This book wasn't what I was expecting. While I still want to visit the Berkeley Bowl Marketplace someday, I can't see myself making any of these recipes. The title page implies that there will be photography but the version of the cookbook that I received didn't have any pictures at all. A book that boasts to have recipes inspired by extraordinary produce should have some visual evidence to support the claim.

I was able to read a digital copy of The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Extraordinary Produce of California’s Most Iconic Market this week through Net Galley. I was excited to read it, not because I have access to an elaborate produce market like the famous Berkeley Bowl, but because some of the foods it spotlights are wild foods that we forage as a family.

That said, it isn’t a book that I’ll probably go out and buy, now that I’ve read it. That’s not through any fault of the author or the book, but because it isn’t a very good fit for my needs as a frugal whole foods cook who relies largely on wild foods and affordable, accessible ingredients to cook healthy, mostly organic meals for a large family on very little money.

I was drawn to The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook because some of the foods highlighted in it are foods you can forage, such as gooseberries, nettles, sorrel, purslane, fiddleheads, ramps and morels. As an avid forager, I’m always looking for new ways to cook up these delicious wild foods. On the other hand, most of the other foods featured are not ones I can find wild and I can’t find them in any grocery store near me in rural Minnesota either (though I do plan to grow some of them in my garden this year and they’re certainly an option for avid gardeners).

I also like the fact that the recipes are vegetarian, as I cook vegetarian and get discouraged by how many cookbooks for wild foods (or any foods) tend to add ingredients like bacon and chicken stock to just about every recipe. It’s also easy to be gluten free with this cookbook.

I also really love the full color photos, and that there are a lot of them. I wish there were color photos for every dish, though. Printing a book in color costs the same amount (a lot) whether you use one photo or 100, so I never understand cookbooks that spend the money to have color photos and then don’t have one for every recipe. Speaking of cost, that leads to another reason this book isn’t going on my wish list. It retails at about $35, which is a lot of money for a cookbook I wouldn’t use often. Even the Kindle version is $17.

The recipes themselves are fairly easy but definitely of the gourmet

variety. These aren’t the simple, easy ways to cook these ingredients that may be unusual to many of us in the states but are standard foods for many people around the world. If I cook purple cauliflower, for instance, I’ll generally just roast it with a bit of olive oil, sea salt and an herb or two. That showcases it
The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Extraordinary Produce of California's Most Iconic Market
Photo Credit: Erin Scott

beautifully and simply. This cookbook tells you how to make “Purple Cauliflower Quesadillas with Curry Crema.”

If you’d like to sample one of the recipes from the book, the author has the recipe for her Kohlrabi Ramen (pictured on the right) on her blog here. If you’d like to peek inside and take a look at the recipes and foods featured, you can do so here (affiliate link).

In short, The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook is a fun book to read from the library and is full of very vividly colored food porn, but it’s not likely to be a go-to cookbook for most kitchens. That said, those who enjoy cooking with whole, fresh foods and are looking for new ways to use those strange fruits and veggies in the CSA box or at the farmers’ market are likely to find some fun new recipes and inspiration.

Are you a Vegetarian or Vegetable Lover seeking Beautiful, Inventive and Playful recipes? The Berkley Bowl Cookbook is for you! The cookbook's author, Laura McLively , maintains this lovely food blog: https://myberkeleybowl.com/ . and The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook continues in this tradition of fresh, creative vegetarian cuisine. I am a fan of Deborah Madison and McLively's recipes are similar in style - both chefs honour and highlight the qualities of the particular vegetables and fruits. This book's instructions are clear and there are many inspiring photographs. And example of recipes you will see are on McLively's blog ; you will see recipes for "Aloe Vera Mango Ceviche" and "Charred Cactus and Black-eyed Pea Chili". Cactus leaves are "nopales" and can apparently be substituted for green peppers should you be like me and live in an area that is void of such exotic produce. If you have access to "levain bread" , "alba pioppini" mushrooms, and obscure Asian greens, you will be able to easily replicate all these delicious recipes. Myself, I tried several salads and a jam (rhubarb vanilla). All recipes were a delight but I needed to substitute in almost all cases as my rural Ontario, Canada grocery stores just do not offer such items as "Russian style Farmer's cheese" and "sea beans'. McLively clearly explains the key ingredients and offers substitutions where possible. However, you might want to check out the author's blog or when released, borrow this book from the library or a friend before committing to purchase if you are not able to purchase unusual produce or are adverse to making recipe substitutions in almost every recipe .

This is a “coffee table” cookbook. It’s absolutely gorgeous to look at so leave it on display and all your friends will ooh and ahhh at the photos, BUT it’s totally impractical for home cooking. Honestly I have never heard of half the ingredients, so there are only a few recipes I would actually cook.

I Highly recommend this book. The cover is as colorful as the dishes. This book shows how we can have more variety in our diet especially if you are into plant based diet. The recipes I will definitely try are:
1. Vanilla Rubharb Jam
2. Green Garlic soup with Lemom Cardamom Yoghurt
3. Savory Daikon Pancakes with Ginger Maple syrup
This cookbook will be a great addition to your kitchen shelf.

I would like to thank the publisher, Parallax Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This cookbook is inspired by the Berkeley Bowl an extensive produce market in California, this lead to the author starting a blog about the food and trying the interesting ingredients by incorporating them new recipes. Solid 3.6 stars from me.

There is a lot of positive things to say about this cookbook. I love the cover design, the gorgeous photos throughout. Recipes are varied and not something I would have ever thought of, ingredients are used that I have never even seen or heard of before. The author does a great job by including when the produce is in season, substitutes and safety/storage of all the meals.

The negatives are this book is of course focused on the market in California and talks occasionally about the US but international readers aren't really addressed. I went to three different Asian groceries, a supermarket and the local produce market and couldn't find the any of the first 5 ingredients that I had written down to try. This was pretty disappointing as I live in the country and it's summer so the ingredients should be in season they just aren't as readily available in Australia. This would be a cookbook to explore new things but not easy or affordable every day meals.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but would only end up making less than 20% of the recipes if I had the ingredients and time. Would recommend to those readers looking to explore the wonderful world of fruit and veggies that aren't the usual staples or avid cooks looking to branch out.

I was honestly curious to read this book after reading the title and I am excited & impressed by the unusual creativity . I have already tried few recipes over the weekend and I am impressed. This book should definitely be owned by adventurous cooks. They will not regret it infact enjoy the culinary experience and the end result of their creations. Thank you to Laura McLively, Parellax Press and , NetGallery for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I am always curious to try unusual fruits and vegetables, because this diversity shows how rich and extraordinary our world is. However, when it comes to introducing them into the daily menu, my brave curiosity stops only at tasting them, one bit at a time. As for now, my best source of 'exotic' fruits and vegetables is my Asian markt but I would be very curious to try other products from South-America for instance, which are almost impossible to be found in Germany in their fresh state.

Compared to California, the source of products distributed at the iconic Berkeley Bowl market, Germany has a very unfriendly weather therefore, creating local variants is almost impossible. Registered dietician Laura McLively created an unique book based on her own exploration of 'one of the nation's most renowed retailer of exotic fruits and vegetables'. Since the late 1970s, the Berkeley Bowl is following a very simple yet efficient motto: 'If we can find it, we'll buy it', offering to its customers unique and fresh products, mostly produced under the Californian sun.

The recipes created by Laura McLively sound very exotic, but as long as you have the right ingredients, especially spices, the preparation is going on smoothly and not too much time is required. The names of the recipes are entincing, each being an invitation to a delicious feast. Some of my favorite are: roasted chestnut chocolate tarte, abalone mushroom schnitzel, grilled cheese with mezuna, dates and goat cheese, banana blossom with glass boodles and crispy garlic, vanilla rhubarb jam, malanga masala latkes, persimmon gingersoup smoothie, chrysantenum greens and turnip fried rice, green papaya gazpacho. The selection is really exquisite and my tastebud imagination is soo limited to imagine all those flavors without trying them. A combination of meals for a full menu is also available.

Even if you cannot try all those flavors and special products, at least this book looks that if they were left on this earth, alongside with other interesting spices, you can try to match them and create unique bowls. The power of imagination is always on the side of those who dare.

The book will be released in the first part of April, so unfortunatelly there is no chance to try any of those unique fruits for this Tu B'Shvat holiday, but at least you can save some of the recipes for a late date.

This book is worth the price of admission just for the photos which are gorgeous. They, as well as the recipes make me want to track down some of the ingredients not readily available in my neck of the woods. While the dishes look incredible and sound delicous, I don’t see myself whipping any of the up in my kitchen. I do live dreaming of doing it though.

You know those odd-vegetables that you see sometimes at the farmers market, but rarely have the guts to buy them? Or if you do, once you get home and think "what on earth do I do with this?". Well, this is the go to book for you.

You know those people who have, like, a hundred recipe books and can sit for an evening reading them? Well, this is for those people - everything that could possibly find in a farmers market is discussed in passionate detail. This book will provoke and inspire cooks, and also cause people to think about ingredients for other recipes in a whole load of other ways. A great gift for a passionate cook.

I recieved a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is an interesting cookbook. The recipes inside are unusual but they sound fascinating. I can't wait to break out a few of these recipes already.

The thing that caught my eye most in this book we’re the photographs! They are beautiful and vibrant. I also like how the recipes are organized by the type of produce (leaves, spores and succulents, savory fruits, etc.). I definitely have added a visit to the Berkeley Bowl to my bucket list!

If you are drawn to markets like the Berkeley Bowl, but don't know what to do with the beautiful food that is presented to you, get this book. The founding story of the Berkeley Bowl at the beginning of the book is a very interesting read and it is fascinating how its existence has shaped a whole community. When it comes to the recipes in this book, I have to say that I have never had such intense food cravings as the one I had when I read the Berkeley Bowl. I instantaneously had the urge to shop at a similar market in my own home town and start cooking. Everything looks so fresh and is brimming with color. Although the recipes in this book feature exotic ingredients, they are all easy to prepare. By studying Laura's recipes I will get more familiar with the foods I have previously passed up at my local market because I did not know how to prepare them.

This is an inspired cookbook. The author, using Berkeley Bowl Market as an inspiration, makes up some very exotic recipes. For the adventurous cook, this is a must-have cookbook.

I was curious to see the recipes in this book and it exceeded my expectation. The recipes are exciting and unsual and help to discover new ways of cooking. Many thanks to Netgalley and Parallax Press

Extravagant and delicious. This books impress me with the original recipes. The author provides a good choice of recipes that can be don through the year.

Wow, this is one fabulous cookbook. It is filled with vivid images of the fresh ingredients, including images from the independent grocery store that inspired this book. It's my dream grocery store! Some recipes seem fancy (mostly due to the exotic ingredients), others are simple, and many are simple but with a fancy flair! One I will be making soon is the Green Garlic Soup with Lemon Cardamom Yogurt- hello! 😊 That won't be the only recipe I try, as I have many bookmarked to try in the future. I love cookbooks filled with pictures, and this one certainly is. If you enjoy fresh produce and a few fun ingredients tossed in from time to time, this is an adventurous cookbook to try!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley, for the complimentary copy.