Exploring a Cookbook: "Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone"

I received Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone for Christmas. This is what you married men will recognize as "a hint." Nevertheless it remained pristine on a shelf for several months. Frankly, the world of purely vegetarian cooking was too alien for me to even get into readily-- without that hunk of meat at the middle of the plate, I had no organizing principle for a meal. Sure, I have vegetarian dishes I make regularly, "train tracks" and veggie chili and so on, but I didn't have a sense of what vegetarian cooking in a bigger sense would be like, unless it was all stews out of a big pot until the end of time. More lentils, anyone? And I was very determined not to start using any pseudofoods like tempehburgers or seitandogs or Philly cheesequornsteaks or milletfoie gras; if I was going to cook veggian, it was going to be real food with real flavor that just happened not to include meat. And so the book sat, awaiting its perfect moment to be tackled as a project, which you married men will recognize often means being put off forever.

As it happened, though, a few months later I read The United States of Arugula and learned quite a bit about Madison. Who, it turns out, is an important person in American history, as she was arguably the first vegetarian hippie commune chef to take a look at all those brown rice casseroles, think "Vishnu, there's got to be something better than this slop," and go get herself a solid food education so she could make vegetarian food that actually had flavor and texture and artistry and didn't just reek of the self-congratulation of virtuous awfulness. (I paraphrase the argument.)

So I had newfound respect for her after reading her history, but I still didn't know quite how to get into the book. Then our friends in Austin, that paradoxical place half in barbecue country and half in tofupia, announced on the eve of our trip there that they had pretty much become vegetarians. (Not 100%, as it would turn out.) Gone were the nights at Salt Lick. Even Mexican food was problematic (easier, admittedly, the yuppier a place got, as it would be more likely to offer veg'n offerings and not to unthinkingly put lard into everything). No checking how they were doing on the fried chicken I'd taught them to make.

But what it was, was a chance to force myself to cook out of Madison's book. So here are three things I tried making during our week there, with varying levels of satisfaction.

Stock For Stir Fries, p. 262

This of course is not a meal, it's an ingredient for one of the other meals. Nevertheless, a good test for whether something constructed out of vegetables could serve a role normally played by a meat stock. There was no long slow cooking; in 45 minutes a pot full of shiitakes, scallions, onions, mung bean sprouts, cilantro, garlic and ginger, with a little rice wine, soy sauce and dark sesame oil, had become a brownish stock which tasted mainly like onions and soy sauce. Nonetheless, it was entirely the right flavors for stirfry, and easy to make, I filled tiny ziploc bags with it and froze it in 1/2C increments, my friends should, I hope, use it happily for some months-- and I will probably make more for myself very soon.

Vegetable Stir-Fry with Glass Noodles, p. 271

And here's what it went into. A pretty standard but entirely decent stir fry, done with some difficulty in a tiny enameled wok that probably dates to the 1950s (a gift from a worldly aunt to one of my friends' parents, who probably never used it once unless, maybe, they ran out of buckets when the roof leaked). It went over pretty well, introducing the kids to some new vegetables (bok choy!), though since it was also the fourth... they ate it as a side dish with hot dogs.

Red Bean Gumbo with Greens, p. 321

I'm not sure I would have chosen this-- actually I'm looking forward to trying some of the more middle-eastern dishes, which my hostess in Austin had no interest in-- but it proved a good test of how closely we could imitate a dish deeply rooted in the Southern traditions of sticking a big ole hunk of pork at the base of every dish. The answer was different for me than for them. They found it deep and flavorful and eagerly looked forward to the frozen leftovers (which might well prove to be better with some aging). I thought Madison's attempt to concoct a deep broth flavor out of greens and herbs was exactly the kind of meat-mimicry I don't like and don't want to get into; for me, a far better version of this dish would be to take Madison's veggie-oriented stew and root it in the flavor of a small, but discernable, piece of tasso ham or something similar, so the gumbo gets the benefits of the flavor of pork but remains a stew loaded with vegetables.

Anyone else cook from this (very popular) book? Any suggestions for things I should try next?

Other Exploring a Cookbook threads:
Authentic Mexican
The New Spanish Table
The Glory of Southern Cooking

I have this book, and I believe that I have cooked from it before (we do have quite a few vegetarian books but this is not my fav, so can't be 100% that I made stuff from it).

I will dig through it in the next day or so and see, otherwise I'll take this as a reason to make a few things.

Jamie

This is a great cookbook-- every recipe I've tried has come out very well and been full of flavor. This book is a great resource for figure out what to do with the CSA box bounty too.
Some favorite recipes:
-basic buttermilk muffins from the baked goods section in the back
-butternut squash gratin with onions and sage (great entree for entertaining vegetarians)
-corn chowder with new potatoes, golden peppers, and basil
-yellow peas and rice with onion relish

Enjoy and I look forward to hearing more about your explorations.

Cheers, Jen

I have not cooked anything from this book, although my wife who knows a thing or two about cook books (ahem ) loves it. I do love Local Flavors, her recently re-published ode to farmer's markets and farmers market eating (duh!). It's one of the best books out there for the budding (or experienced) locavore. Here's my recent paen.

I like this cookbook quite a bit, although I am not a vegetarian. My sister-in-law is allergic to meat, so I am often looking for good dishes to cook for her. But what I really like about this book is Madison's approach to vegetables and her flavor combination suggestions, which I have found to be very good. And she's not a nut, but a really smart cook who cooks vegetarian.

I love this cookbook and use it often. The Mushroom Galette, the Leek and Goat Cheese Galette, and the Winter Squash Galette are all excellent -- and the finished savory tarts freeze well. One tart makes a great, quick lunch. The recipe for "Fetuccini with gorgonzola" is now the favorite food item of my nephews,

The simplicity of many of the vegetable preparations can be a little daunting -- I tend to worry that they'll be too boring, that I should add more . . . stuff. But the "Greens with Potatoes" are simple and just a work of brilliance. Same goes for the stewed potatoes.

Another favorite of mine: the poppyseed cake. A friend of mine tried it and found it a revelation: "It's delicious and it tastes like poppyseeds. I didn't know poppyseeds had a flavor!" I love that cake, too.

Spring Turnips With Their Greens, p. 434

I had the idea some time back that one thing the book would be very good for would be if you got vegetables you didn't know what to do with-- e.g., from your CSA, or just buying on a whim at a farmer's market. Pop it open and look the mystery veggie up, and find a recipe.

Well, I got a chance to put that to a test today when I picked up Eatchicago's CSA delivery (for reasons to be announced shortly). Turnips, a zucchini, strawberries, peas, beets, rhubarb, cukes, some kind of sprout, and on and on.

I decided to start with the turnips tonight. A recipe calling for (just as Cassie Green said in my podcast) turnips and their greens. I had to judge whether they were small enough to count as spring turnips, but they seemed pretty fresh and tender. I steamed the turnips about 20 minutes, boiled the greens about 10, tossed with butter and thyme and S&P. I looked at it, white horseradish-smelling turnips mixed with very wilted and balled-up leaves and not much else, and thought... the kids will hate this, and I'm not exactly smiling on it.

It was actually pretty good. As MariaTheresa says, my fear that it needed more than this simple preparation proved not at all the case. Simple, tasty, virtuously healthful. And one kid, at least, ate all of his. Not bad.

I don't have this one, but I do have Vegetarian Suppers and I often recommend it in my cooking classes. I'm a HUGE fan of her recipe for swiss chard and chick peas and recipe that satisfies even the most unrepentent carnivore.

I have this and use it quite frequently, although never for pure vegetarian meals. Instead I am usually looking for new or interesting veggie sides to eat along with the meat. I don't recall ever planning a meal around anything in the book, but once I've chosen the main course it's a good place to get additional ideas - or if I have something sitting around in the fridge to use up.

A couple weeks ago at Green City Market I picked up one of those giant mystery bags of mushrooms and after a batch of beef/mushroom tomato sauce for pasta and a couple roasted portabellos with swordfish I paged through and came up with the idea for Mushroom Risotto for the remaining shrooms.

I've made the Zucchini and Fresh Herb Fritters a couple times - a nice side with fish. Also lots of good Gratin recipies.