The All New Purity Cook Book
CDN$ 11.02
made my top 6 list - I became vegetarian (not vegan, yet) 10 years ago, love food and cooking, and own at least 50 cookbooks. This book has become one of the 6 food-related books that I use the most. They are (not in any particular order): 1. The All New Purity Cookbook Not vegetarian, but good old-fashioned Canadian comfort-food which I modify to make vegetarian. I use it mostly for baking, but also for a variety of non-desserts such as the great Savoury Beef Stew with dumplings(I use firm tofu instead). The pineapple Upside-Down Cake is one of my favourites. I give it 4 rather than 5 stars because you get the occasional somewhat dull recipe,such as the Rice and cheese recipe #392, only a total of 9 recipes in the vegetable section, and a couple of, what look to me like, recipes that were considered risque in the 50s, and just weird, now, such as the Seafoam Mould recipe #527. However, most of the recipes are excellent standards, and as I said, I particularly enjoy using this for baking. Both my mother and grandmother used this book, so it s filled with familiarity and tradition for me. 2. Company s Coming Meatless Cooking (I have the French version, so names and page numbers may differ.) I wouldn t recommend it for vegans, but very good for a beginning vegetarian or someone looking for old favourites. Lots of good old comfort foods that I missed, such as Roti Favori (like meatloaf) p. 82, Boulettes Fantaisie (Fancy meatballs ?) p. 84, Simili boulettes de Viande (pork-style meatballs ) p.86 and the delicious quiche p. 94. I was less enchanted with some of the recipes, such as Pate au Presque-Poulet (nearly-chicken pate) p. 76, which I found rather unflavourful, and the Saucisses au Tofu (Tofu sausages) p. 74 which wouldn t hold together, but that s ok. Maybe I should have rated it 3 instead of 4, but the recipes I like, I use all the time! Oh, and the Dessert au Fromage et a l Ananas (cheese and pineapple dessert) p. 32, is marvellous!3. Madhur Jaffrey s World Vegetarian My absolute favourite so far. Though I haven t tried the popular Moosewood or Deborah Madison books, yet, I can hardly imagine anything beating this! Wonderful, wonderful recipes from all over the world, with lots of bean recipes that I actually can t stop myself from eating to the last bite! I find the Indian/Middle-Eastern recipes the best, here. Very much vegan-friendly. Some of my favourites are Moroccan Chickpea Stew with 6 Vegetables, Persian Pilaf with Lime and Green Beans, Chinese-American Stir-Fried Sweet-and-Sour Potato Shreds... I ve tried over 40 of the recipes, many of which have become all-time favourites, most of which I ve enjoyed, a few of which I found to be borderline duds , all of which I have learned a lot about cooking from. I d rate this one 4.8 out of 5. 4. Thai Vegetarian Cooking by Vatcharin Bhumichitr Yummy! Have tried at least a dozen, and not one dud . Anything made with the Red Curry Paste p.105 has made it to my favourites list. Ingredients lists are long, but instructions are short and easy. Definitely recommended. 4.5 out of 5. 5. Becoming Vegetarian by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis Haven t actually tried the recipes at the back, but have found this to be the best reference book I ve seen on nutrition. Lots of details and explanations which I crave and which many other books skip over, while remaining very reader-friendly. I would say a must for any vegetarian, and even for non-vegetarians. 6. Prevention Magazine s Nutrition Advisor by Mark Bricklin Basically a book filled with nutrition labels for over 1000 foods. I just find it very handy because I like to read up on and compare various foods for nutritive value, but this is probably not everyone s cup of tea . It has it s flaws, such as giving information for items such as blueberry pie , without giving details on ingredients. It seems to me recipes must vary considerably, no? But, I haven t found any better, yet.
Replacing an original. - Last Christmas my daughter-in-law purchased the most recent copy of The New Purity Cookbook. I had originally received a copy as a wedding gift 30 years ago. My copy was taped together and some pages were hard to read because of use. I was so pleased that they were able to obtain a new copy for me as I had looked at different times and was unable to find one. She said that they had to special order it. As I started to use my new copy I have noticed that some of my favorite recipes are not in the new one. This has disappointed both myself and my daught-in-law as she thought this a very thoughtful gift. I would like to know why the recipes have been changed and the format for your index has also changed. My original copy was given to me in 1974. I do not knew when it was printed but it did have coupons in the back to tear out and send in to obtain a copy. They have been given out to friends and family many years ago. Why did you change it?Thank you. Brenda
A fantastic cookbook - A Canadian of 23 years old, she packed her bags and headed off to be a nursing missionary in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, and her mother sent with her this cookbook. Well, the pages of the Purity Cookbook are torn and stained with dirt from PNG. Then across to Australia she came to settle down with a new husband. How often this cook book was used you would not believe, the pages have notes written on them (some are now almost impossible to read), some pages are torn, others are missing and almost all pages have been impregnated with ingredients! This is the recipe book that all 3 of us children learnt to cook from, the recipes are so simple and so delicious that I don t think anyone could fail with this cookbook. Yes, I was going to try and retype the whole recipe book to make sure that the recipes would not be lost and I was overjoyed when I discovered that the original Purity Cookbook had been reprinted. I can t wait till my mid year break from studying nursing to cook a feast!I have so many fond memories of this book from my childhood, making sugar cookies with my mum, licking out bowls from the chiffon cake batter and learning how to make bread from scratch. This, and my mum, are what made me the reasonably good cook I am today. This has to be my most prized recipe book. If you are looking for a reliable and tasty recipe book, then this one if for you. I cannot sing its praises highly enough.
This was the baking and cooking bible in our home - My father, who was and still is the cook in my childhood home, used this cookbook so much it is now beyond ragged. I bought a used original edition copy on EBay awhile ago for myself, but I was very excited to see that it was reissued and I bought two more copies for my brother and cousin. The recipes in this book are excellent. My husband swears by the pancake batter recipe. My father has made every pie, cookie, roll etc recipe. You will not regret ordering this cookbook.
Timeless Favorite - I agree! Mum is Canadian and brought the book with her when she married Dad, who is Australian. She used it before that when she was living in Papua & New Guinea. Then she used the book in Australia when we were growing up, so the book is now held together by rubber bands!! It has some great recipes in it, and my sister was going to re-type the whole book until she saw this on Amazon! She told Mum and Mum told me. We re going to ask my aunt from Canada if she ll bring some copies over with her when she visits this year!