Vegetarian Cuisine
Rabbit food. That’s what my dad calls vegetarian cooking and cuisine. Salads and vegetables – can’t be anything more to it, can there? Oh, but there is. Vegetarian cooking is at least as varied as ‘regular’ cooking – and in some cases, far more imaginative.
Nearly thirty years ago, Diet for a Small Planet, and the follow-up cookbook, Recipes for a Small Planet hit the bookstore shelves with a resounding thud that still echoes. While many of the theories of protein complementarily that Frances Moore Lappe presented have been proven to be naïve by further research, the basic theories of eating and the wonderful meatless – and truly vegetarian - recipes endure. The Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest followed, and then an avalanche of cookbooks devoted to the vegetarian gourmet.
Vegetarian cooking is more than just ‘meatless’. There’s an art to mixing flavors and textures in just the right combinations to create masterpieces that are as appealing to carnivores as to those who’ve eschewed meat. For Hindi chefs who practice Ayurvedic cooking, food is more than nutrition – it is a meditation, a gateway to the higher consciousness. There are three major components and six tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent) to be considered in the preparation of every dish, and a meal prepared according to the Ayurveda is a feast for the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the mind.
The very best vegetarian meals are not ‘meatless’ versions of dish that usually has meat in it. ‘Meatless’ lasagna suggests that something is missing from the recipe. Anyone who has dined on spinach lasagna knows that there’s nothing missing – the blend of creamy cheese and spinach and spices is perfect in and of itself. Polenta with spicy black bean sauce has no need of meat to make it more complete – made right it melts on the tongue AND sticks to the ribs at the same time.
Even within the overall umbrella of ‘vegetarian cuisine’ there are variations. Outside Western culture, most meals have little or not meat at all – so it is not surprising to find vegetarian main dishes in Indian and Chinese cuisine, nor in Russian cooking and African regional cuisines. Many base main dish meals on legumes and nuts. Peanut and cashew soups, humus with spices and lemon, fermented black bean sauces ladled over bread and pasta and rice and couscous – Middle Eastern and African cooking offers all of those and more.
If one approaches vegetarian cuisine as a ‘substitute’ for cooking with meat, one is sure to be disappointed. It is a way of eating and cooking, of spices and combinations that can be as light and fluffy as a meringue or as dense and chewy as the best seven grain bread. If you’ve never tried a real vegetarian meal – as opposed to a ‘meatless’ or ‘meat substitute’ – the very best place to start is at your nearest Indian or Middle Eastern restaurant. You’ll be amazed at the flavors and textures – and you won’t even notice that there’s no meat.
E-Books
- POWERFUL WAYS TO SHARPEN YOUR MEMORY..
- X BOX CHEAT GUIDE - 419 PAGES BOOK WITH CHEATS TIPS AND TRICKS..
- LEARN TO MAKE SCOOBIES the latest craze for kids will keep them busy for hours!!..
- 177 Ways To Lose Weight and Burn Calories
- 504 BATH AND BEAUTY RECIPES 198 Pages Book
- 7 DAYS TO EASY-MONEY: GET PAID TO WRITE A BOOK
- ADVANCED MEMORY TECHNIQUES
- ALL ABOUT ASTROLOGY & TAROT
- 597 BUSINESS LETTERS LIBRARY
- CURE RINGWORM IN 7 DAYS OR LESS - without getting frustrated & overwhelmed
- CURING IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
- DEALING WITH BRONCHITIS
- DOMINATE YOUR FEARS & PHOBIAS - “Stop Being Afraid Right Now!”
- GAMECUBE CHEATS 361 Pages
- TOTAL SKIN CARE
- STOP YOUR DEPRESSION
- HOW TO STOP SMOKING IN ONE WEEK
- LEARN ALL ABOUT HYPNOSIS & ILLUSIONS A SUPER SIX BOOK COLLECTION!
- LEARN HOW TO CATCH FISH
- MARTIAL ARTS THE BRUCE LEE SECRETS
- MUSCLE BUILDING MANIA
- NATURAL CURES FOR MENOPAUSE
- NATURAL PAIN MANAGEMENT
- PSP2 CHEATS
- THE ATKINS DIET PLAN PLUS
- WITCHCRAFT, WICCA, OCCULT
- WRINKLE REDUCTION & SKIN REJUVENATION
- GRILLMASTER – BARBECUE RECIPES
- Be Yourself Seduction
- BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE
- BOOST YOUR METABOLISM AND LOOSE WEIGHT
- Discover Your Life Purpose
- EASY MEDITATION
- GOAL REALIZATION MADE EASY
- Helping Your Child Learn To Read
- HOW TO OVERCOME FAILURE and achieve SUCCESS
- I Can. Therefore, I Will
- INSOMNIA - THE COMPLETE GUIDE
- LAW OF ATTRACTION
- LEARN TO SPEED READ
- Neuro - Linguistic Programming in Business and in Life
- SINGLE PARENTING
- SPORTS NUTRITION
- USING THE POWER OF POSTIVE THINKING
- In The Complete Guide To Wood Finishing
- Astrology And Tarot