excellent and well loved at my house: pot roast, corn bread (make with Bob's medium grind cornmeal and buttermilk), chili con carne, baked ham, vichyssoise, deviled eggs, and his mother's cream biscuits. You'll probably end up customizing the recipes to suit your taste, but the originals are never disappointing and usually  amazing. The short histories of each dish and foodstuff are engrossing as well.
725235
Although this isn't one of the cookbooks that I rely heavily on, I go back to it so often that it has become a favorite.  The recipes are quick and delicious and have numerous suggestions for mixing up the flavors or modifying to meet special dietary restrictions. There aren't many pictures (the biggest downfall), and some recipes are never likely to be made in my kitchen, but others such as the Artichoke Saffron Paella and the Irish Soda bread are worth purchasing the book for.  The recipes (which come from France and Spain to Turkey and Italy) are quick an easy to follow, but I am consistently impressed.  With chocolate truffles, rice pudding, Escarnot, Yorkshire Pudding, and a number of other entrees and desserts, this cookbook is a gem!
1232615
Recipes are easy to follow, not complicated, there are pictures with almost every recipe and the end result actually looks like the picture! They taste really good, too.
298588
I am a great cook so I generally make things from scratch.  This is something I never would have tried had it not been for [...] giving out samples.  I couldn't believe that it not only tasted good, it also has a simple ingredient list with no additives.  Only wholesome things like tomatoes, lentils, red beans, onions, cream, salt, butter, sunflower oil, chilies and cumin.  That's it--really.

I bought it with a quick lunch in mind--brown rice with the Madras Lentils on top, but I have also used it as a base for a dinner meal adding ground turkey sauteed with fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onions and garlic.

It is delicious either way.
2618932
This mix is the best I've found, is easy to make, and tastes the best.
1484355
Packed full of lovely recipe from front-to-back! I was quite surprised how convenient many of them are to make. Most of the ingredients are easy to find, even for the more complex dishes, and the preparation time for cooking most of the meals really isn't that long at all. This has proven to be perfect for me after a busy day when I don't feel like spending too much effort getting everything ready. Im very happy and will be sharing the recipes Ive tried so far with some close friends.
4178988
One of my pet peeves is investing in a cookbook only to find that some recipes are not well tested, don't perform as expected, and just don't taste good. I have found that the recipes in this book have been consistently outstanding and easy to make. They are easy to follow and do not have a ton of ingredients or even hard to find ingredients. It's very straightforward and no one should have a hard time following these recipes. The food tastes amazing and is healthy without resorting to "low fat" products or gimmicks. I love a recipe that is not afraid of fat, salt, or sugar but uses it in limited fashion and in creative ways so that you don't miss out on flavor. Many of these dishes offer complex flavors due solely to the unique combinations of a small number of ingredients. This is far and away my favorite cookbook that I own!
651247
We have tried several of these recipes and they have been a snap to prepare and have tasted amazing. My kids are big fans of the pizza pasta bake and the slow cooker taco chicken is my new favorite way to cook chicken for tacos. I love that the recipes use real ingredients that aren't difficult to find at your local grocery store. But I still feel like I'm making healthy choices for my family. The book is divided into breakfast, soups, salads, snacks, pasta, poultry, beef, pork, seafood, meatless, and desserts. I don't think there's any I wouldn't try all look really doable and appealing.  For the recipes I've made the prep time has been under half an hour so they aren't difficult to make and they they certainly don't taste low cal. Yum! Way to go best bites another great cookbook!
271111
I have tried several recipes from this book, and they all turned out great, so I have every intention of trying them all. The book focuses on ingredients that are slightly off the beaten trail for Western cooking, highlighting things like rose water and orange blossom water, quinces, preserved lemons, etc, and so they have kind of an mediterranean flavour. What this means is that the finished dish will taste very good, and each bite will have several nuances, while not being heavy. The only trouble I had was finding the somewhat exotic ingredients, but it turned out I could find most of them, some in the supermarket in aisles I hadn't gotten in before, others in health stores and the like. I put this up there with Ottolenghi as two of the best cookbooks I own.
4810059
I have very much enjoyed using this cookbook!  every single recipe I have tried is very good, and some are far superior to meals I have tasted in fine restaurants. the format is easy to use, the recipes are easy to follow. there are many tips that are extremely helpful. the book also lists calories and fat per meal, which is useful.
I will report that there are a few meals that take more than fifteen minutes to prepare, however the recipes are very fun to make. I wish there were more pictures, although those in there are very accurate to the actual results.
highly recommended.
245802
I'm beyond impressed with the few recipes we've tried so far, a delicious turkey sausage recipe that was so spice-tastic and a verde pork recipe that made me frown when the crock pot was empty.  The only potential problem I see with this book is being able to maintain portion control when the recipes are just that good!  Seriously.  I didn't modify the ones I've tried at all and they both turned out marvelous, which is more than I can say for most cookbooks.  These were obviously well tested.  It's nice to know I can go by the book, finally recipes that will be consistently good.  I'm definitely going to look into getting more of her cookbooks.
791222
I am finding the recipes in this book to be very tasty, healthy and easy to prepare. When you stop eating wheat, you will find that most of the commercial non-gluten breads are based on starches, which means that they have the nutritional value of white bread. The recipes in this book are based on ground almonds, flax seed, psyllium husks, coconut flour and buckwheat flour. The various ways they are combined yields nutritious and delicious baked goods.

The raisin bread recipe - raisins can be left out for a regular loaf - has a chewiness and depth of flavor that rivals their whole grain/wheat counterparts. The chewiness is not the same as a great loaf of bread, but it delivers a very similar satisfaction. The large amount of fiber in the raisin bread loaf easily surpasses any regular wheat loaf and the protein components in the seeds add nutritional value.

If you're trying to get off of wheat-based baked goods, this book is indispensable. Highly recommended!