This cookbook comes out of Rebar: Modern Food, an adorable little restaurant in the heart of downtown Victoria, B.C. It specializes in primarily vegetarian recipes, a few with shrimp or salmon, that are hearty and substantial, peppered with some surprising flavour combinations that please your pallette and dazzle your senses. Some of the recipes are a bit more labour-intensive or require more attention than a throw-together meal, but the end result is completely worth the effort! As a 'johnny-come-lately' to the world of vegetarian cooking, this cookbook has become an indispensible resource for me. Although my husband and I are not vegetarians, many of the recipes in this book have become regulars on our monthly menu. They are extremely healthy, well-balanced meals that are chocked full of nutrients and so full of flavour that, even as a non-vegetarian, you would be hard-pressed to notice that anything is missing. This book is worth its weight in... vegetables. :-)
This is a really wonderful cookbook from a friendly, creative and lively restaurant in Victoria, BC. I never miss a chance to eat at Rebar when I'm in town and I would have to second the shout out for their Rebar Chocolate Cake - that page is the most smudged with batter splatters of any in my well-used copy.
I haven't yet cooked my way through the whole book (not even close), but favourites include that unbelievable chocolate cake, the roasted vegetable pasticcio (with roasted veggies and herbs, yum), variations on the classic fruit crumble, and lots of the soups (including roasted butternut with ancho chiles, orange zest and pumpkin seeds, and the Thai dragon bowl). Lots of recipes are vegan or have suggestions to make them so, and most of the recipes lend themselves readily to adaptation to your preferences or the ingredients you have on hand. Cooking on the Canadian west coast is frequently Asia-inflected but not everyone has such easy access to lemongrass.Â
The book is so Victoria (i.e. dog-friendly) that it even includes a recipe for healthy doggie biscotti (which I haven't tried baking yet). You really get a feeling for the ambience of the restaurant from the stories in the recipe intros and the many black and white pics of staff and customers. Using this cookbook always makes me long for another trip.Â
Rebar has to be one of my favorite cookbooks. I have loved every recipe that I have tried and would have to say that is by far my most used cookbook.
There is a lot in this book that I love - especially the desserts. Â The Rebar Chocolate Cake is by far the best chocolate cake I have ever had!
Anytime we are in Victoria, B.C. we head for Rebar. Everyday.  My husband especially likes the Elvis art. The White Bean Hummus recipe is good and so is the miso soup but the reason I bought the cookbook is because of Power Spheres. I always bought as many as I could to bring home with me at the end of a trip. They are yummy just anytime but I ate them after I ran or a workout. My neice just recently has gotten into a very healthy eating pattern and has two young sons. They haven't been very happy because she hadn't been able to come up with healthy sweet options yet. I gave her this recipe and it is a hit. It is a good one to let the kids help with. No cooking just mixing and making the spheres. I like to wrap each individually in wrap the way they do at Rebar so I can just grab and go.Â
Rebar is certainly one of my favorite vegetarian book.
I made many, many recipe from it and they were all well balance and really tasty, especialy for vegeterian food. Even my carnivore husband like when I make a recipe from that book!
Whitewater Cooks
A Taste of Heaven and Earth
Alison Holst's Meals Without Meat
Adventures of an Italian Food Lover
Alice Waters and Chez Panisse
