Cookbook Revised
The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide ot Natural Foods with 350 Recipes
Who else but Whole Foods Market could create a cookbook so fresh, so appealing, so full of valuable information, and so perfect for the way we are all cooking and eating today? Bursting with Winning Recipes, healthful cooking advice, cheerful guidance through the new language of natural foods, wine and cheese information, and a comprehensive glossary, this is a “thank goodness it’s here” kind of cookbook.Sale at book sale library
I’ve been a regular shopper at Whole Foods Market for years and I’ve been waiting for the company to put out a cookbook with some of their own great recipes, like Ed’s Tantalizing Tofu, for the home cook. So when this book finally appeared, I was one of the first in line for it. Unfortunately, it’s not what I’d hoped for.I have no complaints about the ingredients list, that’s why I shop at WFM — beautiful fresh, organic produce, all varieties of grain and pasta products, and a wide assortment of gourmet and International foods not found in other stores.
For many of my favorite cookbooks [like Nina Simonds' Asian Noodles] Whole Foods Market provides one-stop shopping.The problem I have with the book is that of the half-dozen or so recipes I tried, I had to make repairs midway through the making, or the flavors or ingredients didn’t come together as I expected, or the end product just plain didn’t taste good.
This is a beautiful cookbook, with a few very good recipes–Fragrant Ginger Lime Chicken Fingers and Southwest King Ranch Casserole among them. Unfortunately, these are far outnumbered by the recipes that simply do not work, especially those involving the delicate manufacture of dough. At first I thought I had it wrong, but over the course of repeated failures, I realized that the problem was in the testing and/or proofreading.
And it’s not just dry measures; the text of one recipe calls for onions, when it means potatoes. Several re-readings later, I finally cracked the code. I sincerely hope that the authors try again to get it right. The tragedy is how close they came……but I have to agree with the other reviewers who said that the recipes fall short.
Many of them sound absolutely delicious, but I have found many errors and in recipes where there are no obvious errors, I often have to make adjustments to the seasonings or ingredients (for example, I made the Lemon Tahini Sauce tonight to go with the baked Falafel Balls…the falafel balls recipes is missing a step, and the lemon tahini sauce calls for way, way too much tahini and the end product is not what the recipe describes. I could fix both mistakes, but I shouldn’t have to). I wish they would do some heavy revising to this cookbook, because it has so much promise.
As a vegetarian for 12 years and a former Whole Foods Market Team Member for five years, I think this book is a great representation of what Whole Foods Market food is about. Other reviewers have pointed out that some of the recipes are high in fat or sodium. As a former TM and cheese specialist, I can assure you that though some Whole Foods customers do follow an ascetic diet, (and the stores offer many items in accordance with that practice) that has never been the focus of the company when it comes to food. To think that WFM serves just that “health food” customer is to really miss the mark. Full flavor, small producers, specialty items, and natural ingredients are what WFM food is about, not low-fat, low-sodium cuisine. The cookbook has a great range of appealing and store-tested recipes with strong vegetable components and an international flavor palette. The recipes are quite accessible for the book’s intended audience and aren’t overly complicated or long–they focus on getting the best out of fresh ingredients with a minimum of fuss.
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