CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Vegetarian cookbooks seem to come in dribs and drabs.
In any given year, perhaps a dozen will cross my desk, usually one, sometimes two at a time. Unlike books on baking and pastries, which seem to flood my mailbox this time of year, veg cookbooks appear to have no season.
Until this year, that is. During the past month alone, five new vegetarian or vegan books have come my way. Rather than hypothesize on what this means, I’ll simply accept it as a good sign and share my thoughts on each.
– “Raw Food Made Easy” (Book Publishing Co., 2005, $16.95) by Jennifer Cornbleet.
Regular readers of this column know I think little of the raw-foods movement. It’s such a ludicrously labor-intensive way to prepare food I can’t imagine anyone actually eats this way.
For that reason, I wasn’t even going to look at Cornbleet’s book. Others who have promised ease (sandwiches that take just 18 hours to prepare!) have failed miserably and I wasn’t inclined to waste more time on this nonsense.
But a reader familiar with my thoughts on this took the time to write and tell me this book actually delivers, so I relented.
Cornbleet explains in the introduction that she strives to provide a middle ground between the most basic raw foods (what the rest of us call produce) and the nightmares that inhabit other cookbooks (some recipes take days).
Sad to say, I still wasn’t impressed. The first section has recipes for things like lemon juice, crushed garlic and (my favorite) minced parsley. Do we really need a recipe for minced parsley? Doesn’t the name sort of imply the method?
Some of the juices sound interesting (including the pina colada smoothie), and the salsas, pates and salads mostly seem reasonable (and, I’ll confess, fast). But she lost me with the sandwiches.
The guacamole sandwich, for example, is half a cup of guacamole and a few slices of tomato between – and I’m not making this up – two slices of lettuce. It feels more like a Saturday Night Live skit than a meal. I gave up after that.
– “New Vegetarian” (Ryland, Peters & Small, 2005, $16.95) by Celia Brooks Brown.
Hands down the most gorgeous new book of the bunch. But then, this publisher’s books usually are.
Maybe it’s the power of photographic suggestion, but as I flip through this book, I really do find myself wanting to try the recipes, even the breakfast ones (and it is 9 p.m. as I do this).
The pancakes and breakfast burrito look and sound magnificent.
It only gets better in the soups and salads chapter, where the warm chickpea salad and saffron potato salad seem both lush and easy. In appetizers, lemon potato latkes and stuffed polenta mushrooms are … well, I think I’m repeating myself.
I really like this book. It is visually stunning; includes how-to photos for recipes that call for methods the average cook might be unfamiliar with (such as rolling tamales), and the directions are clearly written.
A few recipes do call for an overwhelming number of ingredients (the chestnut, spinach and mushroom phyllo torte is particularly daunting), but I’ll overlook that. One look at the chocolate banana cheesecake is all it takes to forgive and forget.
– “Cafe Flora Cookbook” (HP Books, 2005, $25.95) by Catherine Geier.
This is another entry in the vegetarian-restaurant-publishes-a-cookbook category. This time, Cafe Flora in Seattle is doing it, offering about 250 recipes from its menus over the years.
First, I really dislike the design. Many of the recipes call for multiple additional recipes (the moussaka calls for four), but the way the book is designed, they all seem to run together. I’m not sure how I would find one if I needed to.
Second, multi-recipe dishes are fine in restaurants (that’s why I’m paying, so the restaurant can do the complicated or time-consuming stuff I won’t tackle at home). But in a book intended for home cooks? I just can’t get into that.
That said, many of these recipes are appealing. They cover a broad ethnic map (typical of the best vegetarian eateries – they draw on the naturally vegetarian foods of many cultures) and there is little tofu masquerading as meat here.
I was particularly drawn to the Thai corncakes with cucumber sambal. Two recipes, but both are simple. The yam-corn chowder also was incredibly easy and appealing.
This book isn’t for beginner vegetarians. It draws on many ingredients veteran veggies will know (lotus root, arame seaweed, spelt berries) but that might intimidate or at least confuse novices.
– “La Dolce Vegan!” (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005, $19.95) by Sarah Kramer.
This is Kramer’s third vegan cookbook (“How It All Vegan!” and “The Garden of Vegan” were co-authored with Tanya Barnard, who apparently moved on to become a nurse) and, like the previous two, is an acquired taste.
Kramer comes from the more, how shall I say, punk side of vegetarianism. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But it does lend a certain, um, flavor to her prose. How many cookbooks offer advice on using salt to clean fresh body piercings?
Kramer’s recipes are definitely on the hard core side of veganism. Lots of tofu and carob here, in everything from french toast to “chocolate” coated pretzels. But there also is plenty to like.
Most of the recipes are imminently approachable, with short ingredient lists and simple methods. I’m a sucker for chickpea salads, and the book’s Auntie Bonnie’s chickpea salad is a winner.
Many of the Indian dishes sound great, too.
This is the book for your Birkenstock-wearing friends and for teenagers experimenting with vegetarianism.
– “Vegan With a Vengeance” (Marlowe & Company, 2005, $16.95) by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
Another punk vegetarian. Must be something in the water. This is the first time I’ve seen a press release for a new cookbook use profanity. Repeatedly. Proudly. This is not the softer side of veganism.
Moskowitz follows a strong DIY ethic, so be prepared to make your own veggie burgers and pasta (gnocchi to be precise). She also prefers making dry beans from scratch, though she allows for canned pumpkin in the pumpkin waffles.
I expected to dislike this book, but was pleasantly surprised at how appealing so many of the recipes were – balsamic-glazed portobello mushrooms, maple and mustard-glazed potatoes and string beans, and garlicky kale with tahini dressing.
Most of the recipes are easy to follow and call for common ingredients (at least, common to anyone who would buy a book titled “Vegan With a Vengeance). I was even drawn to some of the tofu recipes, including pumpkin seed-crusted tofu.
This book definitely feels less crunchy than Kramer’s, though they clearly are cut from the same slab of bean curd. I was surprised by the higher-end ingredients called for in some recipes (including black truffle oil).
Though I enjoy the title, I think it’s almost a shame. This book (which hits shelves in November) may lose sales because of its in-your-face feel, when in reality it contains good, honest vegan recipes with broad appeal.
RECIPE
Auntie Bonnie’s Chickpea Salad
(Start to finish 1 hour, 10 minutes active)
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well to coat.
Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.
(Recipe from Sarah Kramer’s “La Dolce Vegan!” Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005, $19.95.)
