Three Bowl Cookbook

This is such a wonderfully useful book and the chapter or section on the philosophy of food in Zen was worth the price of the book. I also appreciated that food choices are seasonal as are the recipes. I also like the section on the role of the cook, which in this fast food society should be obligated reading.There is also an excellent section on the well stocked Zen kitchen as well as methods and ingredients explanations for those who are unfamiliar with certain terms. The book is alas non meat which is fine, and I personally love finding new fruits, vegetables and grain ideas to add to my constantly evolving kitchen tastes.There is also a wonderful history of sorts about Zen and food. The illustrations and photographs are crisp and clean, and the text is easy to read and the directions easy to follow.If you are a serious cook who loves ethnic variety I seriously recommend this book for your collection and use.

This book is a wonder. Essentially, all the menus come in balanced threes, and are also split up by season. Spring brings feta spaghetti, shredded carrot and apple salad, and minted lemonade; Summer and muesli, warm fruit compote, and spicy chai; Fall's penne with sweet onions, beet salad, and garlic lemon rasam, Winter brings polenta, black bean soup and braised endive (and I don't even like endives!)The recipes are generally short and easy to accomplish with few ingredients, and are balanced well so that you can start one, move on to the next, and finish the last in time for the beginning of a meal. The text is thoughtful and fun, full of anecdotes on monastery life, zen koans, and a upbeat spirituality -- it reminds us to be mindful while cooking, that it's not just something we do to get over with so we can stoke an engine, but that it's a worthwhile activity unto itself -- something people often forget.The recipes themselves are from all styles and nationalities -- italian polenta, japanese miso, spanish paella, swiss oats, greek tzatziki... 120 recipes in total, 40 menus. Everything here is vegetarian, but I would recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to not only widen their repertoire of international recipes, but also to anyone who wants to slow down, start with some basics, and be reminded of how simple, worthwhile, and truly fulfilling cooking can be.

As a woman who recently found my passion for cooking, I have recently bought several cookbooks, this being one of the best! I love it, even if you are not a vegetarian, this book will add several wonderful, flavorful recipes to your repitoir (don't know if I spelled that correctly). I can't reccomend this highly enough!

I know that recipes that actually produce edible food should be standard in cookbooks, but that isn't the case. This book, though, is full of knockouts. I've made about 25 of the dishes, and each one was fantastic. What I really like is that each spread in the book is a complete meal, taking away the need to worry about what would pair well with what. I wish other cookbooks were so well thought out.