Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #896753 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.50" h x .50" w x 9.30" l, .60 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
"Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!" sang Mock Turtle, to which Atlas (Vegetariana) here adds a vegetarian refrain. Recipes for more than 100 savory soups, chowders, bisques, purees and stews are adapted from several different world cuisines; suggested garnishes and basic nutrition analyses per serving are included. Following two introductory sections outlining stock and broth recipes with soup-making (and freezing) tips, chapters follow the seasons. Gingered Pumpkin-Apple Soup and Southwestern Fresh Corn Stew help usher in fall. The winter section mixes comforting old favorites such as Minestrone with new inventions like Italian Vegetable Stew with Gnocchi and zesty Taco Soup, with bulgur, pinto beans and chilies. Spring features Greek-Flavored Spinach and Orzo Soup, heady with lemon and fresh dill, and summer serves up Cool Ratatouille, a no-cook Creamy Avocado Soup (made with buttermilk instead of cream) and a sweetly refreshing Melon Medley. A final chapter, "Accompaniments," adds recipes for muffins, breads, scones and dumplings?even croutons. Atlas's straightforward recipes, enlivened by quotes and drawings, promise soups of complex, rewarding flavor based on judicious combinations of ingredients rather than on complicated preparation.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Atlas is the author of several popular vegetarian cookbooks, including Vegetarian Celebrations (LJ 8/90). She has a nice style, and most of her easy, low-fat, high-fiber recipes?Southwestern Fresh Corn Stew, Mediterranean Eggplant Soup, Zesty Green Gazpacho?should appeal to any soup lover, vegetarian or not. A few, however, include ingredients, such as baked tofu, that will not be for everyone, and some purists may be put off by the use of a shortcut, store-bought seasoning mix. That aside, this cookbook is recommended for most collections; add it to the shelf with Victor Latourrette's Twelve Months of Monastery Soups (LJ 9/15/96).
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ingram
This season-by-season cookbook presents a bountiful selection of 100 soups that are low in fat but rich in flavor--hearty chowders, elegant broths, savory bisques, stick-to-your ribs stews, and tempting international specialties. From Orange-Butternut Squash Soup to Okra-rice Gumbo, this is the ultimate soup cookbook for vegetarians.

Customer Reviews

An abomination
Sorry to disagree with the other reviewers, but this is the worst cookbook I have ever bought. I am a skilled and experienced vegetarian cook, and recipes in this book are perversely, malignantly vile. There will always be recipes we don't like in any cookbook, but I tried half a dozen soups in this book and they were just wretched. After the last one I just threw the book in the recycling bin. Back to Moosewood!

Inspired one-dish meals
For me, the one thing that matters about a cookbook is: is it *inspired* or not? The ones that are not may have one to a few usable recipes, almost by accident, but the majority are either based on stale ideas, or they are too heavy, due to their use of meat, fat, sugar, or other such ingredients.

This book far surpassed my expectations. The recipes are original, hearty, satisfying - and low-fat. One of these soups with some bread and cheese makes for a simple and delicious weekday meal.

Most of the soups we've tried from this book have come out very well. We got off to a good start with Garlicky Cream of Celery Soup (p. 39). Examples of other successes: Cream of White Vegetables (p. 15; this worked fine with Chinese white radish/daikon; turnip is unavailable in Taiwan) - very smooth, soothing and flavorful; Gingered Pumpkin-Apple Soup (p. 25) - I'm not sure I'll put the apple in next time, but we all enjoyed the complex flavors of this one; Cream of Broccoli Soup with Whole Wheat Pasta (p. 96) also wasn't bad, even with plain macaroni shells. The Moroccan-Style Vegetable Stew (p. 26), with pumpkin, chickpeas and couscous, was very unusual and quite tasty. I was less impressed with the Tomato-Rice Soup with Snow Peas (p. 93) - this ended up something like Campbell's tomato rice, but then but I did make some substitutions, like white rice for brown. And I probably should have let the Curried Cauliflower-Cheese Soup (p. 84) thicken more before serving. You can skip the Sauerkraut Soup (p. 36) - this was edible, but didn't much appeal to any of us; too heavy on the sweet and sour, and not very satisfying. Still, I'm very gung ho about continuing to try out the other recipes. Well over half the recipes look doable to me in our environment, and that's a remarkably high ratio. I have found no other soup cookbook that can compare with this one. The recipes that work - and that has been most of them so far - are excellent, and just our style.

The book not only gives individual recipes but in fact teaches a *method* for making good vegetarian soups, i.e. pureeing cooked vegetables for a thick and hearty but not too rich base. Organizing the recipes by the seasons makes it easier to find a soup suited to the weather.

P. 27 has a recipe for 'Squash and Corn Chower', but that's the only typo I've spotted. The pencil drawings and quotes are quite charming. I haven't yet tried the bread and other 'accompaniments' recipes in the back, but they look intriguing.

In short: if you like soup but not meat, and are looking for ideas for simple but very good meals on the light side, this book is an outstanding choice.

Great soup book!
I'm a huge soup fan - not sure why but I just love it. So, this book hit the spot for me. I love cooking with vegetables that are in season and this book makes it so easy - this time of year (summer) when I can go to the farmer's markets to get really fresh foods it's just that much better. I just flip to that section of the book and can easily make my shopping list not having to wonder well do I have to go to the supermarket to get that other ingredientt hat needs to be flown here from half way across the world? The recipes are sooo tasty and there's lots of variety. There are curried soups, cream based soups, hearty bean soups, and they cut across nationalities/ethnicities. You won't be disappointed with this one.