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    Packed with tons of recipes and more information on beans than you may need to know, Bean by Bean is a top resource for learning all about beans, where they come from, how to use them, how to grow them, what nutrients they contain, and so forth.  The book is written with such contagious enthusiasm that I have to assume Crescent wrote this as a devotion to her love of beans.  Preceding each recipe is a brief historical background or story about the ingredients in that recipe.  This definitely adds to the appeal of preparing dishes containing beans or spices many of us haven't experienced.

   If you want to cook beans to save money on food, this book is amazingly helpful.  Priced at only $15.95, this is one of the best possible purchases you could make.  There are over 300 pages of tips and recipes, which makes the average cost per page under five cents!  At Amazon.com, the book is listed at a little over $10, which makes the average cost per page a little over three cents.  That is an awesome deal and totally worth buying a copy of this book for your home use.  In fact, you might call it a bean counter's dream come true!

   I would like to see an illustrated version of this book, as it would be helpful to be able to see examples of the beans and dishes made from them.  However, recipes and ingredients are easily referenced from the index, making up for a lack of illustrations.  If included, illustrations would no doubt add to the price of the book making it less accessible to those on a budget. 

  I would recommend this book for each and every home kitchen.  If you cook every meal for your family, if you are living alone and cooking for yourself, or if you are a starving student trying to get by on pennies, this is an essential book to have.  It's not just a recipe book, but a guide for using some of the cheapest, most plentiful, easiest to grow, and healthiest food staples in existence.  At this price, you just cannot justify not getting a copy of this book for your kitchen.

Rating (1-10 with 10 as the highest possible):

Does this cookbook cater to any Special Diets?

While this is not a diet cookbook, beans are very healthy and high in protein, as well as other nutrients.  Many of the recipes are gluten-free and many are vegan.  Healthy eaters will benefit from the information in this book.

What skill level of cook is this book intended for?

Bean by Bean: A Cookbook is meant for the home cook and foodie who wants to learn more about the bean, it's varieties, uses, effects, and benefits.  The book is a guide to beans, so novice cooks will be able to make great use of this book, as will more experienced cooks.

How easily are ingredients to find?

Beans are some of the most plentiful foods on Earth.  Most of the beans can be found at the grocery store or by mail order. 

How expensive are the ingredients?

Beans are very economical and the author doesn't pair beans with expensive ingredients in the recipes.

What was your first impression of this book?

This book is a soft cover and doesn't have a lot of illustrations.  Although the book is deserving of a hard cover and glossy illustrations, not having them makes the book more economical, which makes sense.

Does this book teach anything about the culture behind the cuisine?

Yes, there are many interesting historical and cultural facts presented throughout the book.

Are there any interesting stories included?

Yes.  The book is very well written and includes many fascinating historical facts.

Are the recipes all written by the author?

Yes, the recipes appear to be original and not a compilation of recipes from other sources.

Does the author provide any new information or techniques?

There are many helpful techniques discussed, as well as suggestions for equipment and substituting ingredients.

Elaine Russo- TopCookbooks.com

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10 Fascinating Bean Facts from Crescent Dragonwagon's Bean By Bean: A Cookbook:

1. Beans are the only cultivated plants that actually enrich, rather than deplete, the soil during the growing process.  How is this possible?   Legume family members have nodules on their roots that add nitrogen to the soil instead of using it up
2. Cooked beans can be frozen for up to six months.  Thaw them overnight in the fridge before reheating.
3. Bean carbohydrates have been proven to drastically improve the stability of blood sugar levels in diabetics.  Many adult-onset diabetics have been able to greatly reduce or eliminate their dependence on insulin through diets containing substantial amounts of beans.
4. In ancient Rome, so esteemed were legumes that the four leading families took their names from them: Lentullus (lentil), Piso (pea), Cicero (chickpea), and Fabius (fava).
5. India, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Nepal, the United States, Bangladesh, and China are the world's top lentil producers
6. Beans, their kin, and the products made from them-- such as tofu and tempeh-- are the single most concentrated source of plant-based protein in the world.  Between 6 and 11 percent of a cook bean's weight is protein.
7. Some ancient cults who believed in reincarnation, most notably the monastic followers of Pythagoras, thought human souls traveled through the stems of bean plants to Hades, where they were then transmogrified for their next lives;  it was therefore a sin to eat beans or even walk among bean plants.
8. The mischief-maker behind the bean's reputation as a musical fruit is a group of complex sugars called oligosaccharides.  Oligosaccharides cannot be broken down by our digestive enzymes; instead, our intestinal bacteria ferment them during digestion, causing most of the gas attributable to beans.  Luckily, it's possible to mitigate the gas-making effects of beans through controlling factors such as cooking method and duration, complementary ingredients, and the variety of bean used.  (The least "flatulating"legumes are siad to be lentils, split peas, adzuki beans, mung beans, and black-eyed peas.)
9. A 1907 resolution introduced by Minnesota Senator Knute Nelson states that while the Senate is in session, bean soup must be served daily, regardless of the weather.
10. In terms of sheer numbers and staggering diversity, no part of the world comes close to matching the abundance and variety of beans available in America: kidney and black beans, navy and cranberry, lima, white runner, scarlet runner, brown tepary and white tepary, calico, eye-of-the-goat, nightfall, fresh green beans, and more!

Courtesy: Bean by Bean: A Cookbook
By: Crescent Dragonwagon
ISBN: 9-780761-132417
List Price: $15.95  369 pages
Workman Publishing

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The Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme 2 Pound Programmable Bread Machine

In My Indian Kitchen, author and chef Hari Nayak shares the secrets of his family's style of southern Indian cooking as well as favorite dishes from other parts of the huge Indian subcontinent—secrets that he learned from his mother and aunts, neighbors, local street vendors and countless friends. It is full of hunger-inducing recipes and simple tips that will allow even the novice cook to succeed at unlocking the "hidden magic" of Indian cooking.

With the recipes in this book, consistently delicious Indian food at home becomes a reality. From a perfect Mint Chutney with Samosa to a melt-in-the-mouth Chicken Tikka Masala, to Pork Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken and Sweet Mango Yogurt Lassi, traditional Indian meals without hours and hours of work can be achieved. Having lived in the West for many years, Hari understands the time for meal preparation is limited. To accommodate our busy lifestyle, the recipes in this book have been simplified, without sacrificing any of their authenticity. With Hari's guidance and timesaving tips, the ability to create Indian meals appealing to the individual tastes of the home cook can, finally, be achieved

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