Vegetarian Cookbooks

Although I'm a resolute carnivore myself, I've been encountering more vegetarians in my life here -- people who are now my friends, and also some relatives by marriage...so over time, I've decided that I need to learn to cook more veggie main dishes, both so I can entertain friends/family, and also to find veggie dish options that I will enjoy - not missing the meat.  I asked Steve for a veggie cookbook for Christmas, and he got me this one:



It's ok & I know it's based on stuff from a posh veggie restaurant in San Fran, but there's hardly any photos in the book -- and maybe it's just me, but I find a lot of the recipes just a bit too fiddley (too many ingredients & prep, etc) for me.

He's now borrowed a veggie cookbook from a friend at work, this one:



It is just perfect, IMO! It was written by a meat eater who bought a veggie restaurant in Manchester, and knowing virtually nil about veggie cooking, he set out to create veggie dishes that would have particular appeal to meat eaters and vegetarians alike.  Plus there are lots of photos of how it looks & all.  I think we will have to buy this book for ourselves -- I asked him if we could just switch the one we own for his friend's book, but Steve didn't think that would fly...

Are there any veggie cookbooks that you particularly recommend? I think I'd have a hard time finding one nicer than The Accidental Vegetarian -- cos it just fits me to a T.  And I hope Andee will get in on this, because we've discussed veggie cookbooks before, and I think she may have bought The Accidental Vegetarian for her MIL - but I could be wrong.

I love all of Mollie Katzen's books.  They are a bit hippish, and don't have great photos, but the recipies are straightforward and flavourful.

OMG I've got an absolute ton of them.... That Greens one is lovely - and the restaurant is superb if you're ever in SF!

For vegans there's a restaurant in SF called Millennium and they've got a great book.

I've got a couple for specific cuisines that are good - Good Time Eatin' In Cajun Country is good. Lean Bean Cuisine is pretty good. I'll have to check my shelves when I get home and add more!

I have a few veggie cookbooks, but the only one I really use is Nadine Abensur's New Vegetarian Cookbook (which isn't so new anymore). I just looked her up and there are some recipes on her website.

I love all of Mollie Katzen's books.  They are a bit hippish, and don't have great photos, but the recipies are straightforward and flavourful.

I love her books, and I often still use recipes from Moosewood.

I have Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, which is brilliant as a reference book. A lot of the recipes are great, but I've had difficulty with a few, and I agree that she can sometimes get a bit fussy. Not many pictures, either.

I bought The Accidental Vegetarian last summer and haven't made many of the recipes yet, but the beetroot soup with coconut milk is amazing, and I'm not much of a fan of beetroot!

If you like that one, though, you should RUN out and buy New Vegetarian Entertaining by Jane Noraika. I absolutely adore it. The photos are drool-worthy, and almost everything I've made has been fab. I first bought the American edition, and loved it so much that I bought the UK edition (partly due to suspicions about the conversions) when we moved here. PM me if you'd like the American edition!

I'm also a big fan of Anna Thomas--I make a lot of things from her website. The New Vegetarian Epicure has been on my wish list for a while.

Rose Elliot is another good one for British veggie stuff. I think the book I have is out of print, but she has quite a few.

But, for your purposes, I would wholeheartedly recommend New Vegetarian Entertaining.

Nigella's How to Be a Domestic Goddess is predominantly veggie, and anything that isn't can be adapted.

I have Delia's veggie cook book but seldom look at it...too fiddly.

I swear by my Cranks cookbooks.  Very easy, good hearty food.  Not exactly haute cuisine though.


Vicky

Rose Elliott is my favorite, followed by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  The Moosewood books are great also.

I have Delia's Veg Collection, good recipes in there but very time consuming.

A few others I have are all from the US.

Several excellent veggie food blogs that I use all the time...

http://www.101cookbooks.com/   (my favorite)

http://www.veggiechic.com/

http://www.vegalicious.org/

I only just saw this Mrs. R!  (it's been a long day....)  I don't think The Accidental Vegetarian was the one I got for my MiL, I'll have to email her and see which it was, because it was a really good one which covered all cultures, lots of pictures, etc.

I actually don't have any cookbooks (Mike may have a couple, I'll have a look) and find recipes online for the most part.  Back in the US my work sold lots of great veggie/vegan/ macrobiotic, etc, etc cookbooks but I never bought one--only snuck peeks and copied recipes out of them while at work, 

I'll see if I can get back to you with a good book or two this weekend.  (a long day at work again tomorrow!)

Rose Elliott is my vegetarian goddess. I basically learned to cook from her books when I first left home and became vegetarian. Another veggie cookery writer I like is Jack Santa Maria. I have his Greek book and I used to have his Indian book but seem to have lost it somewhere along the way???! His recipes are great and his books are quite simple, no fancy schmancy photos or accompanying TV series, but very easy to follow and everything I've made from his books has always turned out well.

I second Jenn's recommendation - Isa Chandra Moskowitz is great!  I have two of her cookbooks and one of them only has cupcake recipes!  Her recipes are vegan and all I've tried are delicious.

I mostly search online for recipes but I'd like to start buying more cookbooks, so I'm interested in what everyone recommends!

World Vegetarian was the one we got my MiL for Christmas.