As American as apple pie
October 21, 2011 3:23 PM Subscribe
My friend is becoming a U.S. citizen! Help me find a VEGETARIAN cookbook to give her that reflects U.S. foodways. (Besides Moosewood, which she already owns.)
Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
posted by matildaben at 3:28 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by matildaben at 3:28 PM on October 21, 2011
Seconding Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. She's dairy-heavy, so if your friend has any sort of vegan leaning you might not want to go with that one, but otherwise it's great.
posted by something something at 3:30 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by something something at 3:30 PM on October 21, 2011
Thirding Deborah Madison. I've used that cookbook more than anything but Joy. I think it gives a great overall view of US veggie food, which draws on many types of other cuisines.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:33 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by oneirodynia at 3:33 PM on October 21, 2011
Seconding Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
Bittman v. Madison! I kid, they're both great.
posted by grapesaresour at 3:37 PM on October 21, 2011
Bittman v. Madison! I kid, they're both great.
posted by grapesaresour at 3:37 PM on October 21, 2011
Nava Atlas - Great American Vegetarian: Traditional and Regional Recipes for the Enlightened Cook
posted by flex at 3:47 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by flex at 3:47 PM on October 21, 2011
Third vote for Bittman. Also, it's not as iconic, but if you're going to go with Deborah Madison, I think Greens is much better than VCfE.
posted by willbaude at 4:08 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by willbaude at 4:08 PM on October 21, 2011
Nthing Deborah Madison. Not a fan of Mark Bittman, personally.
I also love 500 Vegan Recipes, it's fantastic, and not overly fancy or cutesy like some vegan cookbooks (what can I say, I'm a vegan who's annoyed by the ever-popular yet annoying-to-me Veganomicon).
posted by fireflies at 4:09 PM on October 21, 2011
I also love 500 Vegan Recipes, it's fantastic, and not overly fancy or cutesy like some vegan cookbooks (what can I say, I'm a vegan who's annoyed by the ever-popular yet annoying-to-me Veganomicon).
posted by fireflies at 4:09 PM on October 21, 2011
Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks website features vegetarian recipes, though like the first answer in this thread, I'm not certain how many of them would classify as American foodway driven. They occasionally ask for ingredients which are probably easier to come by in California than, say, the middle of Tennessee. She almost always offers substitutes, though, if the recipe calls for something particularly fussy. She also has books. We are big fans of the site and the books.
posted by jquinby at 4:16 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jquinby at 4:16 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hehehe, I'm in the Bittman camp. It's less about specific recipes (which of course it has - hundreds) than general rules of HOW vegetarian recipes work. Kind of like Alton Brown but more user friendly. It's my go-to guide as a veg-head.
posted by elendil71 at 4:26 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by elendil71 at 4:26 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have Bittman and Madison on top of my record shelf in the dining room, next to The Perfect Scoop. All of my other cookbooks are relegated to the office. So basically, you should probably just get her both and win the Best Friend Ever prize.
posted by booknerd at 4:36 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by booknerd at 4:36 PM on October 21, 2011
Best answer: U.S. foodways? Madison and Bittman are great and all, but if you want U.S. foodways vegetarian, hie thee to The Grit. Amazon link. We used to use it all the time (before rejoining the carnivore realm) and it has a whole mess of terrific, very Americana, recipes, including the best cake (vegan but for the cream cheese icing!) I've ever had.
posted by The Michael The at 4:45 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by The Michael The at 4:45 PM on October 21, 2011
From Ms. Vegetable: The Chicago Diner cookbook.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 5:39 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by a robot made out of meat at 5:39 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm not a vegetarian but I grew up cooking moosewood and i love the New Vegitarian Epicure. If only I could get may family to eat squash and greens I'd cook out of there much more often, and: nopales! (take that, Bittman!)
posted by libraryhead at 5:58 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by libraryhead at 5:58 PM on October 21, 2011
Best answer: Most of the books that have been suggested so far are excellent general resources. I'd like to recommend something that applies these principles to a more specific cuisine - Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen.
posted by kickingthecrap at 6:25 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by kickingthecrap at 6:25 PM on October 21, 2011
Just weighing in, I did not like Vegan Soul Kitchen at all, and have had very mixed success with some of the recipes. Mayonnaise is not made with tofu, damn it, and his slavish adherence to agave nectar instead of sugar or honey, and the (imho) unnecessary complexity of many of the recipes killed it for me.
There are lots of other vege recipe books I like, but alas not that meet your request.
posted by smoke at 7:46 PM on October 21, 2011
There are lots of other vege recipe books I like, but alas not that meet your request.
posted by smoke at 7:46 PM on October 21, 2011
The Tassajara Breadbook
The Splendid Grain
The Millenium Cookbook
Cafe Flora Cookbook
posted by seriousmoonlight at 10:36 PM on October 21, 2011
The Splendid Grain
The Millenium Cookbook
Cafe Flora Cookbook
posted by seriousmoonlight at 10:36 PM on October 21, 2011
Best answer: Surprised no one's mentioned Laurel's Kitchen, another classic vegetarian cookbook. Thing is, it doesn't talk so much about traditional American foodways if one is thinking of traditional fare (somehow, it almost always veers towards Soul Food or southern dishes). However, I think you can talk about the emergence of the vegetarian movement in the 1970s in the US as its own foodways (foodway?) and Laurel's Kitchen captures it perfectly, down to the books semi-obsession with nutrition and its comprehensive information on cooking times and water-to-X ratios for various grains and legumes.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:37 AM on October 22, 2011
posted by Deathalicious at 4:37 AM on October 22, 2011
I did not like Vegan Soul Kitchen at all, and have had very mixed success with some of the recipes. Mayonnaise is not made with tofu, damn it, and his slavish adherence to agave nectar instead of sugar or honey,
Well, if you've got to have vegan mayonnaise it needs to be made with something in place of the eggs, and many vegans do not consider honey (made by bees) or sugar (often made with charcoal from animal bones as a filtering mechanism) to be vegan. Obviously vegetarians can substitute mayonnaise or honey in whatever they like.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:17 AM on October 22, 2011
Well, if you've got to have vegan mayonnaise it needs to be made with something in place of the eggs, and many vegans do not consider honey (made by bees) or sugar (often made with charcoal from animal bones as a filtering mechanism) to be vegan. Obviously vegetarians can substitute mayonnaise or honey in whatever they like.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:17 AM on October 22, 2011
Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian is a book I always recommend, especially to people who think that the Moosewood books are too full of stodgy, bland recipes.
I think I'd rather eat the pages of Moosewood than anything made from the recipes printed on them.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:17 AM on October 22, 2011
I think I'd rather eat the pages of Moosewood than anything made from the recipes printed on them.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:17 AM on October 22, 2011
I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet, but The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook by Robin Robertson looks interesting and might be suitable. There are some sample recipes available on her website.
posted by Lexica at 3:40 PM on October 22, 2011
posted by Lexica at 3:40 PM on October 22, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:26 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]