Bean by Bean: More Than 175 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans, even Sweet Beans!

The author has had a life long interest in Beans and it shows! The recipes are interesting, delicious, and many types from Basic to fancy and lots of variety. A lot of commenters noted the author can be overly wordy and imaginative which is strange for a cookbook. If you don’t like it skip the chapters in the beginning- I feel her recipe intros are very good at describing the unique features of each recipe, as well as encouraging and enticing to make you want to try new things. I have several books on just beans and this is one of my top two favorites. There are no pictures, true, but I feel this book was written by a gifted writer, who is also a long time home chef, and her descriptions do more for me than a picture. Also I’m kind of glad there’s no pictures because this book is just full of great cooking instruction- more room for the important matters. I don’t think I’ll ever catch up to making all the recipes I want to try. It will take me years. And finally, her substitution suggestions are very good. A lot of common beans recipes include ham products. I’m pretty practiced at omitting ingredients and finding substitutes but when it comes to omitting the bacon or smoked pork I feel I’ve never managed to compensate for the lost flavor. This writer has some incredibly good ideas to work around that, and many of them too, and you won’t miss the ham one bit. I dont think she caters to any eating restriction too much- offering something for everyone and always great advice for dietary adaptations. Her substitution advice is the best I’ve ever seen, thorough, and you will certainly become a better life long cook learning from this author, not just picking up some good recipes. The last thing I’ll say about this book is that I love that she doesn’t have ton of recipes on how to “hide” beans by grinding them or mashing them. I have a lot of bean books, and for some reason many of them assume that may not like beans so you may have to sneak them into other foods like cookies or cheesecake. This book assumes you like beans me arent trying to fool anyone. Classic type of recipes where beans are the main focus.

Great recipes and also an interesting book. The author is a vegetarian…I am NOT, but these recipes are great as written, with seasonings other than meat that give a whole new perspective. Good recipes, very well written!

I've been cooking beans for 30 years because I've had to (they're cheap) and because I want to (I don't eat much meat, and I like their earthiness), and I know my way around a bean. Crescent Dragonwagon knocked me way far out of my usual orbit with her new book. Bean by Bean is full of great ideas for infusing beans with deep, satisfying, addictive flavor. I served the Syrian-Style Red Lentil Soup at an afternoon party, and a guest told me she stopped at the grocery on the way home to get the ingredients to make this soup for her family. Beans for company. Beans for both quick and slow dinners. Beans for dessert! I love this author's approach to ingredients: she grows many vegetables herself and shares information about beans as only a true gardener could. I love this author's approach with her reader: she wants to inspire, connect, and empower. After reading her thirteen (!) recipes for chili in this book, you will know for sure that she wants you to experiment beyond this book. In Bean by Bean, beans become a way to affirm how simple ingredients become a path of discovery and well-being. (Well bean! Ha!) I love this book. If you want to eat more beans, read this book. If you already eat a lot of beans, read this book! Joy!

I just got this and haven't really made anything out of it yet, but Crescent Dragonwagon always does a great job. I've been looking for a comprehensive bean recipe book for a while so was so excited when I heard her talking about this on NPR. I immediately ordered it. Tons of great recipes that I can't wait to try, even deserts. She also has lots of great information on the nutritional value of beans and other bits of information like how to cook them, etc. She also labels all of her recipes to say whether they're vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, or meatist (her term for adding meat to a recipe). Beautiful cook book and well worth the price.

I have been a fan of Crescent Dragonwagon's cookbooks since her "Passionate Vegetarian" became my bible through a decade of personal and culinary transformation into a vegetarian. Bean by Bean is a valuable addition to ANY recipe book collection just because of the well-researched, simple, absolutely delicious recipes. It's not all vegetarian, by the way, Crescent shares some meat adding possibilities and some Vegan options, but mostly she's a vegetarian kind of cook. Bean by Bean is also a culinary education about legumes, lessons that all plant-based diet aspirers (we should all be that, ahem) will appreciate and enjoy. Moreso and to utter delight, it is written in the honest, passionate, life-embracing voice of Crescent Dragonwagon. She knows, she cares, she'll whip you into a frenzy of loving BEANS! You will undoubtedly question how it is you became all "in a lather" over beans, so prepare yourself, lol. Crescent is the ultimate Girlfriend of all of us who love cooking. SO much more Oprah than Martha, Crescent is your friend here as well as your teacher. She's the real deal, she hasn't been invented by a cable TV mogul, she has that Sark kind of approachability and empathy, what you see and what you get is trustworthy, real, experienced, improved, shared. All this because she is not only wonderful, she's a wonderful writer. I am face down in my copy of Bean by Bean, have sent it to 3 young people I know who are taking charge of their diets by embracing Vegetarian and Vegan lifestyles. Here's the magic: In Bean by Bean you learn that you can eat the greatest comforting food on earth AS you save the earth. Bean by Bean is, more than anything else, for those of us who love delicious comfort food, care about healthy eating, and care about the earth and the animals.

This is the best Bean cookbook I have seen. She gives clever, and funny details to bean recipes that add charm. You want to read it as though it were a novel. Mostly vegetarian, you are in charge of what goes into your pot! Highly recommended.

WELL WORTH THE MONEY AND THE INFORMATION IS IMPRESSIVE I LIKE THE FACT THE RECIPES INCLUDE UNUSUAL ONE WHICH SHOULD PRESENT NO PROBLEMS OBTAINING THE INGREDIENTS. EX. TANZANIAN BLACK-EYED PEA AND COCONUT SOUP. IT IS MARKED UP TO TRY. ALTHOUGH AN AMERICAN PUBLICATION IT DDOES INCLUDE COMPREHENSIVE CONVERSION TABLES INCLUDING A NOTE ON FAN ASSISTED OVEN TEMPERATURES. I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK

Best book I’ve read on the subject ever.

Perfect cook book. Beans rule.

Quand ces messieurs et mesdames anglos-saxons comprendront que le visuel est un des cinq sens essentiel en cuisine, ils auront tout compris...Comme souvent, les livres en anglais n'ont (presque) aucunes photos: dur dur de se coller aux recettes en anglais sans l'inspiration des photos...surtout quand l'édition est relativement récente, c'est dommage...A part ça, un vrai recueil de recettes pour accommoder les graines et céréales, assez simples à faire...