When I buy a cookbook I flip through it and think about the following...
* I only buy vegan, unless it's a vegetarian book with the vegan equivalents right in; otherwise I just get frustrated by all the meals I can't make, or have to figure out how to veganize. Waste of time and energy--there are vegan chefs who have already made these translations and written them into their books. For the same reason, of course, I don't buy books with meat and fish in them.
* I stay away from the gourmet books since they require lots of fresh or hard to find ingredients, and take longer. Maybe one day, but not now--no time.
* I'm careful about books with tons of photos--sometimes more energy has gone into the pics than the food.
* Not too many brand names (like Jane's Eezy Cheeze!), or I'll have trouble finding/replacing the ingredients.
* I don't need books with big sections on how to be vegan--I have books like that, and I know everything by now, so it's just a waste. I don't mind cooking tips, though. And I'm becoming addicted to Cute Blurbs About the Recipes.
* These days I want recipes that don't take long, so I look at how long the ingredient list is, and how long the instructions are. I might glance through the intro to see what the author's intention is. (Is it gourmet? Beginner vegan? Fast?)
* I look for a couple recipes that pique my interest.
* I look for something I could cook that night, with That Vegetable that's sitting in my fridge needing to be used.
* I look for a few standards that I have not yet found great replacements for, like peanut butter cookies, and tuna and egg salad sandwiches.
* I look for not too many recipes that are similar to ones in my other books.
No comments:
Post a Comment