The Art of Japanese Vegetarian Cooking

This is a pretty amazing book for someone who has had a long-standing interest in both Far East cooking and vegetarianism. It adds a bit of the history of the dishes as well as their everyday uses, plus some of the author's personal experiences. I have tried many of these recipes and while they are definitely "lite", a discerning palate will learn to appreciate those qualities. I wouldn't recommend this a a starter for someone who has not had some prior experience in the cooking of Japanese foods. It definitely takes practice, but the payoff is worth it. I cook something from this book at least once a week, if not more. Fortunately, I have access to stores which carry some of the more obscure goods which are required in the recipes. That could become an issue as well. But for the adventurous and at least moderately experienced vegetarian cook this is definitely a good book to pick up. (Also, when I began to add these recipes in to my regular vegetarian diet, I began to lose weight. Could be an added bonus for people who share a similar body type!)

Being vegetarian and having lived in Japan for many years, I found this book a welcome relief to the narrow band of books that are available to people like myself. The recipes are very 'Japanese' in the sense that few ingredients and spices are used. Japanese food is very much based on the 'season' and if you have not lived in Japan this is a great way to sample Japanese cuisine without meat.'Bland' is not a word I would use when describing Japanese food, but then if you're used to 'over oily' American or European style food then you may find these reciepes somewhat lite.