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My first introduction to vegetarian food was tofu, tofu and more tofu. Mock meat
loaf is not my idea of a good vegetarian meal. Thank goodness we have moved away
from the early cookbooks of mock meat and steamed veggies. I personally own and use
all the cookbooks that I have listed. Occasionally tofu appears in the recipes but
it is a rare ingredient. The recipes are so good you can even feed them to your
carnivore friends!
Flowers in the Kitchen- A Bouquet of Tasty
Recipes, by Susan
Belsinger - All Levels
I really enjoyed this book.. Not only does it give you a great way to incorporate
herbs into your cooking, but also it makes the food look beautiful! The book has
wonderful color photos of the plants and the recipes. The recipes include such delectable
items as: herbed cucumber dip with borage flowers, raspberries with lavender cream, fries
squash blossoms, nasturtiums filled with guacamole and crepes with viola cream filling and
violet syrup.
Edible Flowers - From Garden to
Palate, by Cathy Wilkinson Barash
Can you tell that I love to eat flowers? This is another book about incorporating
flowers into you cooking. It has beautiful photos and great recipes. Try some
of my favorites like: pansy ravioli, sage pesto, anise hyssop flower custard with pansy
syrup, bee balm ice cream, lavender-blueberry soup, as well as more tradition recipes like
basil pesto, dandelion wine, dilled potato salad and more.
The Greens Cook Book - Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine from the
Celebrated Restaurant, by Deborah Madison - All Levels
A wonderful cookbook which is useful to both the beginner and experienced
vegetarian. This is a real cookbook, not an book dedicated to learning about
vegetarianism. There are over 200 delicious recipes such as wild rice and
hazelnut salad, roasted eggplant with garlic puree, early spring vegetable soup, basque
pumpkin and white bean soup, a variety of pizza recipes, plenty of pasta dishes such as
cannelloni with greens and walnut sauce, gratins, stews and casseroles like baked
polenta layered with tomato, Fontina and Gorgonzola. The list just goes on and
on. The recipes are sophisticated in taste but relatively easy to make.
The Savory Way, by Deborah Madison -
All Levels
More excellent vegetarian recipes by Deborah Madison (author of The Greens Cook
Book). Deborah is a frequent writer for Food and Wine Magazine and her culinary
expertise shows. Somehow she produced yet another book chock full of great
recipes. Some of the highlights are: couscous with winter vegetables, ratatouille,
lentils in red wine, rhubarb chutney and a full assortment of desserts. I will say
that I like her Greens Cook Book better because it has more standard recipes. But if
you are looking for new ideas in vegetarian cooking, Deborah has quite a few.
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