Cookbooks offer a feast of seasonal vegetarian treats

REVIEWS BY SYBIL PRATT

I'm an omnivore myself, but really good vegetarian cookbooks light up my culinary life. It's fascinating to see how memorable meals can be crafted without meat, fish or chicken. And for vegetarians, a new crop of recipes and ideas is a welcome way to, pardon the expression, beef up their non-beef repertoire. Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen: Easy Seasonal Dishes for the Family and Friends is a delight for the committed and the curious. Bishop, executive editor of Cook's Illustrated, author of two previous cookbooks, husband and father, somehow manages to cook vegetarian dinners for his family almost every night. He asks two things of his recipes—that they be convenient and that they "pack plenty of flavor," and sums up his food philosophy as "shop local and cook global, but keep it real." To that practical end, he urges us to frequent local farmers' markets when possible and shop seasonally in supermarkets when it's not. The 248 recipes are arranged by season, with suggestions for menus that follow suit. Spring starts with a lovely Puréed Pea and Lettuce Soup topped with intense Chive Puree; summer features tomatoes, squash blossoms, grilled vegetables and salads galore; Orecchiette with Spicy Broccoli and Chard Bundles with Lemon Rice and Sage Butter follow in the fall; and winter brings on comforting chilis, tofu dishes, risottos and bean casseroles. Spending a year in Jack Bishop's kitchen is a pleasing way to explore vegetarian cooking at its sumptuously simple best.


More veggies

To be honest, it was the many (more than 50) luscious, good-enough-to-eat, full-color, full-page photos that made me take a second look at Rose Elliot's New Vegetarian Cooking: 120 Fast, Fresh, and Fabulous Recipes. And then I found that the recipes too were worthwhile and a nice complement to A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. Elliot, an advocate of the vegetarian way, first offers her thoughts on vegetarianism's benefits to our health, longevity and vitality and to the planet we live on, then goes on to an interesting, international array of dishes from an elegant Mushroom Pâté en Croûte to a delicate Chocolate Vegan Victoria Sandwich Cake.


Twenty years in Provence

Wake up and smell the lavender, bite into a Savory Rosemary-Parmesan Madeleine, some Sautéed Almond-Stuffed Dates or sweet, salty Black Olive and Dried Fig Spread. You're in Provence and in the hands of Patricia Wells, food critic for the International Herald Tribune, author of seven cookbooks and the best culinary guide you could have. In The Paris Cookbook, Wells took us through Paris to her favorite culinary haunts, introducing us to restaurateurs, market vendors and shop owners who offered up their special, authentic recipes. Now, with equal passion, perception and practical know-how, she does the same for her beloved part of northern Provence in The Provence Cookbook. You'll go to the market in Vaison-la-Romaine and come away with the fishmongers' family recipes for Saffron-laced Mussel Soup and an outstanding Tuna Daube with Green Olives and Red Wine, the vegetable man's delicate Asparagus Flan and the butcher's Thyme-Marinated Leg of Lamb. Then you'll stop at the bustling Bistrot du Paradou for a perfect Provençal salad made with olives and anchovies or Restaurant Chez Serge for a slice of warm Cinnamon-Apple Tart. You'll find the local potter's pungent, garlicky, basil-sauced spaghetti, the winemaker's wife's taffy-like almond cookies and much more in the over 200 recipes. But that's not all—Wells includes names and addresses (websites, too) of the restaurants, shops, artisans and vineyards, info on the marvelous outdoor markets, Provençal customs and lore, and her personal tips on cheese, wine and kitchen prep. It's the next best thing to being there.


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