| Rabbit food. That's what my dad calls | | | | has meat in it. 'Meatless' lasagna |
| vegetarian cooking and cuisine. Salads | | | | suggests that something is missing from |
| and vegetables - can't be anything more | | | | the recipe. Anyone who has dined on |
| to it, can there? Oh, but there is. | | | | spinach lasagna knows that there's |
| Vegetarian cooking is at least as varied | | | | nothing missing - the blend of creamy |
| as 'regular' cooking - and in some | | | | cheese and spinach and spices is perfect |
| cases, far more imaginative. | | | | in and of itself. Polenta with spicy |
| Nearly thirty years ago, Diet for a | | | | black bean sauce has no need of meat to |
| Small Planet, and the follow-up | | | | make it more complete - made right it |
| cookbook, Recipes for a Small Planet hit | | | | melts on the tongue AND sticks to the |
| the bookstore shelves with a resounding | | | | ribs at the same time. |
| thud that still echoes. While many of | | | | Even within the overall umbrella of |
| the theories of protein complementarily | | | | 'vegetarian cuisine' there are |
| that Frances Moore Lappe presented have | | | | variations. Outside Western culture, |
| been proven to be naïve by further | | | | most meals have little or not meat at |
| research, the basic theories of eating | | | | all - so it is not surprising to find |
| and the wonderful meatless - and truly | | | | vegetarian main dishes in Indian and |
| vegetarian - recipes endure. The | | | | Chinese cuisine, nor in Russian cooking |
| Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted | | | | and African regional cuisines. Many base |
| Broccoli Forest followed, and then an | | | | main dish meals on legumes and nuts. |
| avalanche of cookbooks devoted to the | | | | Peanut and cashew soups, humus with |
| vegetarian gourmet. | | | | spices and lemon, fermented black bean |
| Vegetarian cooking is more than just | | | | sauces ladled over bread and pasta and |
| 'meatless'. There's an art to mixing | | | | rice and couscous - Middle Eastern and |
| flavors and textures in just the right | | | | African cooking offers all of those and |
| combinations to create masterpieces that | | | | more. |
| are as appealing to carnivores as to | | | | If one approaches vegetarian cuisine as |
| those who've eschewed meat. For Hindi | | | | a 'substitute' for cooking with meat, |
| chefs who practice Ayurvedic cooking, | | | | one is sure to be disappointed. It is a |
| food is more than nutrition - it is a | | | | way of eating and cooking, of spices and |
| meditation, a gateway to the higher | | | | combinations that can be as light and |
| consciousness. There are three major | | | | fluffy as a meringue or as dense and |
| components and six tastes (sweet, salty, | | | | chewy as the best seven grain bread. If |
| sour, bitter, pungent and astringent) to | | | | you've never tried a real vegetarian |
| be considered in the preparation of | | | | meal - as opposed to a 'meatless' or |
| every dish, and a meal prepared | | | | 'meat substitute' - the very best place |
| according to the Ayurveda is a feast for | | | | to start is at your nearest Indian or |
| the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the | | | | Middle Eastern restaurant. You'll be |
| mind. | | | | amazed at the flavors and textures - and |
| The very best vegetarian meals are not | | | | you won't even notice that there's no |
| 'meatless' versions of dish that usually | | | | meat. |