Veggie Blog

Book Description
The number of people choosing meatless meals is on the increase. And a vegan vegetarian diet — one without any animal products — is an unusually healthy one because it is high in fiber, low in saturated fat, and very nutritious. “Too many vegan recipes have relied on exotic and difficult-to-find ingredients or tedious, time-consuming techniques,” says Jannequin Bennett, executive chef of a restaurant in a AAA Five Diamond, Mobile Five Star hotel. “But Very Vegetarian has recipes made with common foodstuffs that are uncommonly delicious.”

Very Vegetarian is presented by and introduced by 9-time Olympic gold medal winner Carl Lewis, who says that a vegan diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole complex carbohydrates, high quality proteins, and natural fats is the best way to ensure a person’s health and longevity.

In addition to a wide range of more than 250 mouth-watering recipes, Very Vegetarian includes a helpful introduction about eating vegan and 16 pages of beautiful four-color photographs. The book will help the person who is beginning to choose meatless meals by providing nutritional information and recipes featuring familiar foods and techniques. For those who have more experience with a plant-based diet, the book offers recipes that will broaden their culinary horizons.

Endorsed by the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.

A restaurant cookbook with a straightforward promise

Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Fleming is tied to the food served at Country Life vegetarian restaurants. Its full subtitle, Delicious Recipes from the Kitchens of the Country Life Vegetarian Restaurants, helps identify this older publication. Bibliographic records place the original edition around 1990 under Family Health Publications, with ISBN 1878726005.

What do we know about the recipes?

The original promotional text is unusually brief: it says the cookbook features the appealing, nutritious food served in the restaurants. That description communicates the book’s purpose but gives little reliable information about its chapter layout or individual dishes. Rather than invent a list of supposed signature recipes, it is more useful to assess the book as a record of a particular vegetarian dining tradition. If you can inspect a copy, look for the contents pages and the kinds of staples you actually cook.

Why restaurant-style vegetarian cooking appeals

Restaurant kitchens must think about flavour, consistency and feeding people reliably. At home, similar principles can make vegetarian meals easier: prepare beans and grains in batches, keep vegetables ready to cook, and develop a few dressings or sauces to combine with them. These are general suggestions for the home kitchen, not claims about Fleming’s specific recipes.

A balanced plate without complicated rules

A simple practical framework is to combine vegetables, a satisfying protein source such as lentils or tofu, and a whole grain or starchy vegetable. Season carefully and add texture with toasted seeds, herbs or something crisp. The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate provides an accessible visual guide to balanced meals. It is a general educational resource, not an endorsement of this cookbook or a substitute for personal nutrition advice.

Where can you find the older book?

Second-hand copies of Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook are listed through specialist booksellers. Listings vary by binding, condition and edition; some catalogues describe a 1990 paperback while others show a 1991 format. Use the ISBN and title to confirm what you are ordering.

Book: Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Fleming
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Featured image: AI-generated food illustration, not a photograph of the book or its recipes.

A reference book for curious vegetable cooks

Few cooking questions are more satisfying than “What can I do with this vegetable?” The Complete Encyclopedia of Vegetables & Vegetarian Cooking aims to answer that question visually. The illustrated 1997 Hermes House hardcover, identified by ISBN 1901289036, brings ingredient knowledge and recipe ideas together in a substantial reference work. It is associated with Christine Ingram and Roz Denny—not Roz Denny alone, as the original title of this blog entry suggests.

What is covered?

Publisher and bookseller descriptions identify a first section devoted to more than 180 vegetable ingredients, arranged in groups such as roots, greens, squashes, beans, stems, mushrooms and salad vegetables. It describes identification, seasonality, preparation and cooking. A second section contains more than 300 recipes, supported by step-by-step and finished-dish photographs. These figures describe the cited edition; they should not be transferred automatically to similarly titled books or later editions.

From everyday staples to something unfamiliar

The original description mentions comforting dishes such as a winter casserole with dumplings, stuffed squash and vegetarian versions of traditional favourites, alongside preparations such as gazpacho and green-lentil kulbyaka. The value is not merely in collecting recipe names. A visual reference can help readers understand how an artichoke is trimmed, what to do with leafy stems and how a less familiar vegetable might be cooked.

Who might find it useful?

This book suits readers who enjoy browsing a substantial illustrated reference and planning meals around produce rather than a single dietary label. One caution: a bookseller description says the collection includes “vegetarian and virtually vegetarian” dishes. Readers who strictly avoid meat or fish should verify individual ingredient lists rather than assuming that every recipe meets their needs.

Buying the right edition

Used copies are limited. The correct 1997 ISBN matters because other reference books with similar titles and author credits circulate.

Book: The Complete Encyclopedia of Vegetables & Vegetarian Cooking by Christine Ingram and Roz Denny
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Featured image: AI-generated food illustration, not a photograph of the book or its recipes.

Discover vegetarian France, region by region

French food is often associated with meat-heavy main courses and elaborate restaurant service, but Paola Gavin’s French Vegetarian Cooking offers a different perspective: everyday vegetable-centred traditions from across France. Published in hardcover by M. Evans & Company in 1995, the collection is described as containing more than 200 vegetarian recipes. Its regional approach distinguishes it from cookbooks arranged only around courses or ingredients.

The appeal of regional cooking

Gavin explores how geography and neighbouring countries helped shape local tastes. Her introduction to France’s provincial kitchens draws attention to Flemish and German influences in the north-east, Italian influences around the south-east and Corsica, and Spanish connections closer to the Pyrenees. That context encourages readers to treat French cooking as many local traditions rather than one supposedly definitive style.

What readers can expect

The book description and contemporary reviews emphasise home cooking: soups, vegetable dishes, salads, egg preparations, tarts and desserts rather than a parade of elaborate restaurant techniques. For a home cook, the interesting challenge is learning to use whatever is in season and noticing how a similar vegetable can be treated quite differently across regions. The individual dishes still need to be checked against the book itself; the summary here is not a substitute for the full table of contents.

How to bring this approach into your kitchen

Start at a produce market and choose two or three vegetables at their best. Build a menu with a vegetable main, a bean or lentil side, bread or potatoes, and fresh herbs. Depending on your preferences, use olive oil in place of some butter or choose a dairy-free version of a sauce. Those are flexible cooking ideas inspired by the regional theme, not quotations from Gavin’s recipes.

Finding the original 1995 book

The original US hardcover is identified by ISBN 0871317745. Multiple second-hand booksellers list this title, and some sellers advertise new old-stock copies. Check condition and postage carefully.

Book: French Vegetarian Cooking by Paola Gavin
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Featured image: AI-generated food illustration, not a photograph of the book or its recipes.

A vegan cookbook that starts with the pantry

Lorna J. Sass’s The New Vegan Cookbook shows how familiar ingredients can become the foundation for varied plant-based meals. The original 2001 Chronicle Books paperback focuses on whole grains, beans, fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices rather than attempting to imitate every conventional meat or dairy dish. Its appeal is practical: a stocked cupboard, fresh produce and a willingness to combine flavours across culinary traditions can take a cook a long way.

What kind of food is inside?

The publisher’s description highlights Mediterranean red lentil pâté and chocolate rice pudding—two examples of the range between savoury spreads and comforting desserts. The book’s photography and advice on using plant ingredients make it approachable for readers who are starting to cook without eggs or dairy. The collection is not an exhaustive modern vegan reference; it is an older, relatively compact cookbook with a clear kitchen philosophy.

Why it still feels relevant

A recipe that begins with lentils or rice does not demand specialist meat substitutes. Readers can adapt meals using the beans, vegetables and grains sold in their own neighbourhoods. Try planning around one legume, one grain and several vegetables, then use acidic ingredients, aromatic herbs and contrasting textures to keep dishes interesting. These are general kitchen suggestions, not reproductions of Sass’s recipes.

A sensible nutritional perspective

The original promotional copy describes vegan recipes as cholesterol-free. That wording refers to their lack of animal-derived dietary cholesterol; it does not guarantee an improvement in anyone’s blood cholesterol. A well-planned vegan diet must also provide key nutrients, particularly vitamin B12 from fortified foods or a supplement. The US National Institutes of Health vitamin B12 fact sheet is a useful reference.

Can you still buy it?

The ISBN for the original paperback is 0811827607. Second-hand copies are offered by booksellers. Check the correct edition before ordering.

Book: The New Vegan Cookbook by Lorna J. Sass
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Featured image: AI-generated food illustration, not a photograph of the book or its recipes.