Book Reviews
THE PEACEFUL PALATE
By Jennifer Raymond
My newest cookbook spends very little time on my kitchen shelf. It has taken up active duty on the kitchen counter where it has become my reliable standby.
Nothing pleases a cook more than a delicious, always-successful recipe. I found over 120 cook-pleasing recipes in The Peaceful Palate, Fine Vegetarian Cuisine, written and published by Jennifer Raymond in 1992. Raymond holds an M.S. degree in nutrition and is a nutrition advisor for The Vegetarian Resource Group. She is a veteran cooking teacher at the Mountain View-Los Altos Adult School in California and has appeared in her own television series, "Cooking Naturally."
Raymond disproves the old misconception, "Food that is good for you doesn't taste good." For some people the term "vegetarian" conjures up images of light, watery, esoteric, or bland food. In contrast, The Peaceful Palate demonstrates what hearty, down-home, stick-to-the-ribs vegetarian food is all about. The recipes are never bland. Few will be able to resist her aromatic Black Bean Chili or her savory vegetable and bean-filled Shepherd's Pie with its fluffy mashed potato topping.
A day of eating from The Peaceful Palate begins with breakfast foods such as Sourdough Pancakes and Oatmeal Waffles and moves on to a delicious variety of lunch favorites such as Curried Spinach Salad and Chinese Noodle Salad. The Creamy Garbanzo and Cabbage Soup drew raves at a recent luncheon I gave, and Green Velvet Soup has made converts out of confirmed vegetable haters. A selection of entrees like Neat Loaf and Simply Wonderful Vegetable Stew satisfies the hungriest of former meat eaters. Raymond also includes a variety of simple and colorful Indian and traditional Middle Eastern recipes.
Desserts such as Tofu Cheesecake, Pecan Drops, and Ginger Crinkle Cookies inspire you to seek occasions for serving them. Any wedding that I have a hand in planning will include Raymond's melt-in-the-mouth Carrot Cake with Tofu Cream Frosting.
A minor shortcoming of the book is its lack of photographs or illustrations of the actual dishes. After preparing most of the recipes I realize how visually appealing they are. Some of the unfamiliar dishes, which cooks might hesitate to make, would be attempted readily with a preview of the enticing end result.
The Peaceful Palate is a practical book. It sports a sensible spiral binding which allows it to lie flat on a counter, and its large, dark print makes its recipes clearly visible. People who love to eat and cook will love this book.
The Peaceful Palate ($16.50 - including postage) may be ordered from The Vegetarian Resource Group, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.
Reviewed by Kay Bushnell.
MOOSEWOOD COOKBOOK: Revised Edition
By Mollie Katzen
In 1977 Mollie Katzen wrote the bestseller Moosewood Cookbook. Fifteen years later Ten Speed Press has released a revised edition of this wonderful cookbook. Katzen writes, "My own cooking as well as the changing needs and desires of my constituency evolved during this time, and I no longer cooked with so much fat, dairy products or eggs...Without changing the character of the book or the nature of the recipes, I retested and rewrote them all and added about 25 new ones..."
Moosewood Cookbook: Revised Edition -- ISBN 0-89815-490-1 ($16.95 paper; $19.95 cloth) is published by Ten Speed Press and available in most bookstores.
Reviewed by Debra Wasserman.
