| Rabbit food. That's what my dad calls | | | | 'meatless' versions of dish that usually has |
| vegetarian cooking and cuisine. Salads and | | | | meat in it. 'Meatless' lasagna suggests that |
| vegetables - can't be anything more to it, | | | | something is missing from the recipe. Anyone |
| can there? Oh, but there is. Vegetarian | | | | who has dined on spinach lasagna knows that |
| cooking is at least as varied as 'regular' | | | | there's nothing missing - the blend of creamy |
| cooking - and in some cases, far more | | | | cheese and spinach and spices is perfect in |
| imaginative. | | | | and of itself. Polenta with spicy black bean |
| | | | sauce has no need of meat to make it more |
| Nearly thirty years ago, Diet for a Small | | | | complete - made right it melts on the tongue |
| Planet, and the follow-up cookbook, Recipes | | | | AND sticks to the ribs at the same time. |
| for a Small Planet hit the bookstore shelves | | | | |
| with a resounding thud that still echoes. | | | | Even within the overall umbrella of |
| While many of the theories of protein | | | | 'vegetarian cuisine' there are variations. |
| complementarily that Frances Moore Lappe | | | | Outside Western culture, most meals have |
| presented have been proven to be naïve by | | | | little or not meat at all - so it is not |
| further research, the basic theories of | | | | surprising to find vegetarian main dishes in |
| eating and the wonderful meatless - and truly | | | | Indian and Chinese cuisine, nor in Russian |
| vegetarian - recipes endure. The Moosewood | | | | cooking and African regional cuisines. Many |
| Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest | | | | base main dish meals on legumes and nuts. |
| followed, and then an avalanche of cookbooks | | | | Peanut and cashew soups, humus with spices |
| devoted to the vegetarian gourmet. | | | | and lemon, fermented black bean sauces ladled |
| | | | over bread and pasta and rice and couscous - |
| Vegetarian cooking is more than just | | | | Middle Eastern and African cooking offers all |
| 'meatless'. There's an art to mixing flavors | | | | of those and more. |
| and textures in just the right combinations | | | | |
| to create masterpieces that are as appealing | | | | If one approaches vegetarian cuisine as a |
| to carnivores as to those who've eschewed | | | | 'substitute' for cooking with meat, one is |
| meat. For Hindi chefs who practice Ayurvedic | | | | sure to be disappointed. It is a way of |
| cooking, food is more than nutrition - it is | | | | eating and cooking, of spices and |
| a meditation, a gateway to the higher | | | | combinations that can be as light and fluffy |
| consciousness. There are three major | | | | as a meringue or as dense and chewy as the |
| components and six tastes (sweet, salty, | | | | best seven grain bread. If you've never tried |
| sour, bitter, pungent and astringent) to be | | | | a real vegetarian meal - as opposed to a |
| considered in the preparation of every dish, | | | | 'meatless' or 'meat substitute' - the very |
| and a meal prepared according to the Ayurveda | | | | best place to start is at your nearest Indian |
| is a feast for the eyes, the nose, the mouth | | | | or Middle Eastern restaurant. You'll be |
| and the mind. | | | | amazed at the flavors and textures - and you |
| | | | won't even notice that there's no meat. |
| The very best vegetarian meals are not | | | | |