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Three Great Vegetarian Cookbooks

© Allison Tyler

What's for dinner? How about a Chard and Onion omelet? Winter Squash Soup with Fried Sage Leaves? Or Tempeh with Sesame Seeds? These recipes are from some of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks. Deborah Madison has written my most favorite cookbook entitled Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I'll admit, with my cooking background I don't find the recipes at all intimidating, but some of my friends with less cooking experience proclaim this book 'too involved'. Additionally, depending on where you live, some of the ingredients may be a bit difficult to locate but hey, if you're vegetarian, you're probably already used to that. And the list of mail order sources included in the book can be helpful. If this doesn't frighten you away, please run out and get this book! It definitely has a gourmet edge and is extraordinarily well-researched. Deborah makes delicious use of some of the lesser-recognized vegetables and grains (for example, celery root and quinoa), as well as the old standbys. Her Herb Tart with a Potato Crust is time-consuming and worth every minute! I prepared this for my veggie friends Sherrie and Nick and we all gobbled it up. Some of the recipes are really more ideas on what to do with the pick of available fresh ingredients. If you see a bunch of gorgeous spinach at your market, flip through Deborah's book and you'll find many delicious ways to prepare it. This book is a wealth of information for not only vegetarians, but also anyone looking to expand their repertoire of fruit, vegetable, grain and legume recipes. A really gorgeous book.
As large and complete as Deborah Madison's tome is, The Yoga Cookbook contrasts with this compact volume encompassing recipes from The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. With mostly vegan recipes ranging from a hearty Adzuki Bean Stew to the odd-sounding but delicious Chocolate & Chick-Pea Mousse, there is something here for everyone, as well as a healthy dose of information on yoga. The Apple-Fig Salad is one of my favorites and couldn't be easier to prepare. The book contains lovely photographs and the cooking techniques are well explained. There is a chart on how to cook grains, which is very helpful for both the novice and more experienced cook. Menu suggestions in the back of the book under the heading "Yogic Feasts" share great ideas on putting it all together and are accompanied by more of those beautiful photographs. There is something very soothing about this book, which describes itself as "vegetarian food for body and mind". Check it out and see if you agree.