Moosewood Restaurant

Vegetarian Cuisine

Rabbit food. That’s what my dad calls vegetarian cooking and cuisine. Salads and vegetables – can’t be anything more to it, can there? Oh, but there is. Vegetarian cooking is at least as varied as ‘regular’ cooking – and in some cases, far more imaginative.

Nearly thirty years ago, Diet for a Small Planet, and the follow-up cookbook, Recipes for a Small Planet hit the bookstore shelves with a resounding thud that still echoes. While many of the theories of protein complementarily that Frances Moore Lappe presented have been proven to be naïve by further research, the basic theories of eating and the wonderful meatless – and truly vegetarian – recipes endure. The Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest followed, and then an avalanche of cookbooks devoted to the vegetarian gourmet.

Vegetarian cooking is more than just ‘meatless’. There’s an art to mixing flavors and textures in just the right combinations to create masterpieces that are as appealing to carnivores as to those who’ve eschewed meat. For Hindi chefs who practice Ayurvedic cooking, food is more than nutrition – it is a meditation, a gateway to the higher consciousness. There are three major components and six tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent) to be considered in the preparation of every dish, and a meal prepared according to the Ayurveda is a feast for the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the mind.

The very best vegetarian meals are not ‘meatless’ versions of dish that usually has meat in it. ‘Meatless’ lasagna suggests that something is missing from the recipe. Anyone who has dined on spinach lasagna knows that there’s nothing missing – the blend of creamy cheese and spinach and spices is perfect in and of itself. Polenta with spicy black bean sauce has no need of meat to make it more complete – made right it melts on the tongue AND sticks to the ribs at the same time.

Even within the overall umbrella of ‘vegetarian cuisine’ there are variations. Outside Western culture, most meals have little or not meat at all – so it is not surprising to find vegetarian main dishes in Indian and Chinese cuisine, nor in Russian cooking and African regional cuisines. Many base main dish meals on legumes and nuts. Peanut and cashew soups, humus with spices and lemon, fermented black bean sauces ladled over bread and pasta and rice and couscous – Middle Eastern and African cooking offers all of those and more.

If one approaches vegetarian cuisine as a ‘substitute’ for cooking with meat, one is sure to be disappointed. It is a way of eating and cooking, of spices and combinations that can be as light and fluffy as a meringue or as dense and chewy as the best seven grain bread. If you’ve never tried a real vegetarian meal – as opposed to a ‘meatless’ or ‘meat substitute’ – the very best place to start is at your nearest Indian or Middle Eastern restaurant. You’ll be amazed at the flavors and textures – and you won’t even notice that there’s no meat.

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Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health The more than 200 new recipes focus on dishes filled with superhealthy ingredients and are loaded with flavor. Detailed nutritional analysis of each recipe. Flavorful cuisine to boost the immune system. 2009. 7 1/4″x 9″ x 7/8″. 348 pp.Author: Moosewood Collective…

Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites In the tradition of the other attractive “Moosewood” cookbooks, here are over 300 all-natural vegetarian based recipes that are low in fat. These are great tasting recipes that average only 16 percent of calories from fat. 1996. 7 1/2″ x 9 1/4″. 466 pp., Author: Moosewood Collective…

The New Moosewood Cookbook (Mollie Katzen’s Classic Cooking) $9.73 Traditional cooking styles and cuisines are reflected in an updated collection of vegetarian recipes served at the Moosewood RestaurantTitle: The New Moosewood CookbookAuthor: Katzen, MolliePublisher: Random House IncPublication Date: 2000/01/01Number of Pages: 234Binding Type: PAPERBACKLibrary of Congress: BL 00001139…

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day $10.00 Book Description Publication Date: April 19, 1994 Winner of the 1995 James Beard Award for Best Vegetarian Cookbook Although many people think that cooking without meat means spending more time in the kitchen, the cooks at the world-renowned Moosewood Restaurant know this isn’t so. Busy balancing home, work, and other commitments, they’ve been cooking for family and friends every day of the week f…

The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes $12.54 EAT YOUR GREENS. . . and your yellows and oranges, your blues and purples, and your blacks and reds and browns! It’s a great time to eat well. Farmers’ markets filled with local and organic vegetables are sprouting up everywhere, and supermarkets are spilling over with whole grain choices, bigger and better produce sections, and a variety of healthier convenience foods. Cooking for both health…