The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook

I love this cookbook. i've been a vegan for almost five years and have had this since day one. i recommend this book to all vegans just starting out. the recipes are very simple to prepare, and they are basic foods that everyone loves. this is the only cookbook where i've cooked almost everything in the book and liked it all. many vegans starting out may be intimidated and think they don't have many meal options. with these recipes, there are always leftovers that they can be munched on all week long. aside from the simplicity of the meals, the portions are large. i always make the TVP gravy and Sloppy Joes. there is minimal cooking involved and i always have leftovers. for the experienced vegan, there are great recipes like alfredo sauce and meals with nutritional yeast (an acquired taste - i didn't eat it for a LONG time) that never get old. Janie's good biscuits are a classic! another plus is that since the book was written in the 70's, there aren't any "special" ingredients needed. no extravagant gourmet meals here, you won't have to drive around town looking for kelp powder or mushrooms you've never heard of. highly recommended.

Fist of all, skimming through this book is really a trip...I love the sort of "70's hippie layout" and hope they never change this!As far as content, I have to echo others...a great book, chock full of great, simple recipes! My version is a little older, but I think that little has been changed over the years. It's a bit of a time capsule. It's just a wealth of great, basic vegetarian info. How to make your own tofu, tempeh, etc. In fact, you can still buy tempeh starter from the Mail Order Catalog (based at the Farm), follow the recipe here and you can't go wrong.Most of the recipes are for family friendly, down home kinds of meals, just adapted to the veggie palate. One really gets the impression that many of the Farm folks, having presumably grown up on a sort of 50's homestyle cooking, reworked a lot of this into real family-type, comfort foods. My personal favorite recipe is the Soft Sandwich buns!Speaking of family, there is a great deal of info here about vegetarian nutrition for pregnant and nursing women, and children.The Farm has been around for decades, and is still going...they must be doing something right!

I have a BIG collection of cookbooks, most of them vegan, and this is simply the BEST vegan cookbook I own! =) Every item I have made from it - was easy to make and tasted fantastic! Their "mock meat" recipes taste great to vegans and meateaters alike! The recipes are simple, usually with only a few ingredients (which you can easily change a little if you feel like it), the "steps" to make the recipes are so easy to follow I can easily let my husband cook every once in a while and most important the food always tastes great! (I have made about 20 of the recipes.) They even give you instructions on how to make your own soy milk, tofu, tempeh...!

I must admit that just 6 months ago there was no way I could fathom the thought of eating vegan meals on a daily basis, until I tasted a recipe out of this book. Not only was I astounded but I was also insulted. Insulted because one of my own famous recipes that I had made for years (with meat), was "up-staged" by the vegan recipe I had tasted in the New Farm Cookbook. And to add insult to injury, it took only a fraction of the time to make it! One of the main things I like about the book is that the recipes are absolutely delicious, simple, and most of the ingrediants can be found in just about anybodies cupboard. From gluten roast to non-dairy cheesecake you just can't beat it. Anyone who wants to change their diet and are skeptical would do themselves a tremendous service to get this book. I have since bought another one in case something happens to my first one. It has changed my life and I can honestly say that it is truly worth its weight in gold. This is why I call it my Vegan Bible.

I am ordering my second copy because my first one fell apart after many years of constant use. My children love the desserts. The muffin recipes are excellent - for your body as well as your taste buds. This book has the best recipe for soyburgers. It tells you how to make gluten, and has several recipes for what to do with it. This book tells you how to make soymilk and has recipes for what to do with the left-over soybean mash. If you want to incorporate more soy into your diet, this is the book for you. If you want to put more fiber into your diet, this book can help you. My kids have liked every recipe from this book that I have tried. This is high praise indeed.