The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts

This book made cooking the nightly dinner an interesting, fun, and easy adventure. EVERYTHING tried has been great while being quite different from my routine. And I've been re-making several. The crispy shiitake mushrooms are amazing (page 216.) We're far from being vegetarian types and it's been simple to use the meats we love. It helped with adding more variety to the large amount of vegetables we're all supposed to be including (I'm admitting here that efforts were failing miserably in my household). You really do have to find some tamarind extract, as it's a frequent and yummy flavoring. (Whole Foods carries it, as do some other groceries.) It's going to make a great holiday gift.

I love this cookbook! Not only have I found that the recipes are so easy to accomplish with such feastly results, but also, I feel this book has invaluable information about the ingredients, equipment and techniques. Being one who is a part-time vegetarian, I have enjoyed the flexibility and creativity of the recipes. These feasts are very balanced, and pull from cultures East to West, making it my new favorite kitchen companion along with this author's 'The Voluptuous Vegan'!

Once again, I was one of the lucky recipe testers for Myra Kornfeld for "The Healthy Hedonist". I LOVE this cookbook even more than her first (The Voluptuous Vegan). The recipes are not only simple, nutritious, and delicious, they are fun to prepare. The Sesame Tuna is out of this world and I have prepared this recipe again and again for my family. It's a House Favorite along with the Pecan Crusted Trout, Indonesian Corn Chowder, Braised Tempeh with Curried Coconut Sauce and the Tempeh Ruebens with Carmelized Onions. The side dishes are wonderful and so easy. I just made the Glazed Brussel Sprouts for dinner last night. Even my daughter who hates brussel sprouts will eat a few of these. ( I eat the rest.) As for the desserts, I keep a stash of her Peanut Butter Cookies in my freezer, though they don't last long. Other must-try's are: Browned Butter Berry Galette, Sesame Biscotti, both of the Luscious Puddings, and Roasted Peaches with Caramel Sauce. This cookbook stays on my bookstand in my kitchen because I use it all the time. It's also lovely to look at with the fantastic artwork on the cover.

I am a huge fan of Kornfeld's first cookbook, "The Voluptuous Vegan" so I was very excited to learn that she had a new book out. The second book is written more in the way I actually use the first book--with flexibility. I love the term "flexitarian" -- it really makes sense with the way most people I know eat. For example, using the "Voluptuous Vegan" book I might add ground turkey to the tofu lasagna or serve one of the vegetable dishes as a side for roast chicken. In "The Healthy Hedonist" Kornfeld provides fish and chicken recipes in addition to vegetarian fare and encourages the users to suit their own needs. I like the hedonist approach, I'm sick of special diets, mainly I just want to eat well and feel healthy. Kornfeld offers sensible suggestions such as purchasing organic produce when possible and exercising moderation rather than giving up foods you love. I knew this book was a winner when I read the very first recipe (Sweet Potato-Red Pepper Spread). This is so easy to make and provides an exciting change from the pre-packaged Trader Joe's spreads I usually serve at dinner parties. Plus the leftovers made a great sandwich the next day. Many of the recipes in this new book are surprisingly simple which suits my chaotic lifestyle just fine. In addition to interesting recipes, Kornfeld provides a lot of information about cooking techniques, unusual foods, and flexible cooking styles. I didn't know that I could substitute coconut milk for cow's milk when baking, I tried it the other day with a tea cake and it came out great. "The Healthy Hedonist" has just what I love in a cookbook: an interesting variety of recipes that are clearly explained and tasty, but that also inspire me to experiment and try my own combinations. This is the book I'll grab first when I'm not really sure what I want to cook but I know I want it to be fabulous!

I love Myra Kornfeld's first book "The Voluptuous Vegan" and have been looking forward to the publication of her new book "The Healthy Hedonist" with great anticipation. When it arrived at my doorstep I wanted to start cooking right away. I started off with a couple of recipes for which I had the ingredients at home--the Yellow Pepper-Coconut Milk Sauce and the Thai Baked Tempeh Triangles. VERY tasty, yet easy to make! I have been searching for a recipe for ginger ice cream and was thrilled to find one in Myra's book. Couldn't believe how simple (only three ingredients!) it was to make it with excellent results! After coming home from the farmers' market with fresh fruits and veggies I baked the Peach-Raspberry Brown Betty, which turned out simply delicious - as a matter of fact my husband just spooned what he considered the "rest" (almost half of the dish) right out of the baking dish into his mouth. The Black Bean Burgers with Bell Pepper-Avocado Sauce have become my husband's favorites. Even a non-vegetarian friend devoured them with great delight! I love love love the Red Lentil-Chickpea Burgers with the Spicy Peanut Sauce. All the recipes I had a chance to try out so far were fairly easy - some even pretty quick - to make and I am looking forward to making more. A lot of times, Myra provides shortcuts to save time. The book discusses ingredients and techniques, some of which are beautifully illustrated with drawings. Each chapter has an introduction and there's a glossary of terms and ingredients in the back of the book. The book also contains a resource list and menu suggestions. The subtitle of the book is "More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts." On the back cover a "flexitarian" is defined as "anyone interested in eating healthy, primarily vegetarian cuisine without cutting meat and fish entirely from his or her diet." Besides vegetarian recipes the book includes fish and chicken recipes. Some recipes use eggs and dairy products. Myra provides vegetarian versions for a couple of her fish and chicken recipes. And, for example, for the Sour Cream and Onion Dip, she presents three different versions: one with sour cream, one with yogurt, and a vegan version with tofu. Myra's recipes are super tasty! I love cooking and have a huge number of cookbooks, but there are about three that I turn to most often. Myra's previous book is definitely one of them and her new book "The Healthy Hedonist" has already become a favorite! If you are interested in cooking wholesome food with fresh and vibrant ingredients to turn out magnificent meals, this book is a must!