Salinas PressRezensionen

I prefer to have more pictures in my cookbooks, showing the finished dishes. For something to be appealing, you need to have a view of the finished product. I also like to get an idea of how something is supposed to look when it's done. The concept of the book was great as I love to utilize a slow cooker, however this book just needed a little more pizazz.

I found this book to be very insightful into the art and aspect of Japanese style cooking. I found the layout to be incredibly easy to use and the instructions easy to follow and keep up with. I look forward to getting to cook these recipes in the near future

I received this ebook for free from Early Reviewers. This is the one time where I would've rather won the paperback instead of the ebook. The reason is on my tablet, whenever the recipe called for a half, quarter, third, etc. a block would appear instead of the measurement.

For the rest of the book review, visit my blog at: http://angelofmine1974.livejournal.com/86466.html½

I was excited to have a guide to a new type of food that I was interested in but had NO experience in attempting to prepare myself. This is a great introductory cook book for Japanese cooking that increases complexity while your skills should be increasing. Good format for learning a new cuisine.

I own a lot of cookbooks, but I am not especially familiar with Japanese cuisine. *Japanese Cooking Made Simple* is, in fact, my first Japanese cookbook. It follows a fairly standard format: A section of introductory material that discusses the ingredients, tools, techniques, and philosophy pecuiliar to Japanese cooking, followed by categorized recipes. The introductory section is useful and informative. I particularly appreciated the classification of tools as "must-have," "nice-to-have," and "highly recommended." But the essence of a cookbook is its recipes. The variety and descriptions of the recipes included in this book are pleasing, and I felt that they offered a good assortment of different styles, flavors, and techniques to try. The biggest flaw in the design of the book is the relative dearth of pictures of the prepared recipes. Those that are included are attractive, but there simply aren't enough of them. I would have preferred to see a picture accompany each recipe.

For purposes of this review, I picked out four recipes to make: Miso-Egg Soup With Peas, Cucumber Roll, Broccoli With Sesame Dressing, and Castella Sponge Cake. The soup and cucumber roll came out quite nice (and it was only my second attempt at making sushi), and the cake was satisfyingly light, airy, and pleasantly mild. The broccoli, while decent, was not particularly exciting. Still, though, that's a pretty good success rate. I intend to keep trying other recipes from this collection!

Lots of easy recipes to start with. As you progress in skill, there are more complicated recipes to try. A couple of them have become regulars in my dinner rotation. The most difficult thing about the book was finding some of the more exotic ingredients in stores near me. Highly recommended.

This is a delightful cookbook with great recipes that taste good too. Nice variety of dishes for slow cookers, which are very useful for homemade Mediterranean food. Healthy, easy, what more can the happy eater wish for? Recommend for the cook looking for simple homey food without a ton of work.½

I love cooking Asian and Italian food. this book was so helpful on my Asian cooking. some of the recipes was great and I love how they are healthy and taste good. thank u

Very easy to use. Gave a lot of helpful information.

I really enjoyed the recipes in this cookbook. They were simple and tasty. I have been looking at Japanese recipes and sometimes found them to be too difficult, but not these recipes. I found them easy to cook and it was easy getting the seasons I needed to make them. This is a book that you should check out for some tasty Japanese food.

An interesting cookbook, especially for those who like Mediterranean flavors and want to make use of slow cookers.

Many of us have come to enjoy Mediterranean style foods. They offer delightful and often new tastes to our diets and they tend to be healthy for us. But often cooking them involves long hours few of us can afford to spend in the kitchen. This cookbook provides the flavors we love with the advantages of a slow cooker.

For those who have not used a slow cooker, the book provides basic information on using the appliance and types for making the most of what it can do. Some experienced cooks may prefer their own practices to those suggested. Advice for how to adapt regular recipes to slow cookers.

A variety of recipes are suggested, not only for the stews and soups that we associate with slow cookers but also for roasting and baking. Discussion of Mediterranean flavors provides useful lists of spices arranged by national cultures.

I read this book on my NOOK courtesy of Library Thing Early Reviewers. I am grateful for receiving it. I found following a recipe on an ebook very difficult.

I had high hopes that I would dust off my slow cooker and try a bunch of recipes with this cookbook, and I did try a couple. They were tasty and good recipes, but I guess I'm not the type of cook who can plan a meal that far in advance (I am of the prep and cook in 30 minutes on the weekdays and go out to eat on the weekends kind of person). So I did enjoy the recipes I tried, but I have to recognize that slow cooker recipes aren't my forte.

Unfortunately, as is typically the case, this cookbook is not very friendly for those us with food allergies and restrictions. It's also not something that is particularly budget friendly or easy enough to work with for those of us who are just learning how to cook. Skimming through, you can pick out a handful of recipes under whatever food restrictions you have in your life, but as a whole, this book doesn't help someone like me much. I hope other readers got more out of reading this than I did. It's a shame, too, I was really excited about the prospect of slow-cooked Greek food.

This book is fairly straight forward and well organized; it starts with an introduction to using a slow cooker, followed by an overview of Mediterranean cuisine, and then the recipes. These are presented by food type, such a soups, pastas/grains/beans, vegetables, poultry, etc. There is even a section on dessert. One nice aspect of the ebook version is that each item in the table of contents is linked directly to the recipe page, so you can easily jump to the recipe of interest.

Each recipe begins with a brief headnote, which gives you some idea of what the dish will be like - this is especially useful since there are no photos in the book. I realize this is probably because slow cooker food tends to look unimpressive; but it does make for a less appealing and interesting book overall.

However, while there is a good range in the types of food, the recipes themselves are too similar, relying heavily on the same ingredients over and over. In some ways, this is handy because it allows you to draw on the pantry described in the Mediterranean intro chapter; but in general, it ends up being rather monotonous.

ePub edition. This cookbook does deliver as promised. The recipes are simple for us Western cooks, using mostly easy to obtain locally ingredients. The first thing I did was place an online order to fill in some gaps I had. I do have a Japanese supermarket 20 miles away, but that's not what I'd consider convenient. I particularly liked the listing of equipment, necessary, not necessary and nice to have. I've always been interested in dishes such as hot pot, and the proper recipe for dashi, and this book filled those blanks.

The family will be seeing some new dishes with the help of this cookbook. Thanks for a cookbook someone can sit down and read.½

I received this book free through LibraryThing in exchange for my review. The cookbook started off really well. I found that the opening section on getting to know the slow cooker, and how best to use it, was really helpful. However, overall I was not impressed with this cookbook. I was disappointed that there were no pictures of finished dishes, or times listed for preparation or total cooking. But, what I most disliked was the lack of variety in the dishes. Although there are a lot of sections (soups, chicken, meats, desserts, etc.), the ingredients themselves were too similar. A large number of the recipes involved tomato-based products. When I made these recipes, I found the tomato flavor overwhelmed many of the finished dishes. There are also some recipes that are completely missing ingredients and directions. For example, "Red Beans and Rice" is missing "rice" from the ingredients list. The only reference to "rice" is to serve 1 cup of beans over 1 cup of rice. When finished, this dish makes 10 cups of beans (meaning 10 cups of rice). This information and the time involved is not included in the instructions. Although the introduction was interesting, the cookbook is a complete miss for me. I would not recommend it.

I'm a very beginning chef and thought this book sounded appetizing and reasonably doable as a means of testing out some slow cooker recipes. The recipes are fairly simply, well-explained and the ones I tried have turned out and tasted great. There is also a great section at the front with lots of tips about slow cooking and about Mediterranean cuisine.

My main problem would be that the book lacks any pictures. In many cases, especially with techniques I'd never heard of before, having pictures would have been extremely helpful and made me more likely to try those recipes that I was a little unsure about.

Kindle Edition. Great cultural lessons in the beginning of the cookbook to help you understand the recipes and their ingredients better. Great tips on using Western utensils instead of running out to buy a whole new set of utensils. The recipes are easy to follow and have clear instructions.

I would prefer a cookbook in printed form; digital is fine for a single recipe to follow, but doesn't fully lend itself to my preferred method of browsing through a cookbook for ideas. The formatting in the digital edition is very helpful and easy to navigate.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

I have to admit that I am addicted to cookbooks. Although I have been known to buy a cookbook for just one recipe, the cookbooks I use most frequently are the ones with many recipes that my whole family enjoys.

I received a complimentary copy of The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook in a contest, and have spent many evenings pouring over the recipes. Coming home from work to a healthy and delicious meal from a slow cooker is heavenly after a long day at work.

I have not tried all the recipes yet, but I plan to give most of them a try. The Chicken-Green Olive Stew is one of the family's favorites.

This great little book lives up to its name. I tend to love cookbooks, but particularly ones that use real ingredients (and ones that are readily available) to make wholesome, yummy food. The recipes are simple, clear, and have made my mouth water as I've browsed the book. I will admit that in the past two days I have not had the opportunity to try any of the recipes, but I anticipate trying and enjoying many of them. I appreciate that this cookbook has a great overview in each chapter of the important aspects of cooking each type of Japanese food, as well as great resources at the beginning identifying ingredients and seasonings, as well as appropriate substitutions. It also has an appendix with ideas of where to find ingredients if they are not readily found at a local grocery store or international food market.

The only down sides to this book (that made me take off half a star) are these:
- Not many pictures of the dishes (I am not one who looks for step by step pictures; in fact, when browsing recipes online, I routinely skip to the actual recipe because I don't see the point of showing each ingredient as it goes into the dish, but I do love to see a picture of the final product)
- Having the Kindle edition, while I like the way it is organized and the links to each recipe, I would love a full index. This may not be the case for the print edition.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.½

I am a huge fan of my slow cooker. When everyone in your household works full time, having a slow cooker can be the difference between a stressful night and a relaxing meal. Lately I’ve been on a Mediterranean food kick, so this was a perfect pairing.

There are 101 recipes split into different categories. I love that the ingredients focus on fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains and heart-healthy fats. I love using my slow cooker, but I am not a fan of recipes that tell you to dump in three cans of condensed soup and a stick of butter. Eating a meal that I cook fresh in the evening lets me control the ingredients I’m using, so I love that this slow cooker cookbook does too.

Now the down side to that is that from what I saw most of the recipes require a lot of prep work. For me, this isn’t a deal breaker, it just depends on my mood. If I make a slow cooker recipe that has lots of prep, I make the whole thing the night before and pop it in the fridge. Then in the morning I just start up the slow cooker.

One aspect I loved about the book was the inclusion of slow cooker tips at the beginning of the book. I’m new enough to the world of cooking that I learn something new every time I read one of those. One thing I disliked was the prep time and cook times were not included in each recipe. I also wish that I’d had a hardcopy of the cookbook instead of an e-book. I like to make notes on my recipes while cooking and I really like seeing photos of the finished product with each review. I definitely don’t think cooking with e-cookbooks works well for me.

There were a ton of soup recipes that looked great, but the first one I tried was the Sausage Fennel Minestrone. It turned out well, great flavor and consistency. It did take a ton of prep work and in the end the Huz and I both thought it was good but not worth the work.

BOTTOM LINE: A good cookbook if you love Mediterranean food, which I do. A little too much prep work for some people and it would definitely work better as a hardcopy cookbook instead of an e-book. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from it.

I received an ebook version of the cookbook for an honest review.½

I love watching cooking shows and I love perusing cookbooks but I don’t love cooking. Don’t get me wrong: I occasionally get the urge to recreate a favorite dish or dive into a new recipe and every once in a great (great great) while, I have the time and energy to act on the urge. When this happens, I’m usually quite satisfied with the result. But the daily grind of feeding a family, especially one that includes two overly picky children, after a long day at work is, well, not so satisfying. I remain convinced, however, that if I could just find that perfect cookbook…. You know, the one with the perfectly balanced meals which involve next to no prep work and produce dishes everyone at the table devours?

Well, The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook: A Mediterranean Cookbook with 101 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes published by Salinas Press may not be that fanciful resource, but it IS pretty great! The book begins with an introduction to the slow cooker. I love that it times out the low and high settings (if the recipe says 8 hrs on low, you can speed it up to 4 hrs on high) and has great suggestions for translating stove top favorites to the slow cooker. Chapter two answers the question: What is Mediterranean Cuisine - less necessary from my perspective, but still interesting. The rest of the book, recipes divided by main ingredient in the case of vegetables, pastas and proteins, or course, in the case of soups and desserts, includes a nice variety of dishes from many Mediterranean cultures, not just Italy or Greece.

Since the most important part of a cookbook is the recipes, I decided to sample a couple. I chose the Provencal Chicken Supper because a) I already had all of the ingredients (minus the beans) and b) it seemed to be the closest thing to my “no prep” dream. It took all of 15 minutes to throw together and was perfectly done at the end of the 8 hr cooking time. My husband and I loved it. The kids? So so. I think I’ll probably play with it a bit the next time: Mix the herbs and spices in with the liquid rather than just pouring them on the chicken. Maybe using a different type of bean or dried beans instead of canned, which were a little mushy.

Next, my 11-year-old budding chef wanted to try to make the Chocolate Hazelnut Bread Pudding. This recipe is the exact opposite of the first. We had, maybe, 2 of the many ingredients and prep time, which included 40 minutes to toast the bread cubes, was pushing 90 minutes or more. But...it was DELICIOUS! My son and I both loved it (we’re the chocoholics in the family) and, thanks to a handy dandy crock pot liner, there was no mess!

The one drawback, for me, at least, is the format. The book came in the form of an ebook, which meant using my iPad while I cooked. This wasn’t a big deal for the chicken dish, but I’m still wiping custard off from the dessert dish. I prefer cooking from a paper recipe, but that’s just me. I look forward to trying more of the delicious recipes from The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook!!

The book overall: Using the slow cooker to eat in the Mediterranean way. Many recipes are Mediterranean is style, rather than being authentic.

Organization: Slow cooker tips, eating Mediterranean, recipes. Tips are handy: tools, food prep, and tips to ensure good flavor such as browning and layering of foods. Also includes discussion on food safety when using a slow cooker, and the care and maintenance of the slower cooker. There is also a handy time conversion table to help convert from or to stovetop/oven recipes. The Mediterranean cooking overview provides a summary of the types of flavors common in different parts of the region, along with convenience tips for each. There are also lists of items to keep in one’s refrigerator or pantry to ensure common items are on hand. Recipes are well-written, with ingredients and quantities listed in the order used. Each step in the process is described clearly, and uncommon ingredients (in the US) are described.

There is no index or glossary.

Balsamic Collard Greens
Simple recipe that was delicious. An excellent way to make greens.

Braised Basque Chicken
This one required more preparation than I usually like for slow cooker meals, with sautéing and browning of vegetables and chicken prior to placing in the slow cooker. However, the dish turned out deliciously, with chicken that was juicy and tender and excellent flavors. I even forgot the olives, but could image how they would add a lively tang and complexity to the rich-tasting dish.

Recipes: >100 recipes from countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and Morocco. Recipes are divided into chapters: soups, pasta, grains and beans, vegetables, seafood, poultry, meat, and desserts. Each recipe is prefaced with information on its benefits or characteristics of the dish.

Techniques: Each step is described simply and in common American English. Food preparation steps are common. The size of slow cooker used is not mentioned. Nor are there instructions for dealing with a larger slow cooker (I have a 6 qt.). However, the recipes turned out fine as written even in my larger crock.

Photos: None, other than on the cover.

Summary: A book that inspires me to make even more recipes from it. However, the book would benefit from some photos and an index. Recipes are designed for a 4 qt. cooker, but work well in a larger one.

I received this book free in exchange for a review

I don't do slow cookers. I must be the only mom around who doesn't find them any easier than using the oven. But, hey, I love Mediterranean cooking, so when this e-book landed on my screen I dug out the dusty slow cooker. I carefully read the introductory pages, and decided I was up to the task. I chose the "Provencal French Dinner" recipe, and gathered the ingredients. After a quick youtube video on how to arrange the chicken on the bottom of the cooker (squished into a single layer, not stacked), I dumped in the rest of the ingredients. Yep, it was pretty easy. By early afternoon the kids were wandering into the kitchen to see what smelled so good. And, the final result was indeed delicious. I don't know that I'm a slow cooker convert (how are you supposed to turn it on at 11:00 for a 7:00 dinner when you're at work?), but I am looking forward to trying some more recipes. My only quibble with the book is a total lack of nutritional information for the recipes. I'm a low-carb girl, and depend on that information!

Both my husband and I work full time and we have three children and consider our family as foodies! Cooking organic and whole foods is difficult when you do not have much time and therefore I am always looking at slow cooker (crock pot recipes). I also love Mediterranean foods and was excited about being chosen to get this book as an early reviewer.

The intro to slow cooking was very helpful and was well written. There is a good amount of different style of dishes- meat, vegetarian, sea food, desserts etc,. Since both my husband and I work, it was hard to find recipes that cooked 8 hours or more which is what you want during the weekday. Most recipes were to cook 3-5 hours which is not helpful for my family unless of course you take the crock pot to work which I have done several times. Leave it in the fridge all prepared and then turn it on around noon and will be ready at quitting time.

I made the Root Vegetable Tagine that had a great flavor as well as sweet glazed chick thighs which were very moist and kids really enjoyed it. Overall I think their are some great recipes in here and look forwarding to trying a lot of them. My only suggestion would be to have a table in the back which showed cooking times and then listed the recipe names so that if you only had 4 hours then you could look to see what you could make in that time or if you needed it to cook all day at work like 8-9 hours then you could see what recipe names fit this category.½