Cookbooks

[KnottedYet]

I just bought "Veganomicon" by Moscowitz and Romero. http://www.theppk.com/books/veganomicon-the-ultimate-vegan-cookbook/

How could I resist a cookbook with a title like that?!?!?!?

I'm not a vegan nor a vegetarian. I relish red meat, and work hard (and pay big $$) to ensure I get red meat from dead cattle that had a decent grass-fed life up until they were pole-axed. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to get meat from cattle whose names I know and who frolicked in the pastures of the farm next door to my mom's.

If I don't get red meat on a regular basis, my body goes to heck. (for those of you who follow the blood type and the cave man diets, yes... I have O type blood, and yes... I have celiac disease)

Love me my vegan foods, too. Oh, my, is there anything more toothsome than fried tempeh that was marinated for 2 days in soy sauce and sesame oil and garlic, with fresh nekkid steamed broccoli?

sigh...

Anyway, this cookbook is a hoot. Snarky and clever Generation X version of the Moosewood. All the basics you need, all the extravagance you yearn for on special occasions. Luscious.

It has sample menus, which I really appreciate. I will happily eat the same dang thing for DAYS, so a sample menu helps to get me out of my rut.

There is "how to" stuff, like "How To Cook A Bean," "How To Cook A Grain," "How To Cook A Vegetable," and such. I appreciate that kind of information.

There is a passel of entree pictures in the center, in all their food-porn glory. Beware...

I'm working on building up my cookbook collection. What cookbooks do you all recommend?

[shootingstar]

Interesting.

I was never vegetarian and don't really think I will be one. I just eat alot less meat than I did 20 yrs. ago.

However since moving to Alberta, with its abundance of quality red meat at good prices, I probably eat beef at least....twice per month. :o which is often for me. But lean pork has no appeal to me for quite awhile. Can't explain this one. Nor chicken breast which is another meat I did have occasionally. Puzzling. :confused:

then I have some fish/seafood if I can find anything quality in this neck of the woods. So it works out to be 3-4 meals per month that I have meat.

That's enough since I've noticed I don't feel entirely well after a meal with alot of meat/different meats.

It's not that my body needs meat, I just don't see any powerful reason to make myself to become completely vegetarian. So it feels like right amount of bitty meat for me.

[Atlas]

I. Love. Veganomicon. I have a list in the front cover of all the recipes I've tried or tweaked and how much I loved them. Some of the favorites:
Lasagne with tofu ricotta and cashew ricotta
Chickpea Cutlets
Walnut-Mushroom Pate - I make this all the time
Eggplant-Potato Moussaka - completely worth the effort
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Squash and Black Bean Empanadas
Smlove Pie - only if you really love decadence and dark chocolate
Lemony Roasted Potatoes - sounds odd, tastes delicious
And I haven't even tried everything yet!

Honestly, I couldn't have stayed vegan for this long without the collective library of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I know how to cook and invent stuff on my own now, but in the beginning I really needed those recipes to tell me what to do. I collect cookbooks and have a lot, but those authors are who I turn to for sure-fire awesomeness.

[OakLeaf]

I'm actually looking for a good raw food cookbook.

Most of the books I've seen are long on preaching and short on recipes. I know why I want to eat more raw food ... I'm not interested at this point in going 100% raw and don't feel like reading why someone thinks I should ... I just want to learn more about the techniques.

Suggestions?? When I'm looking for techniques I really want a paper book...

[snapdragen]

My favorite cookbooks are my Jacques Pepin collection. That said, I get most of my day to day ideas from Eating Well, Cooking Light and Vegetarian Times - the on line magazine versions. This stew (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/summer-vegetable-stew-with-basil-pure-10000000225911/) has gone into regular rotation in my house - I substitute store bought pesto because I'm lazy. :rolleyes:

[Trek420]

I love my Molly Katzen books, Silver Palate and All Around the World, Bitter Almonds, The Complete Jewish Cookbook ... to name a few. :cool:

[shootingstar]

I tend to hunt for recipes on the Internet now....Eating Well, Epicurious and Light Cooking.

All my cookbooks are in a different city at this time. I do have 1-2 very innovative cookbooks that I love...just to read, something like reading foodie blog porn.

And occasionally I make the stir-fried butternut squash as shown here. (http://cyclewriteblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/butternut-squash-chic-carrying-on-stir-fried-memories/) My mother's invention that's she passed onto us. :)

Increasingly I realize we do have some family recipes which are quite healthy and not commonly documented which I hope to, over time in my blog.

[Atlas]

I'm actually looking for a good raw food cookbook.

Most of the books I've seen are long on preaching and short on recipes. I know why I want to eat more raw food ... I'm not interested at this point in going 100% raw and don't feel like reading why someone thinks I should ... I just want to learn more about the techniques.

Suggestions?? When I'm looking for techniques I really want a paper book...

I'm in the same boat. I don't want to be 100% raw, not even necessarily high raw, I just like the idea of eating more fresh foods. I've looked through a few of Ani Phyo's books and they have some recipes I like. The soups and things have way too much oil, but otherwise there are a lot of recipes that don't call for dehydrators and other special equipment.

[sazza]

that book sounds really good. I am always on the look out for different cookbooks to try. I have the vegan cooking for one which is really good as live on my own and does a week worth of meals so you can use up the ingredinets that you have left over and also has it in different seasons so you can get the foods in season.
I also have a yo sushi cookbook love it although have only cooked a few things from it as looks quite scary too cook lol.
another one i have cooked quite a lot from is the food doctor books has loads of healthy and easy recipes for cook also serves 2 so handy if you cook for yourself.

[Crankin]

I use recipes from Cooking Light almost exclusively, as well as a few from Food and Wine. I have about 20 cookbooks, and it seems the only ones I take out are around holiday time... The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook (an oldie), Spice and Spirit, The World of Jewish Cooking, which I love... it's recipes with a Sephardic twist, from countries all over Africa and Europe. And, the dog eared copy of the JOT (Jewish Organization of Tempe) School cookbook that was done as a fundraiser for my kids' pre-school.
I have the Moosewood low fat cookbook, as well as another vegetarian one that I used to use a lot. Those recipes are way too heavy for me, now.

[westtexas]

My go to book right now is "The Complete 15-minute Gourmet" by Paulette Mitchell. The recipes are very simple - usually very few ingredients and lots of fresh items. I eat a lot of salads and I use her base salads and dressing and then add whatever I like. My brother got me this book for Christmas (He's a big fancy gourmet type cook, one of the best chefs I know) and it is indispensable. When she says 15 minutes, she really means it too. It fits a lot in with the way I eat - an animal protein with fresh vegetables/fruits - and the portion sizes are perfect.

[KnottedYet]

My go to book right now is "The Complete 15-minute Gourmet" by Paulette Mitchell.

I'm gonna have to check out that one!

[Biciclista]

the internet has kind of spoiled me for cookbooks. If I have parsnips, i google parsnip recipes...
having said that, I have an entire shelf of cookbooks, some that i use from time to time, some that i never use.
I have a betty crocker cookbook, and have 4 page markers in it for the 4 recipes I use from it. :-)

[OakLeaf]

I use my Lorna Sass cookbook at least once a week ... but only for the bean cooking time chart. :) Chickpeas, adzukis and mung beans, I know how long they take; anything else I have to look up.

My go-to for techniques is the Joy of Cooking.

But yeah, recipes I mostly get off the internet. It's a whole lot easier since Google smartened up and you don't have to exclude six or seven terms to avoid getting pages of restaurant menus and hardly any recipes. :)

[spindizzy]

Bonnie Stern is a local cook and I have a lot of her books. But my favourite is her latest -Friday Night Dinners http://www.amazon.com/Friday-Night-Dinners-Welcome-Weekend/dp/0307356760/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top. I have made so many of the recipes from it- successfully and deliciously. Brisket, savoury short ribs, roasted potato salad, lemon loaf, salmon picatta with roasted asparagus...I need to stop now..getting hungry...

I like meat..and veggies and fruit.

[Karma007]

Veginomicon is the BEST! But then, I have all of Isa and Terry Hope Romero's books. My latest addiction is Appetite for Reduction- Even being vegan, it's totally made me rethink the common vegetable.

[jordanpattern]

I love Appetite for Reduction too! I know it has helped people lose weight, but for me, who needs to maintain or gain, it's a great way to eat lots of healthy, whole foods, and if I need more fat, I can add avocado or whatever to the dish I'm making.

I'm also a big fan of Colleen Patrick Goudreau's books, most recently Color Me Vegan. Again, lots of beautiful fruit and veggie recipes.

I also find a lot of recipes on the internet. I love Isa's blog (www.theppk.com/blog) especially, but she links some other great sites on her page as well.

[Chile Pepper]

Cookbooks--one of my favorite subjects!

My absolute favorite of the past couple of years is From the Earth to the Table (http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Table-John-Country-Cuisine/dp/B000W91SLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303212902&sr=8-1) by John Ash.

I also love both the herb cookbooks by Jerry Traunfeld (http://www.amazon.com/Jerry-Traunfeld/e/B001ILMAR6/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1303212998&sr=1-2-ent).

My favorite vegetarian cookbook is the Greens Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Greens-Cookbook-Extraordinary-Vegetarian-Celebrated/dp/0767908236/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303213096&sr=1-1) by Deborah Madison. I also have a couple of others by her, but this first one is the best.

I do a lot of Asian cooking (mostly Chinese), and I am currently loving two books by Andrea Nguyen--one on dim sum (http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Dumplings-Mastering-Spring-Samosas/dp/1580089755/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1) and one on Vietnamese cooking (http://www.amazon.com/Into-Vietnamese-Kitchen-Treasured-Foodways/dp/1580086659/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303213476&sr=1-1). Really good books.

My favorite dessert book is the Sweet Life (http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Life-Desserts-Chanterelle/dp/B001JJBORO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303213153&sr=1-1) by Kate Zuckerman.

I recently signed up for a website that indexes cookbooks so that you can search your personal collection online (www.eatyourbooks.com/). It's kind of fun, and I think it's a more efficient way to use my many cookbooks, although there is a fee to join. Not all of my cookbooks are indexed, but enough are that the site is working for me.

[linzq]

I'm actually looking for a good raw food cookbook.

Most of the books I've seen are long on preaching and short on recipes. I know why I want to eat more raw food ... I'm not interested at this point in going 100% raw and don't feel like reading why someone thinks I should ... I just want to learn more about the techniques.

Suggestions?? When I'm looking for techniques I really want a paper book...

How about Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo? Lots of great recipes, the raw vegan pad thai is amazing.

[malkin]

I use my Lorna Sass cookbook at least once a week ... but only for the bean cooking time chart. :) Chickpeas, adzukis and mung beans, I know how long they take; anything else I have to look up.

My go-to for techniques is the Joy of Cooking.

But yeah, recipes I mostly get off the internet. It's a whole lot easier since Google smartened up and you don't have to exclude six or seven terms to avoid getting pages of restaurant menus and hardly any recipes. :)


That's me too, with the addition of the spinach pasta dough recipe from The Cuisinart Classroom and most of the time Brewer cooks for me anyway.

[Irulan]

Right now I'm heavily into Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time and Mexican Everyday. I'm into it at least once a week.

I've pretty much worn out my copy of Simply Thai Cooking by Wandee Young.

I used to use Moosewood a lot, but there's way too much dairy in it for me.

[ultraviolet]

I love The Flavor Bible (http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400). It's not really a cookbook, but it's a great kitchen resource. It has lists of ingredients and flavors/spices that go well together. It makes for a great jumping off point for getting creative in the kitchen.

The only two cookbooks I use with any regularity are the Les Halles Cookbook and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I love French flavors, but can't seem to hold the recipes in my head for very long.

[uk elephant]

My staple for most things -- Joy of Cooking (thanks mom for a well used present)

My other favourite -- Moosewood deserts (don't remember the exact title).

Neither of those books have good photos, and I do prefer cookbooks with good pictures usually, but they both have excellent recipies which generally don't fail.

[Spinner]

Right now I'm heavily into Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time and Mexican Everyday. I'm into it at least once a week.

I've pretty much worn out my copy of Simply Thai Cooking by Wandee Young.

I used to use Moosewood a lot, but there's way too much dairy in it for me.

Absolutely love Mexican and thai food! Got the Rick Bayless´books but hadn´t heards of Simply Thai Cooking. I think I will take a look at that! Thanks for the tip! : )