Cooking
So many wonderful vegetable and vegetarian cookbooks have come out recently, it’s hard to keep track of all of them. I wrote about many of my favorite vegetable cookbooks in April, here are some more perfect for starting the new year. Note: a couple of these are not strictly vegetarian, but have so many great vegetable recipes I included them anyway.
For a food writer and editor to go vegetarian, means some really serious work had to happen, adapting and creating new bold recipes. That’s exactly what Joe Yonan has done in his latest book, Eat Your Vegetables. It’s the second in a series for the single cook/diner. But if you are not single, don’t let that deter you. First of all there are times when all of us are dining alone, and most of the recipes are easy to multiply or adapt for larger groups. This is vegetarian food for someone who knows how meat tastes, if that makes any sense. Curried Mushroom Bean Burgers, Pomegranate-Glazed Eggplant, Spaghetti with Root-to-Leaf Radish. Good stuff!
The New Persian Kitchen isn’t a vegetarian cookbook, but the majority of the recipes just happen to be vegetarian. They are also exotic, often healthy and very approachable, though not strictly traditional Persian. The book pleasantly surprises with new-to-me ways to prepare things like Roasted Stuffed Artichokes with Mint Oil, Radish, Rhubarb and Strawberry Salad, No-Bake Persimmon and Goat Cheese Cheesecake and Fig Mustard. I became a big fan of Louisa Shafia after reading her first book, Lucid Food and am happy to add this one to my collection.
- Vegetarian & Vegan Cookbook Reviews
Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook Jerusalem broke new ground with fantastic flavor combinations and inventive dishes that were at once exotic but approachable and appealing. The recipes blended different culinary traditions in a way that is fresh and...
- Pack A Lunch! Cookbooks
It’s back to school and that means bag lunches. Or maybe like me, you don’t have school age kids, but still want to start packing lunch to take to work. It’s easy to get in a rut, but these three cookbooks offer many ways to jazz up your lunchbox. ...
- Vegetarian Cookbooks For Omnivores
The reason cookbooks continue to sell when you can find plenty of recipes online is beautiful photos, illustrations and inventive recipes. The Forest Feast has it all. The pretty and very visual format of recipes with tons of photos as well...
- Crackers & Dips And Pretzel Making At Home
There are some things you might not consider making yourself, like pretzels and crackers, but that would be a shame. Freshly made baked goods are always a treat, especially warm pretzels. Meanwhile it's the ease of making crackers and the ability...
- Vegetable Cookbooks
Is this the year of the vegetable? It sure seems like it! Vegetable centric cookbook are in the spotlight, and it's not one size fits all. There are cookbooks about foraging, using roots, healthy eating and more. In honor of Meatless Monday,...
Cooking
More Vegetable Cookbooks
So many wonderful vegetable and vegetarian cookbooks have come out recently, it’s hard to keep track of all of them. I wrote about many of my favorite vegetable cookbooks in April, here are some more perfect for starting the new year. Note: a couple of these are not strictly vegetarian, but have so many great vegetable recipes I included them anyway.
For a food writer and editor to go vegetarian, means some really serious work had to happen, adapting and creating new bold recipes. That’s exactly what Joe Yonan has done in his latest book, Eat Your Vegetables. It’s the second in a series for the single cook/diner. But if you are not single, don’t let that deter you. First of all there are times when all of us are dining alone, and most of the recipes are easy to multiply or adapt for larger groups. This is vegetarian food for someone who knows how meat tastes, if that makes any sense. Curried Mushroom Bean Burgers, Pomegranate-Glazed Eggplant, Spaghetti with Root-to-Leaf Radish. Good stuff! River Cottage Veg is the latest in a series of River Cottage cookbooks on single subjects, everything from fish to preserves to bread. The book has some classics like Eggplant Parmigiana and Poached Egg on Toast, but also very fresh vegetarian recipes, like Warm Salad of Mushrooms and Roasted Squash, Beet and Walnut Hummus, Tahini-dressed Zucchini and Green Bean Salad, Green Onion Galette and Kohlrahbi “carpaccio.” It’s simple but very appealing and approachable vegetarian food for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
Le Pain Quotidien is a book that seems to have remained under the radar. I didn’t see it on one “best of” list this year. But with 200 bakery/cafe locations around the world, you know they are doing something right. And they are. Le Pain Quotidien makes delicious, mostly organic, and often healthy food including lots of open face “tartine” sandwiches, soups and salads, breads and more. The cookbook is an extension of the brand, in the best possible way. There are some very unexpected but enticing recipes like Mocha & Caper Butter with Crostini, Pea, Pancetta & Radish Tartine, Soba, Cauliflower & Blood Orange Salad and Pearl Barley Paella. The photography is beautiful and the recipes are all really straight forward and easy to do. You can create lovely little picture perfect snacks with this book.
The New Persian Kitchen isn’t a vegetarian cookbook, but the majority of the recipes just happen to be vegetarian. They are also exotic, often healthy and very approachable, though not strictly traditional Persian. The book pleasantly surprises with new-to-me ways to prepare things like Roasted Stuffed Artichokes with Mint Oil, Radish, Rhubarb and Strawberry Salad, No-Bake Persimmon and Goat Cheese Cheesecake and Fig Mustard. I became a big fan of Louisa Shafia after reading her first book, Lucid Food and am happy to add this one to my collection. The Heart of the Plate is Mollie Katzen’s latest cookbook. If you loved the Moosewood Cookbook, this is a much more modern book. Though I prefer the illustrations over the somewhat boring photos in this book, the recipes themselves are bound to become classics. Her twists, like adding pomegranate to tabouli in Pomegranate Tabouli, adding to quinoa to pancakes in Tiny Quinoa-Speckled Buttermilk Cornmeal Cakes, Bulgur and Spaghetti and Kale Caesar Salad are genius! Another keeper.
Disclaimer: Some of these books were review copies, and this post includes affiliate links.
- Vegetarian & Vegan Cookbook Reviews
Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook Jerusalem broke new ground with fantastic flavor combinations and inventive dishes that were at once exotic but approachable and appealing. The recipes blended different culinary traditions in a way that is fresh and...
- Pack A Lunch! Cookbooks
It’s back to school and that means bag lunches. Or maybe like me, you don’t have school age kids, but still want to start packing lunch to take to work. It’s easy to get in a rut, but these three cookbooks offer many ways to jazz up your lunchbox. ...
- Vegetarian Cookbooks For Omnivores
The reason cookbooks continue to sell when you can find plenty of recipes online is beautiful photos, illustrations and inventive recipes. The Forest Feast has it all. The pretty and very visual format of recipes with tons of photos as well...
- Crackers & Dips And Pretzel Making At Home
There are some things you might not consider making yourself, like pretzels and crackers, but that would be a shame. Freshly made baked goods are always a treat, especially warm pretzels. Meanwhile it's the ease of making crackers and the ability...
- Vegetable Cookbooks
Is this the year of the vegetable? It sure seems like it! Vegetable centric cookbook are in the spotlight, and it's not one size fits all. There are cookbooks about foraging, using roots, healthy eating and more. In honor of Meatless Monday,...