Ellen Brown (1) (1948–2021)

This book attempts to provide recipes that will cost $3 per meal - not per serving, as some reviewers believe. As such, the meals are pretty simple, though actual price will, of course, vary depending on the reader's location and inflation rates.

Chapter 1 covers shopping and cooking basics, and chapter 2 on condiments, sauces, and stocks. The remaining 6 chapters offer recipes for soups, fish, poultry, meats, vegetarian fare, and baked goods, respectively.

Overall, I thought it was a good, basic book with a nice amount of variety; I was, however, disappointed with the vegetarian section - there are 18 recipes total and several of these had no protein other than a handful of cheese.

There's nothing here that you can't find on the internet, but for those who don't have reliable internet access or who simply prefer physical books, I think this is worth a flip-through.… (mere)

I bought this book on clearance and now see why. I had assumed it was unjustified because I have noticed more vegan books end up on clearance than others and the pictures looked good. However, I was shocked when I read the credits and discovered that the photos were all purchased (and of vegetarian recipes, no less).

Reading the recipes, something seemed off. Being a cook and not a baker, I took it to my baker friend (the one who either bakes or supervises my dishes for mandatory office bake sales - her stuff sells out!). She is used to reviewing recipes for me, to check if they are at my level and I'll likely succeed. She is not an expert at vegan baking, she prefers eggs and dairy, but she is familiar with substitutes from living nowhere near a grocery store for years. She knew just reading it that there was something wrong with the chemistry. A few test recipes that even she couldn't make work, she asked me to get rid of the book: "these recipes are awful; worse, I'm afraid you'll try, blame yourself and be discouraged from baking. I know we can find you a good book, and you don't need this crap."

We did find me a better book (by one of two vegan heavyweights). I think it is better that I didn't try, because I would - like a lot of us - assume it was me and not the recipe. Don't fall into that trap! Besides, if you look at her other cookbooks, you'll see she's not a vegan cook but a trend writer, pumping out on every hot topics (many, not even about cooking!). Stick with someone who knows.… (mere)

I bought this book on clearance and now see why. I had assumed it was unjustified because I have noticed more vegan books end up on clearance than others and the pictures looked good. However, I was shocked when I read the credits and discovered that the photos were all purchased (and of vegetarian recipes, no less).

Reading the recipes, something seemed off. Being a cook and not a baker, I took it to my baker friend (the one who either bakes or supervises my dishes for mandatory office bake sales - her stuff sells out!). She is used to reviewing recipes for me, to check if they are at my level and I'll likely succeed. She is not an expert at vegan baking, she prefers eggs and dairy, but she is familiar with substitutes from living nowhere near a grocery store for years. She knew just reading it that there was something wrong with the chemistry. A few test recipes that even she couldn't make work, she asked me to get rid of the book: "these recipes are awful; worse, I'm afraid you'll try, blame yourself and be discouraged from baking. I know we can find you a good book, and you don't need this crap."

We did find me a better book (by one of two vegan heavyweights). I think it is better that I didn't try, because I would - like a lot of us - assume it was me and not the recipe. Don't fall into that trap! Besides, if you look at her other cookbooks, you'll see she's not a vegan cook but a trend writer, pumping out on every hot topics (many, not even about cooking!). Stick with someone who knows.… (mere)