Book Review: Vegetarian for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff

Note: As is usual for me, this is primarily a collection of musings about and reactions to a book, rather than a formal book review. I received no compensation for this post; I just read the book and liked it enough to want to write something about it. 

Liana Krissoff of Pie and Beer has written five cookbooks. I`ve gotten my hands on two of them so far. I own a copy of Canning for a New Generation, and the copy of Vegetarian for a New Generation that I currently have out from the library is due for a second renewal soon. The local library doesn`t have Whole Grains for a New Generation, but, based on my experience with Canning and Vegetarian, I may just go ahead and buy it. More information about her books is available here.

This particular post is about my recent love affair with Vegetarian for a New Generation. I`ve been making a lot of recipes from the book ever since I checked it out of the library last month, and only one has been disappointing (and I think that may have been partly cook`s error--I didn`t get an acorn squash cooked all the way through). Thalia's Cabbage Soup has been a repeat already because it was so good, and the roasted stuffed eggplant got many thumbs up when I served it when J.'s siblings came over for dinner the other weekend.

One of the book's features is that all of the recipes are gluten-free. We aren't gluten-free ourselves, but we have friends and family who are, and it's nice to know that I can rummage through this book and find something that works for them (one of my favourite vegetarian cookbooks is rather heavy on the gluten, so this makes a nice contrast). Quite a few of the recipes are also vegan, which is another bonus. One of our friends is gluten-free and her husband is lactose-intolerant, so when they come over for dinner, planning requires a bit of thought.

There are a few odd typos in the book. The introduction has one that looks like a page reference was supposed to be programmed in and the word processing program missed it out. Other than that, though, it's fantastic, and definitely worth your time. I'm probably buying my own copy once I have to return it to the library.

a recipe and a revelation

While we're not vegetarian (except for that summer when we couldn't afford meat), we often do vegetarian meals. When I was a kid, I'd never been too keen on vegetarian stuff until, as an adult, I realized that vegetarian food was supposed to taste good (unlike the meat substitute patties a co-worker of mine at camp ended up eating all summer because she was the only vegetarian on staff). 

I don't remember when the revelation hit, but it was one of those where I went, "Oh, if you don't act like meat's supposed to be there and you're trying to make it look like it's not missing, the food gets so much better!" Most vegetarians would probably respond with, "Duh!" to that, but I still can't believe it took me as long as it did to figure that out. I think I may have been somewhere between 20 and 21.

Anyway, I dug out a favourite vegetarian recipe recently, and decided to post it, partly because I keep losing it in the depths of the facebook messaging system, so now I'll have saved in my recipe folder and on here. Plus, I figure other people might enjoy it, too. Part of me has a sneaking suspicion that I may have posted this before, but oh well. I think I may be able to handle eating this soon, so I'm putting it on the maybe list of food for this week.

This recipe has protein, and veggies, and croutons. It'll fill you up. It's not vegan--if you want to make it vegan you'll have to change out the yogurt dressing with something else. It's also not gluten-free, as is, but if you want it to be, just leave out the croutons.

I picked up this recipe from my sister-in-law and her husband. They served it once when we were over and it was great. Then we got the recipe, made it, and ate cauliflower and bean salad for the next three days and it was delicious. I believe they found the recipe somewhere in the Middle East, but I'm not sure where. They lived in Saudi for a while, but did a lot of traveling to other countries in that area, so it could be from anywhere, really.

Curried Cauliflower and Green Bean Salad with Lemon Yogurt

Part 1:
1 head cauliflower cut into florets
1 red onion, julienned
½ lb green beans, 2-inch lengths
salt+pepper+olive oil to coat

Roast on a sheet pan until tender, slightly browned and slightly crispy (about 15-20 minutes). If you have smaller rimmed sheet pans, use two so the vegetables roast evenly.

Part 2:
2 slices bread, torn into small chunks

Saute in a pan until crispy like croutons. Season with salt.

Part 3:
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup cilantro (or less)
1 garlic clove

Warm up the curry powder in the bread pan with a dash of oil. Add to a bowl with everything else and mix.
Serve the veg, top with dressing and croutons (or toss veg and sauce then add croutons to serve).