Vegetarian Cookbooks

In My Humble Opinion
1

My brother’s birthday rapidly approaches and I need to get him something nice, as his gift to me was expensice and well thought out, which for a male in the 18 to 25 range, I have to give him props for. Anyone, I had an idea, but was looking for suggestions. He and his fairly longterm girlfriend cook together a lot. She’s a vegetarian, and he is most certainly not, at all. Does anyone know of a veggie cookbook that has a lot of things a non veggie would like? He will eat tofu and things like that. Basically, I’m looking for info from people that are in similar situations and like to cook. Or, cookbooks that aren’t exclusively vegetarian, but have a lot of dishes that are that you like. I’ll consider anything and everything. Thanks.

Oh, btw, I’m asking here instead of just looking on amazon or something because I’d personal opinions, like this book works really well, or I love this one, but the recipe on pg 37 doesn’t work worth a damn.

gfloyd

2

I’ve found that Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767900146/qid=1096486562/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-6123106-4313738?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is a great book for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. I’ve used her book often as a chef, and anything I’ve made out of there has turned out wonderfully. She really makes good use of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and most of her recipes are pretty simple.

3

I love the Moosewood cookbooks, especially this one: Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. They have some fabulous vegetarian recipes, especially the chilequile and the sweet potato & black bean burritos.

4

I have the two that are already mentioned and they are great. The Deborah Madison book is very substantial and would make a nice gift. I also like the Greens restaurant cookbooks, which are a bit fancier. The latest and most accessible is Everyday Greens.

Another good author is Anna Thomas, aka the Vegetarian Epicure. Her newest book has some recipes that I return to a lot.

http://www.vegetarianepicure.com/books/

The Moosewood series (there are 6 or 8 of them) has good everyday recipes. They also usually have a chapter on fish.

5

I have the Deborah Madison book, which I like. I don’t follow the recipes so much as I get really good ideas of what to put together.

I have most of the Moosewood books, which I use all the time.
The ones I use the most are Low Fat Favorites, Daily Special and New Classics.

I also have an interesting vegetarian cookbook by someone named Crescent Dragonwagon. I haven’t used it a lot, but there is one recipe I’ve made over and over since I got it, so I guess it was worth the purchase price.

No, I’m not a vegetarian.

6

If they like Indian food, one of my favorite cookbooks is Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking. I’m sure her Classic Indian Vegetarian Cookery isn’t bad either.

For fancypants ccoking, there’s always Chez Panisse Vegetables.

7

I’d second the suggestion about the Moosewood cookbooks (I actually opened this thread intending to suggest them). I’ve tried a bunch of recipies out of them (it’s a series) and have yet to be dissapointed.

8

I really like The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. (yes that is actually her name.)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761128255/qid=1096496348/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-4359688-9627224

She also has one called Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook that I haven’t tried but can’t wait to enjoy.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089480751X/qid=1096496348/sr=ka-2/ref=pd_ka_2/002-4359688-9627224

9

Several of my favorites have already been mentioned but I’d like to toss in just one more. Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian is one that I use frequently though I’m not a vegetarian. It’s a great book and the recipes aren’t too complex at all.

10

I would also recommend Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook and Enchanted Broccoli Forest. I enjoy many of the recipes in both.

11

IANAV <grin> but I love this cookbook…who cares if there isnt meat in a dish when it is so damn tasty!

mrAru and I frequently will make vegetarian meals, not because they are vegetarian but because they taste good. Hell, I have been known to make meals out of nothing but artichokes in season because I love them so much - battered and deep fried hearts, marinated as salad, baby chokes grilled, cream of artichoke soup, ragout of artichoke with morrocan salted lemons and olives with couscous.

Danm, now i am getting hungry. Wonder what the job market in Castroville is like=(

12

Heartily seconded! Everything I’ve made from that book has been wonderful, and it’s quite encyclopedic. It always gives me new ideas on combining ingredients that I wouldn’t have thought of, or ideas on what to do with a new vegetable that I don’t have recipes for.

13

I have a few of these books. I love the Moosewood ones, my only complaint on those is that I love “food porn” and I really like to see nice glossy pictures of the food. I have the Deborah Madison book, it’s huge! I have Vegetarian Epicure and a few others. Another good one is the Complete Vegetarian Times Cookbook.

Another suggestion, if they don’t already subscribe, perhaps a gift subscription to Vegetarian Times or Veggie Life?

14

I’m not a vegetarian but found “Vegetarian Favorite”, from Sunset to have some really great recipes. The Winter Minestrone soup is worth the price of the book. Actually, all the soups in this book are pretty good. This is real food that anyone would enjoy.

15

I am not a veg, but I like the Rebar cookbook. The recipes sometimes have difficult to find ingredients and may be too complicated for a beginner, but everything I’ve tried is fantastic. The recipes are all veg (although a couple have shrimp or smoked salmon, I think), and many are vegan.

16

I’ll add the Horn of the Moon cookbooks (I think there are three.) Easy, yummy stuff.