More-With-Less Cookbook

I grew up with these recipes. I can say I wasn’t always fond of the recipes as a child, but it was the first cookbook I asked for when I moved out. The French dressing is great if you like the red bottled stuff but not the price of it. The honey mustard chicken legs are my moms favorite. The granola recipe was the only cereal I ate for the first 5 years of my life. There are endless rice and bean recipes. More With Less is not the most kid or picky eater friendly and definitely not gourmet. They are basic, from scratch recipes that will keep you from buying so many ‘convenience’ items (like baking mixes). It may be the thriftiest cookbook I’ve ever come across. There is lots of information about how to meet nutritional needs during lean times.

I love this cookbook! Besides being filled with wonderful, practical and frugal recipes, it is chock full of information about eating for better health and for the health of the planet. I have spent many evenings curled up reading this cookbook. If you read cookbooks, this is one to not miss! A couple of notes regarding other reviewers' comments. First, it is NOT a gourmet cookbook, and doesn't pretend to be. This is a collection of thrifty recipes, some with an international flavor, and focuses on readily available ingredients. In most cases, the international flavor comes from Mennonites who spent years in service in developing countries. So, the recipes are international peasant cuisine which has been adapted to North American tastes. If what you are looking for is gourmet cuisine, look elsewhere. On the other hand, if what I said above is resonating with you, in addition to this book, you may be interested in "Extending the Table," another MCC cookbook. A couple of people have noted that the Christian undertone of the book bothered them. I'm not sure why that is. I am always interested in the philosophies that motivate people, no matter what they are. It would be a shame for anyone to miss out on a great book because they are uncomfortable with the faith of the author. Mennonites are part of the larger Anabaptist movement, which also includes the Amish, so they are definitely Christians. But their faith is also what calls them to service to the poor and marginalized.

The two bad reviews of this cookbook that I've seen focus on it being too simple and "reducing" the subtlety of recipes. After growing up as a missionary kid in West Africa with a mom who relied on this cookbook and after learning how to cook out of it, I disagree. The recipes are simple so that you can modify them to suit your own tastes and what's locally available. If you're looking for a gourmet cookbook, this isn't it...but if you're looking for a superb basic cookbook that will teach you not only how to cook but also how to be more aware of the world around you, this is it. I have other cookbooks that I use frequently, but if I could only have two, I've have Joy of Cooking and this. The Oatmeal Bread, Spaghetti Sauce, Scrambled Eggs & Noodles and Chow Mein recipes are amongst my all-time favorites.

I plan to buy a second copy of this cookbook because my copy of the original edition is stained with 24 years of use. This is where I go for ideas when I have to fix a meal and don't have anything special around to use. This food isn't gourmet, but there are plenty of plain, good recipes. This book has my favorite recipes for cornbread and tortillas, and many, many main dish recipes for basic home cooking. The spiral binding is a big plus, allowing the book to be laid open flat while I cook. More cookbooks should be bound this way! Of course the greatest treasure of this book is the wisdom and insight of Doris Longacre, the late author. For the reader who never plans to cook a thing, the insights she shares about life, hospitality, the world's resources and respect for other cultures all make the More-With-Less Cookbook worth buying and reading multiple times.

With a comb binding allowing it to be laid out flat for cooking convenience, Doris Longacre's More-With-Less Cookbook is a showcase of Mennonite recipes for eating better while consuming less of the world's limited food resources. From Whole Wheat Pineapple Muffins, Vietnam Fried Rice, Three-Grain Peanut Bread, and Poor Man's Lobster Thermidor, to German Potato Noodles, Applesauce Crunch, Garden Vegetable Curry, and Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies, More-With-Less Cookbook is a superbly presented collection of outstanding recipes. Along with an organized ingredients list and cooking instructions, each individual recipe notes how many servings to expect. More-With-Less Cookbook will become an instant favorite for the family cook.

This book is *amazing*. It includes foods from all over the world, as well as a healthy dose of solid American fare, without the reliance on heavily processed, super-marked-up convenience foods. And no bones about it: this book WILL save you money. How many other cookbooks do you know that tell you how to make your own breakfast cereal? This one does; in fact, it has several recipes, and the ones I've tried have all been wonderful.The book has some incisive comments about the need to conserve the world's resources which, though they date from another era, still stand true today. The "More-With-Less Cookbook" belongs on the bookshelf of anybody who thinks a better world sounds good enough to eat.