Don't Miss These Vegetarian Cookbooks
By Joni Schockett
I am not a vegetarian. However, as I learn more and more about the ill health that may be linked to frequent ingestion of animal products, including dairy, I, like many of you, am trying to change. I am trying to make vegetarian cooking the predominant style in my repertoire. I have also been studying more about the chemistry of vegetarian cooking, i.e. creating whole proteins and understanding plant or phyto-estrogens.
I am also an avid (or my husband would say rabid) cookbook collector, so I thought that passing on some information about the more valuable cookbooks I have discovered might be helpful.
Even though I already own several vegetarian cookbooks (some dating back to the 70's), I was looking for a solid, basic, modern one. I found three that I have been using a lot and really enjoy reading. The first is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison. It is a huge book filled with tons of information and 1,400 great recipes. While I must admit that I rarely make a recipe precisely as it is written, I have used several from this book without changes! It is truly a wonderful book, especially for the novice vegetarian cook, and the explanatory information about all aspects of vegetarian cooking is clearly worded and nicely formatted. Many of the recipes fall into the easy and fast category, and I especially like these. A small percentage falls into the "more complicated" category, but the directions to all the recipes are clear and easy to follow. This hardcover book is not inexpensive, listing at $40.00, however, I was able to purchase it for less than half at a big discount book warehouse near where I live.
The next book I purchased is the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook, by Diane Shaw. I love this book. The format is especially pleasant, and the forest green print is easy on the eyes. This book tells you how long it will take to prepare and cook each recipe. I find this particularly helpful when I have little time and need a "quickie" recipe. It also tells the number of servings each recipe will make. Nutritional information is provided at the end of each recipe. This is especially helpful when planning low-fat or dairy free meals. I have used many recipes from this book, and they all have been wonderfully tasty and most were easy to make. The more complicated recipes I've made were well worth the effort. I highly recommend this book for the newly converted vegetarian cook, or like me, the partial-but-trying-to-do-more, vegetarian. I'm sure it would also be a great gift for the vegetarian gourmet. The Essential Vegetarian Cook lists for $22.50 and is published by Clarkson Publishers. Again, I always suggest looking for books on sale or at discount stores.
The last cookbook I bought on this shopping spree is not wholly vegetarian, nor is it even Kosher. HOWEVER, Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook, has 400 fabulous fruit recipes, about 75% of which are vegetarian, and 25% which are, for the most part (excluding shellfish and pork), easily adaptable to a Kosher kitchen. This cookbook offers a fabulously creative and exciting new slant on fruit. From soups and appetizers to desserts, there are unlimited ways to use fruit to enhance any vegetarian or almost vegetarian cooking style. There are amazing recipes from "Pomegranate Molasses," which has no molasses in it and is fabulous in dishes such as "Shockingly Pink Bread Salad," (it's even delicious over vanilla frozen yogurt), to "Summer Pasta With Three Fruit Vinaigrette." The recipes in this book could keep me busy forever and will certainly delight you and have you running to the kitchen. Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook is published by Workman Publishing and retails for $15.95. Don't miss it.
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