Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes From The Celebrated Greens Restaurant
by Annie Somerville
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Book Summary Information
Author: Annie SomervilleEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-04-01
ISBN: 0553091395
Number of pages: 437
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes From The Celebrated Greens Restaurant
Book Review: An Essential Vegetarian Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best and most reliable cookbook I own. I love it! I've had this cookbook for ten years and I've cook many recipes from it. Here are the pros/cons, depending on how you look at things:
Pros -
1. Totally delicious, reliable, interesting, creative recipes. I have made many recipes from this book. My favorites include the Mexican lentil soup, the broccoli and sundried tomato salad, the coconut banana bread (which I make often, whenever I have browning bananas), wilted spinach salad, pancakes, corn with chilies and cilantro, and there are others. The salads and soups in particular are very good and imaginative. I also love the eggplant lasagne, which I just made. It is what in fact just spurred me to write this review.
2. No tofu/tempeh/faux meat substitutions. There are people who throw every meat type substitute in a vegetarian cookbook. IMO, that's not really cooking. There is no blended silken tofu with added chocolate to make chocolate mousse, ice cream or pie. Tofu is used where it makes sense - in certain salad or noodle dishes. You won't run into much, if any, tofu at all. There is no tempeh here and no other types of out of place substitutions.
3. It's really for people who like to cook. This is not one of those 1000 vegetarian recipes books or have your dinner ready in 10 minutes books. The food here is not slop. Some recipes are relatively quick and others, like the eggplant lasagne I just made are a bit more involved. It is a collection of recipes for people who care about ingredients, want quality, and don't always mind going the extra mile to put something good on the table.
4. Not a crunchy granola, beige, 70s, tofu, co-op type of vegetarian cookbook. The recipes are inspired by the produce and tastes of California. And so it emphasizes fresh food, good food. Some of the "exotic" ingredients may bother some people. Some recipes may call for champagne vinegar or borlotti beans. A good cook knows how to substitute, but it can also be worth it to seek out unfamiliar ingredients. If you don't like that or want to do that, this is not the cookbook for you.
5. These are recipes that you can serve to others, foodies and meat eaters even, and have them be satisfied and impressed. They are presentable and people won't laugh at you. The flavors are sophisticated and deep enough.
6. Written in the 90s, but the book is not dated like so many others are. The one thing that comes to mind is the amount of cream/milk-based sauces that are in some other vegetarian or nonvegetarian books at this time. Soups like corn that would have milk in them in other places, have none in this book.
Cons
1. Sometimes it seems like Annie thinks we're all living in Napa Valley or Bay Area with access to the most exotic, varied, or finest products. For instance, a recipe might call for Blue Lake green beans. Why can't she just say green beans? You can get Blue Lakes at Trader Joes or farmer's markets but I've never seen them anywhere else. I live in Los Angeles and can get lots of things but sometimes she puts too fine a point on things. Like I've said before, if you're a good/experienced cook, you'll just use the regular kind if you don't have access or substitute in some way. If not, you'll run around town looking for Blue Lakes (like I did when I first bought this book). Her eggplant lasagne called for fresh pasta sheets. It can be made with dried, which I've done, but I used fresh this time around. It's like 'earth to Annie.' But, she's entitled to her standards. You just need to work around them sometimes.
2. She doesn't really do shortcuts or convenience too much. I know I said it's a pro, but it can also be a con. For instance, some of her soup recipes will call for fresh marjoram, thyme, etc for stock or for the actual soup. Sometimes I'm just like, I'm not going to the store to pay $2 for a bunch of thyme when I'm only gonna use one sprig. She won't say, just use the dried. You make almost every part of the recipe yourself, which can be good.
3. If you need pictures and photographs to cook, don't buy this book. Please. You will be disappointed because there are none - except for the odd line drawing you'll see. Like I've said, it's not really a beginner cookbook in that way. It's not a con for me, but for others it is.
Sorry about the long review but with all the vegetarian books out there, I just had to chime in after all of this time to say that this is one of the best. But, it's for someone who knows how to cook I think. It's not for an absolute beginner cook. But this is the book that showed me that I could be vegetarian and a foodie.
Summary of Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes From The Celebrated Greens Restaurant
The opening of Greens Restaurant on San Francisco Bay in 1979 changed forever the image of vegetarian cooking in America. From the restaurant's imaginative mix of casual elegance, exciting tastes, and a subtle message of health and harmony, a distinctive cuisine was born that has continued to bring joy to many thousands of diners every year as well as to the hundreds of thousands of readers who delight in The Greens Cookbook. In its latest incarnation, the restaurant has evolved toward a lighter, leaner, simpler cuisine, one that keeps all the spirit and refinement of the original menu but depends more on the excitement of sparkling fresh produce and its integral relationship to the dishes it inspires.In close to 300 original recipes, the new Greens style includes exuberant salads, soups, the legendary crusty Greens pizzas, curries and hearty stews, grilled vegetables, and intriguing turnovers made with filo pastry, tortillas, and savory doughs. And of course there are heavenly breads and the famous desserts, like ginger pound cake with poached apricots and cherries. This cornucopia of brilliant dishes focuses on tantalizing tastes, with a new simplicity, clarity, and liveliness as its hallmark.
Annie Somerville, the executive chef at Greens, goes right to the heart of the matter: extraordinary produce that's bursting with flavor, color, and texture. Some of her favorites--like crinkly Bloomsdale spinach, candy-striped Chioggia beets, succulent Rosefir potatoes--are highlighted in the text for gardeners and farmers' market aficionados. But the Greens style is above all accessible; ordinary red beets will be just fine if more exotic varieties are unavailable. To help with availability, there's information on locating farmers' markets throughout the country as well as sources for plants, seeds, and local resources.
Because the garden is at the center of this book, readers are encouraged to try their hand, in tiny backyards and windowsill boxes if necessary. Invaluable growing tips are offered from Green Gulch Farm, the source of much of the stunning produce served at the restaurant. Other special features include a section on low-fat cooking and another on pairing wine with vegetarian food.
All of the abundance and exuberance that the title Fields of Greens implies is here, for the novice as well as the expert, for simple last-minute meals as well as extravagant occasions. For truly inspired contemporary vegetarian cooking, Fields of Greens is the essential sourcebook.
Annie Somerville trained under Deborah Madison, the founding chef at Greens Restaurant. Under Somerville's guidance as executive chef, Greens has become a culinary landmark. Her work has been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, Ladies' Home Journal, SF, and California magazine. She also contributed to The Open Hand Cookbook and Women Chefs cookbook.
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