Jo Pratt

The Flexible Baker by Jo Pratt is my first foray into the Flexible series of books, and I may be checking out more of them. This volume gave me what I was looking for in a cookbook.

Like many such books, we are given an idea of what "should" be in our cupboard. Most of us won't keep all of the ingredients and I didn't get the impression I was being guilted by the list. It simply suggests a variety of basic ingredients. My baking tends to be narrow in scope, so some things may never be in my cupboard. What I liked about the list were the explanations for each, why one might want, for instance, oats.

I tried two of the recipes and enjoyed both. I found them easy to follow and, although I followed the basic recipe as given, I liked having the "flexible" options (gluten-free, vegan, etc) right there with each recipe. It would have made it easy if one of them had been what I wanted.

I liked the photographs that were included. I was raised with many cookbooks that had no pictures, so I don't need pictures of each step (usually!). If that is something you like or need, you may be disappointed.

The dietary index in the back is sorted by dietary needs (dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, sesame-free, vegan, and egg-free) so you can see what recipes suit your needs in one quick glance.

I am not an experienced baker, mostly basic recipes and a couple of old family favorites. This book, while not necessarily geared strictly for the casual baker like myself, it served very well. That said, it offers a few recipes I think I would hesitate to try until I have more confidence, so I think the more experienced baker will find a lot here to add to their files.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)

This is a beautiful cookbook. It is also a useful cookbook. The author presents the reader with a cookbook in the traditional sense in that you open it up and find listings and categories for various types of recipes. Vegetarian recipes as you would guess from the title of the book. What is the flexible aspect? Ms. Pratt offers alternatives for making the same recipe with the addition of meat or fish. You might think this is a simple concept but you would be surprised at how delicate a balance it is.

You will find breakfasts, brunch, appetizers, main dishes and dips that are vegetarian at their heart but can be adjusted to include meat. If you live in a family with a mix of meat eaters and non meat eaters this book offers you the ability to prepare the same meal for everyone but with the small changes needed to accommodate adding animal proteins to one or two plates. Isn’t that better than just slapping a slice of chicken on the plate?

The recipes are easy to follow but sometimes you bump into an exotic ingredient. That doesn’t mean you can’t come up with a substitute within your pantry. The instructions are well written so you’ll be able to present a lovely dish whether is just dinner for two or a party.… (mehr)

Some of the recipes are a little iffy, but most are real winners. The presentation is fun and plenty of helpful tips are included. One favorite is a "leftovers" tip, included right with each recipe for user ease. A downside is that nutrition seems to fall by the wayside, with some recipes seeming far more unhealthy than they could be. Further, for a book than promotes ease and timeliness, there is no telling without some mental math how long a recipe will take. Overall, not a bad cookbook, but not one that will make you rush to the kitchen.… (mehr)