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Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant
Since its opening in 1973, Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, has been synonymous with creative cuisine with a healthful, vegetarian emphasis.
Each Sunday at Moosewood Restaurant, diners experience a new ethnic or regional cuisine, sometimes exotic, sometimes familiar. From the highlands and grasslands of Africa to the lush forests of Eastern Europe, from the sun-drenched hills of Provence to the mountains of South America, the inventive cooks have drawn inspiration for these delicious adaptations of traditional recipes.
Including a section on cross-cultural menu planning as well as an extensive guide to ingredients, techniques, and equipment, Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant offers a taste for every palate.
Each Sunday at Moosewood Restaurant, diners experience a new ethnic or regional cuisine, sometimes exotic, sometimes familiar. From the highlands and grasslands of Africa to the lush forests of Eastern Europe, from the sun-drenched hills of Provence to the mountains of South America, the inventive cooks have drawn inspiration for these delicious adaptations of traditional recipes.
Including a section on cross-cultural menu planning as well as an extensive guide to ingredients, techniques, and equipment, Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant offers a taste for every palate.
736 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
August 14, 2010
Lots of super delicious and fun recipes. There is one dish in here, Transylvanian Stew or something, that if you cook it following the specific Moosewood instructions you have to use every single pot, pan, bowl, spoon, cup, cutting board, measuring device, grater, blender, press, mill and dehydrator that you own and some you had to borrow from your neighbor.
So the running joke is, i guess if you're from Transylvania you can dirty every dish you own and not care because you'll probably be dead by morning. And in the morning if you haven't been killed by a vampire you're so happy you don't mind spending six hours washing up.
So the running joke is, i guess if you're from Transylvania you can dirty every dish you own and not care because you'll probably be dead by morning. And in the morning if you haven't been killed by a vampire you're so happy you don't mind spending six hours washing up.
September 12, 2021
Each Sunday, a new ethnic or regional cuisine has its time to be the theme of the day. With a few exceptions, each cuisine presented here has both seafood and vegetarian recipes. In this book they are: Africa south of the Sahara, Armenia & the Middle East, British Isles, the Caribbean, Chile, China, Eastern Europe, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, Jewish food (Ashkenazi & Sephardic foods each having their part), Mexico, New England, North Africa & Northeast African highlands, Provence, Southeast Asia, and Southern United States. Each cuisine gets its own introduction, and most recipes also. There are no pictures.
Besides the recipes, there is at the end some menu planning idea (with seafood dishes marked), ingredients list with explanation, techniques, tools, plus measurements list of some ingredients, and further reading (pre-1990 stuff). It is suggested that one might make different combinations from various cuisines, as long as one takes some care in seeing that they will match well.
I think this is the thickest of my Moosewood books (a little over 600 pages), and thus took much time to read. I was pleased that they included my country (Finland) among the cuisines – though some of the dish names are not quite correctly written *lol*. In the Eastern Europe section we get a view of Yugoslavia times, before the war came on (this book is from 1990), and Czechoslovakia is still existing in it, too.
You do get a feel that often the selections feel like starting-with-these bunch – with some more than with others - that you want more to be included, but then one can go looking further elsewhere. One will still get a good selection for day or two’s menu of the cuisine. At the end, when you read on the ingredients explanations, you might become aware that some availabilities and names have changed… you will hear ‘galanga’ more likely now than ‘laos root’, and when you come across ‘sriraja’, your mind goes to ‘sriracha’ quickly.
You might also realise some cuisines are more to your taste, even just reading them, than others. I noted down page numbers of some interesting dishes, but didn’t always find anything standing out in certain cuisines, but then I’m picky and can’t eat nuts… British Isles section was surprisingly positive an experience to me, Caribbean was fruit-rich, Eastern Europe’s variety was nice, Finland was Finland :), New England section was informative. That’s what I remember!
Judging by the number of those interesting dishes I noted, this book is worth it. I think that’s a good way to measure if the cookbook is worth keeping. In the pretty-decent category, certainly.
(If you want to know, my picks from the Finland part were: Finnish rye bread, Finnish sweet bread, Yellow split pea soup, Cabbage and tofu over rice, Blueberry yoghurt pie.)
Besides the recipes, there is at the end some menu planning idea (with seafood dishes marked), ingredients list with explanation, techniques, tools, plus measurements list of some ingredients, and further reading (pre-1990 stuff). It is suggested that one might make different combinations from various cuisines, as long as one takes some care in seeing that they will match well.
I think this is the thickest of my Moosewood books (a little over 600 pages), and thus took much time to read. I was pleased that they included my country (Finland) among the cuisines – though some of the dish names are not quite correctly written *lol*. In the Eastern Europe section we get a view of Yugoslavia times, before the war came on (this book is from 1990), and Czechoslovakia is still existing in it, too.
You do get a feel that often the selections feel like starting-with-these bunch – with some more than with others - that you want more to be included, but then one can go looking further elsewhere. One will still get a good selection for day or two’s menu of the cuisine. At the end, when you read on the ingredients explanations, you might become aware that some availabilities and names have changed… you will hear ‘galanga’ more likely now than ‘laos root’, and when you come across ‘sriraja’, your mind goes to ‘sriracha’ quickly.
You might also realise some cuisines are more to your taste, even just reading them, than others. I noted down page numbers of some interesting dishes, but didn’t always find anything standing out in certain cuisines, but then I’m picky and can’t eat nuts… British Isles section was surprisingly positive an experience to me, Caribbean was fruit-rich, Eastern Europe’s variety was nice, Finland was Finland :), New England section was informative. That’s what I remember!
Judging by the number of those interesting dishes I noted, this book is worth it. I think that’s a good way to measure if the cookbook is worth keeping. In the pretty-decent category, certainly.
(If you want to know, my picks from the Finland part were: Finnish rye bread, Finnish sweet bread, Yellow split pea soup, Cabbage and tofu over rice, Blueberry yoghurt pie.)
June 26, 2017
Nice solid cookbook - Moosewood Collective was an innovative force in vegetarian/hippie cuisine in my youth and I enjoyed this later attempt to vegetarianize ethnic and regional cuisines. This incarnation is also pescetarian with several fine fish and shellfish offerings. I didn't like the Southern regional recipes at the end as much - try The Grit Cookbook: World-Wise, Down-Home Recipes.
June 13, 2017
I was given this cookbook in college by a friend, and I've made many yummy dishes from it over the years. However, it hasn't stood the test of time for me. The compilation of recipes from different regions makes it a bit scattered, with no core set of ingredients that you can buy then have on hand. This isn't a cookbook that you can browse with whatever happens to be in the fridge and find one that fits--it's one you pick a recipe from then buy specialty ingredients for. If you don't have many cookbooks, but enjoy a wide variety of flavors, this is a good buy and easily found used. If you have a larger collection, you might find it loosing ground to other cookbooks that go more in-depth into a particular cuisine or that features recipes that use ingredients commonly found in a well-stocked pantry.
July 13, 2019
If you are vegetarian, this a good but not great collection. I will not be keeping it.
December 14, 2018
First off, this book is HUGE. Recipes are separated by chef and cuisine by country/region/culture (British Isles, Jewish, Provence, etc.). There are sections about menu planning, ingredients/techniques, and a reading list at the end of the book. A sampling of favorite recipes: creamy corn soup, Wynelle's pot pie, stuffed eggplant Provençal, scones.
December 3, 2012
This book has SUCH a wide variety of world wide recipes that when I first found it at a second hand bookstore, I wasn't sure where to start. I have slowly begun picking my way through it over the past year or two, and every single recipe I have tried is more delicious than the last. Since these are regional recipes- very specific to the areas they come from- there are lots of unusual spices and food combinations, but each chapter goes into great detail to not only explain anything out the ordinary, but also the origin of such recipes in their home countries. These tidbits are educational but can be easily skipped over if one is only interested in the recipes. Part of what I love about all Moosewood books is the idiot-proof factor: no matter how amateur you may feel as a cook, they make sure the recipes are simplified and well explained, with proportions well thought out, and anyone can make them. If you're looking for some new ideas, this is the book for you!
January 3, 2010
I love this cookbook. Utterly and completely. Almost as much as I love the great friends that loaned it to us while they are on an exciting life adventure. I have always enjoyed the Moosewood cookbooks but this one really brings it all together offering a huge variety of tried and true vegetarian recipes that use all the best ingredients from around the world. They don't expect you to have an entire arsenal of exotic ingredients, though it certainly wouldn't hurt. Every recipe I try, I savor and dream about. At the end of summer I found five different recipes of late harvest stews from around the world that used similar ingredients in a nuanced way that made each soup or stew it's own journey to a land where the native vegetables sing their own particular bouquet. For savvy users of vegetables, spices and somewhat exotic grains, this is a must have!
May 18, 2015
This cookbook is amazing! There is so much cultural information here, it's a joy to read. The recipes I've tried so far are also delicious and easy to follow if labor intensive.
I made the Brown Bread from the Macedonian section - savory and delicious. I also made the Red Pottage from the British Isles section, which is also yummy if a mess to make with an immersion blender (they recommend a blender, so it's not their fault). I also made it a little easier on myself and did parts of this in the slow cooker - I think the whole thing could easily be done in the slow cooker if you sauteed the onions and celery before adding to the pot.
I made the Brown Bread from the Macedonian section - savory and delicious. I also made the Red Pottage from the British Isles section, which is also yummy if a mess to make with an immersion blender (they recommend a blender, so it's not their fault). I also made it a little easier on myself and did parts of this in the slow cooker - I think the whole thing could easily be done in the slow cooker if you sauteed the onions and celery before adding to the pot.
April 10, 2007
I thought Moosewood was all veggie, but there' some fish in here - not that I'm complaining, as I went pescatarian myself two years ago. This book does a very good job of covering the world, and much more intelligently than most; Africa is actually broken down into regions (who knew it was a continent, not a country!), as is Asia and Latin America, which is not only politically and socially but culinarily refreshing. Oh, and the food is fantastic.
April 4, 2016
Hands down, my favorite cookbook because of the variety and the fact that most dishes are vegetarian. I love reading each contributor's introduction to a cuisine and stories about the names of particular dishes (Yellowman's Banana Lime Bread and Best Peach Cobbler are standouts). Many are cuisines that we don't hear much about, like Chilean or Finnish. The recipes are easy to follow and most of the ones I've tried were very tasty. The index is excellent and there is a helpful glossary.
April 15, 2025
I love some sections of the book but the China section was very disappointing - most “haute cuisine” is Cantonese? Please! People are familiar with it because it’s genuinely great (and one of my personal favorites too), but colonialism also helped it spread more than other regional cuisine.
Realized many traditional Chinese dishes are meat or egg or seafood dishes, though, so I think the book had a good attempt.
Where it started
the soy sauce - the book constantly calls for tamari, but I’ve enjoyed using light soy sauce (or even splashing in some aged dark soy sauce if the recipe calls for it.) For the other spices, I highly recommend visiting any Asian supermarket if there is one nearby. I’m grateful for the nearby dedicated Korean and Chinese and Japanese and Filipino and Indian stores, but I know not everyone has easy access.
Ramble - (yes, I’m hungry)
Chinese cuisine is so varied, from some southern dishes that are steamed for hours and hours and deliciously mildly tender and with all the flavors melded together
to the hearty stews from the northeast that are filled with seasonal produce and a good use of fridge leftovers
to crispy (also northeastern) double-fried food that crackle open at the first bite but are melt-in-the-mouth, tangy and not too sweet but with a hint of a kick from red bell peppers
to bean paste like zhajiangmian (eggs optional)
and the ingredients vary by region, even beyond the staples of ginger and scallions - cumin and aleppo peppers in Xi’an, wild foraged mushrooms in Yunnan, soy beans and chards and Chinese cabbage and roots in the north
And all kinds of noodles and doughs, from hand-pulled to knife-sliced (daoxiao), and twisted rolls to buns to custards and savory breads.
I write about Chinese cuisine because I’m familiar with it, but I do love the variety of vegetarian recipes in the Moosewood cookbooks.
This just reads more like fusion cooking takeout restaurant than sit-down Chinese dining; not sure about the other sections. (The lentil soup is great.)
Realized many traditional Chinese dishes are meat or egg or seafood dishes, though, so I think the book had a good attempt.
Where it started
the soy sauce - the book constantly calls for tamari, but I’ve enjoyed using light soy sauce (or even splashing in some aged dark soy sauce if the recipe calls for it.) For the other spices, I highly recommend visiting any Asian supermarket if there is one nearby. I’m grateful for the nearby dedicated Korean and Chinese and Japanese and Filipino and Indian stores, but I know not everyone has easy access.
Ramble - (yes, I’m hungry)
Chinese cuisine is so varied, from some southern dishes that are steamed for hours and hours and deliciously mildly tender and with all the flavors melded together
to the hearty stews from the northeast that are filled with seasonal produce and a good use of fridge leftovers
to crispy (also northeastern) double-fried food that crackle open at the first bite but are melt-in-the-mouth, tangy and not too sweet but with a hint of a kick from red bell peppers
to bean paste like zhajiangmian (eggs optional)
and the ingredients vary by region, even beyond the staples of ginger and scallions - cumin and aleppo peppers in Xi’an, wild foraged mushrooms in Yunnan, soy beans and chards and Chinese cabbage and roots in the north
And all kinds of noodles and doughs, from hand-pulled to knife-sliced (daoxiao), and twisted rolls to buns to custards and savory breads.
I write about Chinese cuisine because I’m familiar with it, but I do love the variety of vegetarian recipes in the Moosewood cookbooks.
This just reads more like fusion cooking takeout restaurant than sit-down Chinese dining; not sure about the other sections. (The lentil soup is great.)
June 23, 2018
Great cookbook
December 14, 2023
A real international treasure.
April 4, 2024
This is a HUGE cookbook and there isn't one picture!! Most of these recipes are vegetarian and nothing really stood out to me, although the restaurant is very impressive!
December 6, 2024
Always love Moosewood cookbooks.
June 15, 2025
I confess that I haven't tried a lot of the recipes in this book that was given to us years ago. However, the Rhode Island Corn Bread (inexplicably listed under "R" in the index) and the vegetable stock section (which isn't really in recipe form but simply lists what - and what NOT - to include in a vegetable stock and why) are the reasons that we keep the book in a prominent section on our cookbook shelf.
The corn bread is quite grainy and rather flat but it is fabulous sliced and grilled, drizzled with olive oil, then served under barbecued vegetables and flank steak that has been thinly sliced in coins. (Yes, I know. Flank steak is NOT a vegetable. The Moosewood collective might be horrified.)
edit June 2025: We recently made burger buns with the recipe for ‘Sara’s Oat Bread’ on page 494. Granted, I didn't follow the recipe to the letter, but I did pay particular attention to pre-soaking the rolled oats in boiling water before cooling that mixture and adding it to the dough. Wow. This recipe makes GREAT burger buns!
The corn bread is quite grainy and rather flat but it is fabulous sliced and grilled, drizzled with olive oil, then served under barbecued vegetables and flank steak that has been thinly sliced in coins. (Yes, I know. Flank steak is NOT a vegetable. The Moosewood collective might be horrified.)
edit June 2025: We recently made burger buns with the recipe for ‘Sara’s Oat Bread’ on page 494. Granted, I didn't follow the recipe to the letter, but I did pay particular attention to pre-soaking the rolled oats in boiling water before cooling that mixture and adding it to the dough. Wow. This recipe makes GREAT burger buns!
September 29, 2008
A fantastic cookbook from a fantastic source. Moosewood books are full of interesting, beautiful, delicious recipes using fresh and wholesome vegetarian ingredients, and occasional seafood recipes. They are well-written, with good instructions, educational explanations, and personal touches. They don't usually have pictures, but trust me, you don't have to see pictures to know these recipes will be good. Moosewood Sundays is a collection of ethnic/regional menus, with each section written by a person very knowledgeable about that particular cuisine. This has a great collection of not-often seen cuisines, such as British, West African, Eastern European, etc. I have cooked numerous recipes from this book and have never been disappointed. Because this is a collection of recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant's special Sunday dinners, they do tend to take more time/effort to prepare, but if you have the time, it's completely worth it.
Read
October 2, 2008One of my most-used cookbooks ever. It's probably not the most authentic authoritative source on any of these cuisines, but it seems reasonably un-whitewashed, and the mix of cuisines is really intriguing (quick, name one other cookbook with Finnish and soul food recipes in it!). The harira (North African spiced vegetable soup), the date cake and the pilav have all been kitchen obsessions that I've eaten for weeks at a time. I gave this book to my dad around the time I went vegetarian (talk about a self-serving present), and then ten years later, found my copy on a sidewalk in San Francisco. Bonus!
January 11, 2017
When I first got this cookbook I had three children living at home and because of my work schedule, didn't cook dinner all that often. Now, looking at the "look inside" feature on Amazon, I'm hoping I still have it because I think I'd like to try a lot of the recipes. I believe the tapenade recipe I've been making for years whenever I need an appetizer is from this book. I noticed to my surprise that there are some fish/seafood recipes included -- Moosewood is famous for vegetarian cookbooks but I guess there are some vegetarians who don't count fish as meat. You can get a copy for as little as $4 and it would be well worth while even if you aren't vegetarian.
July 7, 2008
This book provides a complete set of recipes (appetizers, through dessert) broken down by regions. There's a great vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe that would be very easy to make vegan. The Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup (with rosemary & bulgar) is one of my favorites. The Blueberry Yogurt Pie is pretty fail-safe and is made with a crust that you don't have to roll out. The dishes are vegetarian-ish (include dairy, eggs & fish). This is a good book for a beginner with a basic kitchen to expand his/her repertoire or plan a themed dinner.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2012
I really like how this cookbook is set up. There are 17 regions/countries/ethnicities included in the book. Each section has an introduction to the area and the cuisine being covered, which is very informative. The recipes included in each section are separated by meal or course and each section has its own table of contents to make locating recipes easier. I am interested in culture and trying foods from other parts of the world, so this book really appeals to me.
April 7, 2013
I remember eating in the restaurant and being so impressed I immediately wanted to learn how to cook like that myself. I have cooked my way through this book from cover to cover with my husband and the African peanut stew and empanadas are a family favorite we make often. These recipes are a bit more complicated than in some of the other books they have produced, but the results are impressive and well worth the extra effort.
August 1, 2007
Now this Moosewood cookbook I like. Simple recipies from a range of cultures, and easily attainable ingredients. Also takes away the intimidation factor for those wanting to experiment with Pan-Asian and Indian cuisines.
If only the food served at the actual Moosewood were as good as most of these recipies...
If only the food served at the actual Moosewood were as good as most of these recipies...
August 29, 2007
I end up using this book quite often at work, and I've recommended/purchased it for others who need to come up with creative vegetarian recipes on a regular basis.
Not something I ever cooked from at home too much, but the personal stories are nice and some of the soup recipes, especially, are very good.
Not something I ever cooked from at home too much, but the personal stories are nice and some of the soup recipes, especially, are very good.
February 8, 2009
343501 A delightfully diverse cookbook organized by region/country. Sometimes a bit complicated and often with specific ingredient lists, it none the less is proving to be a great collection of recipes. And one you get around to making them, quite handy, such as the black bean ful which is not only delicious but easily storable (which is good, as these aren't recipes for one).
April 7, 2009
Excellent ethnic recipes for dishes from around the world. Try the brussel sprouts and carrots; I think this is in the UK section. My husband, who was totally turned off of brussel sprouts as he'd never tasted them when cooked properly, loves this dish. I typically make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
November 4, 2009
My go-to cookbook for all of my CSA veggies. I can't open this cook book without finding something I want to make. A good variety of cuisines, many of which I don't see (or taste) on a regular basis. The cook book is vegetarian but even non-vegetarians should be able to find something intriguing. Love the variety of soups.
September 21, 2012
I never like Moosewood cookbooks, and I should probably stop buying them. In this case, I found that none of the included recipes sounded better than those included in my "ethnic" (as in, "not American") cookbooks. It's never good when I go through every page of a cookbook and am not tempted to cook anything described therein....
August 20, 2013
The best vegetarian cookbook I have ever come across. But with it comes some work. The reason for the "Sundays" in the title is because you would not want to put this much effort into cooking every day. That said, each and every one of the recipes that I have tried in this cookbook has been worth every ounce of preparation.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews