LETTERS

Better than Grandma's

Dear Bettina,
Being married to a Cuban man, I can say I have had the opportunity to eat many bowls of black bean soup. But none have been as delicious as the one from your wonderful cookbook "A Taste of Heaven and Earth". My husband Jorge even thinks your black bean soup is better than his grandmother Dulci's--and that's hard to beat!
Florida


Off the Scale

Dear Bettina,
Thanks for a wonderful, helpful, healthful book full of inspiring, simple, motivated recipes & meaningful essays. On a scale of 1-10, it is an 11!!!!
Tenn.


Rock Mountain Family

Dear Bettina,
I just got your book "A Taste of Heaven and Earth" after reading about it in one of our local Colorado papers. What a beautiful book! I'm trying to steer my family towards a more vegetarian-style of eating so we're doing a lot of food experiments. It's hard to change the palate preferences of teenagers but they actually ate 2 helpings of eggplant the other night.
Boulder, CO.


Peace

Dear Bettina,
I can't tell you enough how much your book, "A Taste of Heaven and Earth", has meant to me. It is my favorite book for both balance and tranquility. It helps remind me that "Simple is best"--"Less is More."
St. Louis, MO


A Seventeen Year Old Fan

Dear Bettina,
I am 17 years old and recently became a vegetarian. I had never really cooked before and went to a bookstore looking for a good vegetarian cookbook that would not have complicated recipes. I went home with your book "A Taste of Heaven and Earth".

I really enjoy all the recipes, I have not had any trouble cooking. My family, although still a bit skeptical about my becoming a vegetarian, enjoys the food I make. Thank you.
California


Loves the Essays

Dear Bettina,
I love your book! The recipes I've tried have been yummy--but the BEST PART***! (for me, anyway) are the short essays. I'd love to read more!
Springfield, IL.


Thoughts from a Fire Fighter

Dear Bettina,
Thank you so much for putting together the cookbook "A Taste of Heaven and Earth". I've worked for many years in the front of restaurants, food serving and manager and in the last couple of years secretly wanted to be in the back in the kitchen. My friends bought me your cookbook so I could practice on them. I've also in the last six months become involved with Tibetan Buddhism so this book became a great inspiration for me in both areas of my life. . .

In May, I'll return home to Sedona, Arizona where I'm a firefighter for the forest service in the summer and fall months. Again, thank you for your wonderful book.
Los Angeles, CA.


Uplifting Thoughts from "Down Under"

Dear Bettina,
We have just purchased your book, "A Taste of Heaven and Earth", after reading (& trying) recipes from a library copy.

I was particularly taken by the "conscious" way you have written & the delightful "living and sensing" approach to each chapter. I teach yoga in Ipswich and am constantly extolling the virtues of sensing and tuning in to one's body and feelings. I have used your cookbook to read the occasional passage to my classes during relaxation. It reinforces awareness to have another viewpoint.

Also, we loved the simplicity of your recipes. Our favorite one at present is Spicy Aduki Beans which we transpose to other bean dishes or tofu dishes or vegetable dishes. Next on our list is the savory tarts. Delicious!
Queensland, Australia.


From the Emerald Isle

Dear Bettina,
You probably will be surprised to hear from someone in Belfast, Northern Ireland! But I recently got a copy of your cookbook, "A Taste of Heaven and Earth" & I just had to write and tell you how much I am enjoying it. I found it simply delightful & I love the illustrations and whole format.

I liked the short meditations at the beginning of each section so much that I spoke each one into a tape--so as I go about my kitchen tasks I can play them back to myself.

Life is full of little coincidences --interconnections-- as only, recently, too, I got a copy of Thomas Moore's "Care of the Soul" and I see he has reviewed your book.

Not all of the ingredients you mention are available in Belfast (as yet!) but I shall enjoy trying to track them down. I look forward to using the recipes and putting into practice (as I'm already trying to do) what you have to teach about Sensory Awareness.

Once again, congratulations, and thanks for a wonderful book. I look forward to being a "transformed cook".
Belfast, N. Ireland.


Golden Gate

Dear Bettina,
Thank you for "A Taste of Heaven and Earth". It is the most wonderful cookbook I have ever read, and I am an avid cookbook reader and student of vegetarian cooking. You express many of the feelings I have about cooking as an everyday spiritual practice and your food sensibility is very similar to mine. What a perfect book.
San Francisco, CA


Japan

Dear Ms. Vitell,
I received "A Taste of Heaven and Earth" as a Christmas gift from a good friend. Unfortunately, it was sent by Sea Mail, so I really haven't had it but a couple months. I have though been using it regularly, and out of my some 15 cookbooks, I seem to reach for it most often even though I am not a vegetarian ( I grew up in Kansas, and as you can imagine I could live without beef for the rest of my life, but I might suffer serious withdrawal symptoms after going a couple months without pork not to mention chicken and fish). I don't think that I have ever owned a book with so many delicious recipes. I have taken after my mum by placing a big black X through recipes which are less than I had hoped -- or as my father would say "You needn't make that one again". There is not one "X" in your book to date, and I seriously doubt that there will ever be. Your salad dressings and sauces are wonderful. Your lasagna is out of this world, although I must admit that I always add mushrooms and Japanese eggplant. No one can believe that it is tofu and not ricotta cheese, and it is one of the most satisfying meals that I have ever made or eaten. I continue to try your recipes for myself and as a special treat for my friends.

Thank you for the party idea and for the wonderful cookbook. It will soon be popular in Japan if anyone listens to what I say.
Osaka, Japan.


You can write Bettina too! Bettina Vitell 14 North Road Tivoli, NY 12583

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