I ordered Herbavoracious after being directed to Mr. Natkin's blog by a friend. The book and the recipes have proved so extraordinarily successful that I have now bought copies for my mother, my brother and two of my friends. I would note that 3 out of the 4 are dedicated meat eaters. In fact, I am the only veg-head in my entire extended family which has occasionally proven tedious for everyone else. Neither my husband nor children had ANY enthusiasm for tofu. And I certainly wasn't able to put things like tempeh on the kitchen table until I found Herbavoracious. Even my mother and brother have responded well to these recipes. I served a few of them at Christmas. My mother, who more than anyone else rolls her eyes at vegetarianism, actually started reading the book after eating the grapes and goat cheese appetizer.
If nothing else, you must learn to make Michael's warm grapes and goat cheese, the oyster mushroom appetizer, the spicy tofu and peppers (this recipe is so hugely popular with my family that I have to make it in two skillets to feed everyone. I would add that you can substitute tempeh for the tofu, which my husband prefers, but the children prefer the tofu.), his Sicilian pasta with cauliflower (Spike was right, I was wrong ... but I still say substitute Thai chilis for the dried pepper flakes), and Michael's recipe for pot stickers. I served the pot stickers for New Year's. I made over 100 for 10 people along with side dishes, rice and pre-dinner appetizers. Even still, there were no left overs. :-) There are many other wonderful recipes, these are just the ones we are currently hung up on.
The only recipe that I didn't love was the one for the chickpea cakes. I'm not sure I got the texture right. BUT what I did get out of that experience was Mr. Natkin's recipe for tomato confit. Oh my. Everybody needs this recipe. I actually served the chickpea cakes with the tomato confit to friends who popped in that night. I didn't love the cakes, but they did and they absolutely raved about the confit. I would note that I don't think you have to wait until summer to make this. I used high quality tinned and skinned tomatoes. The final flavor was gorgeous. I tend to not like sweet things and would perhaps reduce the sugar a bit - but everybody else who has had it thought it was perfect.
Don't be intimidated by some of the exotic ingredients. I found a Korean grocery store w/in 10 miles of my house and found everything I need there. But I would add that nearly everything is also available on Amazon. com.
I would add as a final note that my husband had his annual physical last week which is what prompted me to write this review. Our internist has been threatening to put O on statins for years. I responded by refusing to cook meat in the house for the past couple of years (he can order it at restaurants) and over the past two months introducing tofu, tempeh etc. via the Herbavoracious recipes. Net result, LDL 129, HDL 76. As my husband put it, "That tofu is MAGIC!!" :-D You really can't do better than that. In a nutshell, if you are a solitary vegetarian surrounded by carnivores and looking for ways to cook food that all of you will love, this is the cookbook for you.
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