This book is about my love of home cooking. Each recipe is rooted in the traditional techniques and collective imaginations of cooks throughout the ages who have shared the harvests of earth and sea .--Peter Berley. Includes 225 vegetarian recipes that feature each ingredient at its peak. Line drawings throughout. From the Publisher While many cookbooks emphasize the end product -- the fancy dish -- or analyze the nutritional value of food as fuel, The Vegetarian Kitchen focuses on how the simple act of cooking food can nourish one's life. It journeys through the seasons with 225 recipes that feature each ingredient at its peak, including: Summer Corn and Vegetable Chowder, Hearts of Romaine with Creamy Miso Dressing, Fresh Asian-Style Whole-Wheat Noodles in Dashi, Baby Artichokes in White Wine, Lemon, and Herbs, Pear-Cranberry Crisp, and Rustic Country Breads. The much-admired cooking instructor and former chef of Angelica Kitchen, one of New York City's finest vegetarian restaurants, Peter Berley crafts the recipes with great attention to detail, so that each one provides a wealth of technique and background information. He truly inspires both novice and experienced cooks and his book brings a new level of understanding to vegetarian cuisine. From Publishers Weekly A chef for seven years at the Angelica Kitchen, New York City's hip vegan restaurant, Berley focuses on how the act of cooking can nourish one's life in this (mostly) vegan cookbook. Emphasizing home-cooked meals as opposed to gourmet feasts, Berley articulates the principles and techniques behind each recipe. Based on fresh and seasonally available ingredients, the cookbook reads like a valentine to Berley's grandmother, who cooked and baked using foods from her organic garden. Although dashi, miso and tofu are becoming more familiar to American cooks, other ingredients he calls for, such as spelt, kombu and nabe mono, aren't as well known. It's impossible to appreciate Berley's world without making several special shopping trips--there's always that one ingredient you can't get at the grocery store. Berley includes instructions for broths, roll pastas and bake breads using wild yeast. Following his recipes to the letter requires tremendous amounts of time, as well as patience. But his recipes reward: Roasted Red Peppers are sweeter and more luscious than anything bottled, Basil-Almond Pesto is sublime for having freshly peeled almonds, and Corn and Vegetable Chowder evokes a perfect summer afternoon. For vegans, vegetarians and interested cooks seeking to explore seasonal vegetarian cuisine, this book is a must have. Illustrations not seen by PW.
