Book Review: The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

The Enchanted Broccoli Forest
Mollie Katzen

Published by Ten Speed Press (1995)
303 pages

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If you are tired of cooking the same old veggie dishes over and over again, grab of copy of this book. It'll introduce you to over 200 interesting and unusual recipes, from Greece, Israel, Russia, China, Mexico and many other cultures and regions. Most are easy to prepare, although some are quite ambitious - but the results will all be well worth the effort.

The recipes make use of a variety of healthy and flavor-full ingredients, some of which you might not yet be familiar with. Molly Katzen does a great job of explaining what these ingredients are, and how best to use them. For the most part, she favors bold seasoning and strong tastes over fat-laden richness.

I found the section on bread particularly useful. More than just simple recipes, it includes idiot-proof step-by-step instructions for making a perfect loaf. As well as an interesting exposé on the technicalities of bead-baking -- what the yeast does, what happens when the dough rises, and so on - it includes over two dozen fascinating bread and muffin recipes. I can recommend both the sunflower-millet loaf and the savory nut bread, both of which are now a standard part of my bread-making repertoire.

The book has many other recipes - for soups, salads, sauces, dips, entrées and desserts. I've had excellent results with the various savory strudels, boraks and piroshki, and the zucchini enchiladas were a big hit with my dinner guests.

Molly Katzen comes across as a writer who loves good vegetarian food, who knows how to make the best use of ingredients, and whose mission is to share her passion with her readers. The book is beautifully produced and illustrated, and would make a welcome gift for anyone wanting to branch out into a more exciting world of cooking.

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