Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendations!

F

faiza

Cathlete
Hello everyone!

I've noticed that quite a few of you on the forum are vegetarians. I would like to start adding a lot more veges to my diet and am looking for a simple cookbook to start with. What would you recommend?

I steam the veges I eat now (which is good) but I want to find more creative ways of eating them. Also, does sir-frying vegetables strip them of their nutrients?

Many thanks :)
Faiza
 
Hi Faiza,
I tried posting earlier but I guess it didn't work. Well I'll give it another go...

I am not a vegetarian but I really enjoy a lot of veggie recipes so a friend introduced me to the Moosewood cookbooks. My first one was designed to be quick and easy and pretty yummy to boot. It is called "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home". Most of the recipes only take around 30 minutes to prepare which isn't too bad...

Also if you aren't a vegetarian there's a cookbook called "The New Not Strictly Vegetarian Cookbook" by Lois Driblin an dSusan Ivankovich that I also enjoy.

And lastly, there's a good website to try: http://www.vegsource.com/

Enjoy!

Cath :)
 
Hi Faiza...Cath gave you my favorite site! You can find many recipes there. I am mostly Vegan and my fav cookbook is The Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. I know they are more vegetarians that can give you more choices...No, I don't believe stri-frying veggies strips any nutrients...:)...Carole
 
I have been a vegetarian for twenty years or so, and have a couple suggestions. My favorite: Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons (lots of spices, lots of variety. I just love it.), Other goodies: Horn of the moon by Ginny Callan,
and Moosewood Restaurant's Low Fat Favorites. Have fun cooking!
Heather
 
I like the Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas - lots of quick and easy recipes and most of them have a Vegan option, which is handy. Also, a lot of the recipes have tons of "options" for changing up ingredients or "add-ons", and suggestions for making complete meals. Great cookbook! :)

I also get a lot of awesome recipes from vegetariantimes.com - they have an enormous searchable recipe database online. The search feature isn't the best, but you could type in "pasta zucchini" (as an exmaple) and it will give you all the recipes that contain those ingredients.

Allrecipes.com also has a nice collection of vegetarian and vegan recipes. The internet is one of my best friends when it comes to finding great recipes! :D
 
I love the Moosewood cookbooks. The Moosewood Restaurant is actually in the city where I live. You all should come and see me for lunch someday!

Margaret
 
www.vegweb.com is an amazing vegan website. All I do is type in whatever I want to make and a vegan recipe pops up with tons of reviews of that recipe. I think I use it every week! Also, lately I love the cookbook How it all Vegan. I believe there are 2 editions of this book but I only have the first. Every recipe I've made from this book has tasted great. When I was vegetarian, I used the Moosewood cookbook a lot also.
Carolyn
 
Actually, I have a huge selection of cookbooks--mostly vegan, but I hardly ever use them. I just throw stuff together (like stir frying some veggies in cooking sherry or cooking wine with a bit of oil, and adding some seitan). But I'll go look at my collection....


I'm back!

Aside from those already mentioned, I'll add:
"The compassionate cook" from PETA
"How it all vegan" and "The Garden of vegan" by Tanay Barnard and Sarah Kramer
and "Everyday Vegan" by Jeani-Rose Atchison

That's just from looking through them and seeing that the recipes look tasty and rather simple.

Also, one book that I use a lot for special occasions to make cakes, etc., is "Simple Treats". Very yummy.
 
Margaret,
I grew up not too far from where you are....Whitesboro? I've been to the Moosewood restaurant ... great place! I love upstate NY! Miss it! My husband and I hope to make it back some day!
Cath :)
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

Hi Faiza

I don't own a vegetarian cookbook but I do love to cook and can empathize with you on your search for good veggie recipes. Vegetables can be so boring and finding ways to make them interesting without adding too much fat can be a daunting task. One of my favorite cookbooks is called "How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart", by Pam Anderson. It's not a vegetarian cookbook, but what I love about it is that it explains in simple detail, various techniques for preparing food from all categories. Once you learn the technique, you can literally prepare hundreds of recipes. None of the recipes are complicated and most can be prepared in 30 minutes (vegetable recipes require less time). It's a great book for the working girl who doesn't have a lot of time to cook.

The technique I use most often is the simmer/saute. To a skillet I add a fat (olive or canola oil--you don't need much), an aromatic like garlic or onion, 1/3 cup of water or broth, your vegetable/s, and whatever seasoning you prefer (I like a little sea salt and red pepper flakes). Bring it to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to med-lo and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lid and saute until all liquid is evaporated. Serve immediately.

I usually mix a couple of different vegetables, like green beans with red bell pepper ribbons, or broccoli and carrots. You can make endless combinations depending on the aromatic, liquid, and veg you choose.

Well, I hope this made sense. Happy cooking!!
Michele
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

Pam Anderson? Not the DDD Pam Anderson right?

Carolyn
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

No--This Pam Anderson was, at one time, and editor for Cook's Illustrated magazine. I had the pleasure of attending a couple of her cooking classes at our local grocery store. Anyway, she gives various and different techniques in this book that are really quite simple to learn. :p
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

Cath -

Let me know if you're ever in town! Isn't the Moosewood Restaurant awesome?

Margaret
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

So many wonderful ideas :p

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

Faiza :)
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

Margaret,
Yes I'll let you know if I am out your way! It'd be fun to get together! I love the fingerlakes! I looooooooooove Moosewood! Did you know that she does a cooking show on PBS? Good Stuff!
Cath :)
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

>Pam Anderson? Not the DDD Pam Anderson right?
>
>Carolyn

I just checked out the book at Amazon.com , and the cover makes me think of Pamela Anderson: the double "O's" of both "Cook" and "book" have black dots to make eyes. The ones in "Cook" are looking down. The ones in "book" are looking up. And those "O's" are quite round and "perky"!LOL!
 
RE: Easy vegetarian cookbook. . . . need recommendation...

I have "How to Cook Without a Book" and I really like it too! I just checked out my book and there is an interesting shaped scroll under the word cook ..... hmmmmm
Cath :)
 
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