Veggie Blog

Book Description
World Gourmand Award winning author Viji Varadarajan offers some interesting facets in the life of the ancient Tamil Brahmins of South India. The food cooked in a Brahmin home was sathvic paying special attention to the balance and nutritive value of the dishes prepared. The ladle of plain rice with cooked dhal served over the steamed rice and the topping of a dollop of homemade clarified butter/ghee; the balance of plain and spicy food, and the benefits of yogurt as a final course to set right any imbalance in the food eaten for the day. Different spices played an important role in the dishes; fenugreek as a digestive aid, cumin for its multiple usages, dried legumes and beans as nature s tiny capsules of proteins, pepper for colds and coughs, turmeric as a healer of wounds in fact, every ingredient used in the Tambram cuisine has a purpose that goes beyond taste and texture. The word curry is originally derived from kari a Tamil word for a preparation of a dry vegetable with spices. Gradually the British added water and meat to curry and hence it came to be known as the Madras Curry. Hence curry/kari is basically a brahmin word for a vegetable stir fry. First published in 2001 this newly formatted book comes with a complimentary yogurt cookbook that won The Best Single Subject in India and The Best Health and Nutrition Book in the world. Her unique Samayal book has already won her The Best Vegetarian Book in India.

Book: Samayal The Pleasures of South Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Viji Varadarajan
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Book Description
A complete vegetarian Indian cookbook from appetizers to sweets with an emphasis on four varieties of main dishes: rice, vegetables, legumes & eggs.

What recipes can I expect?

The main dishes are grouped in four types: rice, vegetables, legumes and eggs. Because eggs are one of the four groups, check the Amazon page if you avoid eggs.

What kind of book is The Spice Box?

It is a vegetarian Indian cookbook by Manju Shivraj Singh. The description calls it complete, with recipes running from appetizers to sweets.

This summary is based on the book description on the Amazon page. The description is brief, so look at the Amazon page for the full contents.

How should I cook eggs and rice dishes safely?

Many Indian vegetarian dishes include rice, vegetables, lentils and eggs. Eggs deserve care: egg dishes should be cooked until firm. The USDA FSIS guide to slow cookers and other USDA advice stress keeping perishable food cold until it is cooked, and refrigerating leftovers promptly.

Cooked rice should be treated like any leftover. The USDA FSIS leftovers page covers the details: spread food in shallow containers to cool it fast, chill within two hours, eat within three to four days and heat to 165°F.

A balance of rice, vegetables and legumes makes a nutritionally sound plate, and the eggs add protein and vitamin B12. If you are pregnant, older or have a weakened immune system, avoid runny or undercooked eggs.

Spices are the signature of this cooking. Store them in airtight jars away from heat and light, buy small amounts and toast whole spices briefly before grinding for more aroma. Toast whole spices lightly before grinding, and add ground spices to the oil early so their flavour spreads through the dish. Fresh curry leaves and coriander are common finishing touches. Fresh mint or lemon juice brightens leftovers.

More on this blog: Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together and Eating to Lower Cholesterol: Oats, Fruit, Beans and Healthy Fats

Book: The Spice Box by Manju Shivraj Singh
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Book Description
Intensely flavorful and inherently healthy, Mediterranean food is one of the world’s most appealing cuisines. Mediterranean cooks know how to make eating a pleasure. They do it simply—with olive oil and garlic; with herbs and spices; with tomatoes and eggplants, peppers and squash, figs and peaches, and other seasonal produce. And of course there is crusty bread and local cheese, the freshest yogurt and endless wine.

In this authoritative and anecdotal cookbook, award-winning author Martha Rose Shulman captures the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean region in more than 500 delicious vegetarian dishes that will appeal to everyone. The book represents years of meticulous research gleaned from Shulman’s travels through France, Spain, Italy, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, North Africa, and the Middle East. She presents authentic contemporary variations as well. You’ll dine with her in Greek olive groves, feast on torecipes handed down from mother to daughter for generations, and she offers her own matoes and fresh sardines in Croatia, savor coffee gelato in the streets of Bologna. At every turn in the road there is a new culinary reward.

Whether you are a vegetarian or a dedicated meat eater, Shulman’s recipes are substantial enough to satisfy any appetite. Included are such tempting creations as Majorcan Bread and Vegetable Soup, Provençal Chick Pea Salad, Pasta with Ligurian Artichoke Sauce, Greek Cauliflower Gratin with Feta and Olives, Balkan-Style Moussaka, North African Carrot “Compote,” and Sweet Dessert Couscous with Citrus and Pomegranate. There is also an entire chapter devoted to the renowned “little foods” of the Mediterranean: tapas from Spain, antipasti and merende from Italy; meze from the eastern and southern Mediterranean, and more. In addition, the book features a glossary of useful cookware and indispensable pantry staples and the best online sources for hard-to-find ingredients.

Book: Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman
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Book Description
Jamaica has been a melting pot of many cultural influences including the Africans, Spanish, English, Indians, Asians and Arawaks (native inhabitants pre-Columbus). Out of a diverse mix of foods, spices, and cultures has come this wonderful array of tempting dishes as lively as the people of Jamaica themselves.

What is Delicious Jamaica! about?

The description presents Jamaican food as the result of a diverse mix of foods, spices and cultures, and calls the dishes tempting and as lively as the people of Jamaica.

Which cultures shaped the cooking?

The description says Jamaica has been a melting pot including Africans, Spanish, English, Indians, Asians and Arawaks, the native inhabitants before Columbus.

Who wrote it?

The author named in the title is Yvonne McCalla Sobers. The description does not give a recipe count or list any dishes.

Everything above comes from the book description on its Amazon page.

How do beans, plantains and seasonings work in Caribbean cooking?

Jamaican food reflects many cultural influences, as the description says, and plant-based dishes draw on peas and beans, rice, plantain, yam, callaloo, coconut, peppers and herbs. The combination of beans with rice is filling and gives a good range of nutrients, and fresh thyme, scallion and allspice add flavour.

Seasoning blends and stock cubes can be very salty, which is worth knowing because the Harvard Nutrition Source page on sodium explains that high sodium intake is linked with raised blood pressure. Use herbs, citrus, garlic, ginger and peppers for flavour, and taste before adding salt.

Coconut milk adds richness, but it is high in saturated fat, as the Harvard Nutrition Source page on types of fat notes. Use it for special dishes or choose a lighter version.

Hot peppers vary in strength, so handle them with care: wash your hands afterwards and avoid touching your eyes. If you have high blood pressure, ask your doctor about salt intake. Cook large pots of beans in advance and freeze portions.

Related reading on this blog: Eating to Lower Cholesterol: Oats, Fruit, Beans and Healthy Fats and Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together

Book: Delicious Jamaica! by Yvonne McCalla Sobers
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Book Description
This is the first volume of the On-The-Go No Cook Vegetarian Recipes Series from best-selling author Rachael J Ramsay. The recipes contained in this book are a collection of 30 very simple, easy and healthy no-cook vegetarian* lunches. The majority of these recipes can be prepared in minutes (most less than 20 minutes) and are also low in calories and delicious!

Whether you’re looking for a time-effective healthy solution for your On-The-Go lifestyle or you’re looking for a quick and easy alternative to cooking, you’ll definitely find simple recipes in this book that will suit your needs.

What is On-The-Go No Cook Vegetarian Recipes, Volume 1 about?

The book description says it is the first volume of the On-The-Go No Cook Vegetarian Recipes Series by Rachael J. Ramsay.

Who is the intended reader?

The description says it is for people who want a time-effective healthy solution for an on-the-go lifestyle, or a quick alternative to cooking.

What is in the recipe collection?

It contains 30 no-cook vegetarian lunches that the description calls very simple, easy and healthy. Most can be prepared in minutes, and most in less than 20 minutes.

What does the description say about calories?

It says the recipes are low in calories, but it does not give any numbers.

Everything above comes from the book description on its Amazon page.

How do I handle food safely when I don’t cook?

No-cook meals skip the heat step that kills bacteria, so washing and chilling matter more. The FDA page on safe produce says to wash all produce under running water, scrub firm items with a clean brush, dry it with a clean towel and refrigerate cut produce.

Take care with portable food. The USDA FSIS leftovers page advises discarding perishable food left out for more than two hours, or one hour above 90°F, so use a cooler bag with ice for picnics and lunches.

Easy options include bean salads, wraps with hummus and crunchy vegetables, overnight oats, fruit and nut bowls and tinned-chickpea salads. Rinse tinned beans well. People who are pregnant, older, or have weakened immunity should skip raw sprouts and be careful with pre-cut produce kept for long.

Related reading on this blog: Antioxidant Foods: Why Colorful Plants Beat Supplements and Diet and Fitness: How Carbs, Fat and Protein Fit Together

Book: On The Go No Cook Vegetarian Recipes V.1 by Rachael J. Ramsay
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