February 21, 2007
Globally Inspired Veggie Cuisine.
I am not a vegetarian but I tend to cook mainly vegetarian meals. In part because I like cooking with vegetables more than meat, but mostly because I feel healthier when I eat vegetarian. About 4 months ago I bought Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant for $3 (used) on amazon.com. Let me tell you, that was the BEST $3 I’ve spent in a long time. I think this is the first cookbook I’ve bought that I would try all the recipes. Seriously, there is a good chance that I will end up trying every recipe in this book! I have tried about a dozen recipes so far and have yet to find a bad one. If you are a vegetarian and you don’t have this cookbook you MUST get it. The recipes are divided into 18 cuisine sections, with each section encompassing soups, main dishes, side dishes, and extras for a given region or country. My favorite recipe is Moosewood’s version of African Groundnut Stew. On Monday, I made Vegetable Biryani (the above photo), which was good, although I think it really needs to be served with yoghurt to enhance the contrasting flavors.
Garden variety North American Nomad. Born in the Midwest; lived and worked on the West Coast and abroad; studied in the South. Recently spotted putting down roots in New England.