[.uk] The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook (ISBN 1558322140)

A truly "must have" cookbook for anyone who loves to cook!:
I'm not Euell Gibbons or Emeril, but if you were to cross those two together, it's as close as you'd be likely to come to finding someone who might be able to write a book as wonderful as "The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook" by "Wildman" Steve Brill. Wild food aficionados in particular have good reason to rejoyce, now that Mr. Brill's new cookbook is available. During the past two months, I've made nearly 20 of his recipies, and my experience has been that each one is better than the next. Fortunately, all of them seem to be easily adapted to suit available ingredients or taste preferences. Most of the sections utilizing "featured" ingredients have an interesting background about the particular plant (or in some cases, mushroom) that adds the appreciation of the dish, and the entire book is organized intelligently, in order to make cross-referencing easy. Furthermore, I've seen nothing even remotely like this book on the market today, or at any time, for that matter. Between my wife and I, we must own close to 50 cookbooks, and this is far and away our favorite. We happen to be vegetarians, but we've given the book as a gift to non-vegetarian friends on several different occasions, (As well as having entertained company using recipes from the book) and the reviews have been very favorable, to say the least.

Only a cookbook:
I was disappointed with the contents of the book. I was hoping it would also serve as a field guide for finding the ingredients. The descriptions of the wild foods are not descriptive enough to help you actually find them. Also, there are no pictures of any of the plants. I found most of the recipes to be very complex in flavors. (Mostly Asian and Indian) Not that I mind complex flavors. My fear is the spices would cover up the taste of the wild ingredient to much. The first time I try a new food, I want a simple recipe so I better understand its taste.

ANOTHER GREAT BOOK!:
THIS BOOK HAS SOME PRETTY NEAT RECIPES. "WILDMAN" STEVE BRILL WRITES A NICE DESCRIPTION OF EACH PLANT AND FUNGI BEFORE GIVING YOU THE RECIPES WHICH I THINK IS GREAT CONSIDERING IT'S A COOKBOOK. ALSO, THE PLANTS ARE ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO THE SEASON IN WHICH THEY ARE BEST CULTIVATED. IF YOU WANT AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON FORAGING, GET HIS Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants by Steve Brill.

One Extraordinary Cookbook:
A word of caution to vegetarian cooks everywhere: "The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook" by "Wildman" Steve Brill will thoroughly shake your culinary sensibilities to their very core. This is surely a cookbook like no other we have ever experienced. The book is a particular delight to wild foods foragers, and for those with an adventurous spirit, a new world of gastronomic delights awaits. To be sure, the book is written with the intention of having the cook utilize some of the many wild foods available in much of the United States, but as Mr. Brill points out, most of the recipes list commercially available substitutes, if their wild counterparts are not obtainable in your area.. The book is not only a cookbook, but also a wonderful reference book. Most of the "exotic" ingredients called for are explained in some detail, and the book is organized in a way that make it's use, as well as it's reading, an absolute pleasure. For example, plants listed in the Table of Contents are not only grouped by type, but are organized in the chronological order in which they are ready to be foraged during the year and during each season. There is a separate section entitled Herb and Spice User's Guide", which lists (and describes the use) of not only some of the commonly used spices, (cardamom, cayenne pepper, celery seed, etc.) but a wide variety of more unusual spices and herbs (goutweed, sassafras, wild carrot seed, etc.) as well. There's also a "quick guide" to making dairy-free cheeses, as well as a "quick guide" to wild wine! The recipes run the course from completely original, totally different dishes, to some of the more standard, time-tested recipes that have simply been enhanced by the use of non-traditional additions or substitutions for more familiar ingredients. Another wonderful feature is that although the entire book is vegan, those with an ovo-lacto preference will find that dairy substitutions are always easy. Mind you, this book does not grant license to run out and begin tearing up wild plants wherever they may be found, in order to satisfy a desire for culinary adventure; Mr. Brill is a staunch advocate for the protection of the natural environment, and the preservation of the places in which many of the wild foods utilized in his book may be found. To enjoy this book, two pre-requisites are necessary. First, you must have an interest in wild foods. Steve's recipes are not just made with wild foods, they taste wild - no namby-pamby flavors here, every dish is robust and intense. Second, you should be an experienced cook who is not afraid to follow fairly complex recipes with multiple ingredients. A new cook might be overwhelmed by these recipes, although if one were willing to try them and follow the recipes appropriately, success is assured. Ramp season has come again, and we are currently inundated with huge quantities of this odiferous herb. Steve obviously knows how "rampantly" this vegetable grows as he has created not just one or two recipes for it, but thirty-two! The recipes range from salads, sauces and appetizers, to pickles and even wine. As we write this article, a ramp risotto casserole is baking in the oven, smelling wildly appetizing. We've already tried the tasty Ramp Pesto, and were delighted with the Bernaise Sauce a la Brill we've previously made from Steve's cookbook. And for all of you who may lament not having the option of a truly excellent vegan Vichyssoise, cry no more! The ramp version of this traditional French potato & leek soup is surely cause for celebration. C'est magnifique! Last fall, hen of the woods mushrooms were growing out of the woodwork in our area. Steve has over twenty recipes for these natural treasures. While every recipe was reliably excellent, Cajun Hen and Sesame Hen quickly became our favorites. Cajun Hen produces a spicy dish very reminiscent of chicken and a wonderful base for many more recipes. After preparing our bounty with Steve's recipe, we froze it and used it all winter. Sesame Hen was at least as good, and we found that we could vary it by using almond butter or even peanut butter instead of tahini, with equally excellent effect. There seems to be nothing in this book that is anything other than straightforward, and each section is brimming with fresh ideas, sound advice, a wonderful sense of adventure and even humor. "The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook" has certainly become one of the crown jewels in our collection of cookbooks, and easily garnishes the coveted Five Star rating (Extraordinary) from these reviewers. Joe & Kathy Brandt Redding, CT

good, overall:
There are some fascinating recipes in here, and good information about vegetables that are usually ignored in cookbooks. Be aware, however, that this is a vegan cookbook--I personally was disappointed by this. I know that at least one recipe calls for pennyroyal, and I really don't think that using pennyroyal internally is a good idea at all.