The Winter Vegetarian: Recipes and Refections for the Cold Season

What a wonderful change of pace! The emphasis here is on eastern/northern European cuisine with some north North American, although any place that gets cold (e.g. central Asia) certainly is represented. Goldstein goes well beyond root vegetables and mushrooms--there are a hearty number of millet and buckwheat recipes as well as other delights. The ingredients required are not particularly exotic, yet the recipe selection is fresher and more accessible than the norm. The author is somewhat eclectic in her writing, organization, and selection, but one senses she's actually strongly recommending the recipes that do make it in. This is a vegetarian cookbook that actually makes a serious contribution to the genre. There do seem to be some minor mistakes in the recipes, but I haven't found anything crucial yet.

Ms. Goldstein is a scholar and a university professor, but this book is anything but dry and academic. Instead it is an affectionate, joyful look at the little-known cold-weather food and recipes from many cultures, from the Finnish pulla bread Ms. Goldstein loved so much as a student, to an arcane but wonderful-sounding fruited Bairam plov from Central Asia. There is an entire chapter devoted to the "much maligned" rutabaga, and chapters about Tolstoy's table and Shrovetide festivities which include recipes for Russian blini and Swedish semlor buns. In all, this is a fascinating look at winter culinary traditions around the world as well as a wonderful book to actually use in the kitchen.

I first came across this cookbook from a recipe that our community supported agriculture (CSA) group shared with us along with our weekly share of the harvest. We've been trying to cook along with the seasons, using what's fresh locally and this cookbook has been great in terms of giving us neat ideas on soups/stews/casseroles to try out. Some of the things we've tried so far are: Garlicky Winter Greens, roasted vegetables with mustard sauce, and winter vegetable stew. There are a lot of recipes with legumes/grains which I'm looking forward to trying out since those are so satisfying in winter time. The ingredients are all pretty straightforward, easy to find. Cayenne and hot peppers are used here and there for a little kick which I like too.

What a great find - my boyfriend gave it to me last winter. The recipies might sound or read strange but be adventurous and TRY THEM. They are imaginitive and oh so tasty. I have tried the veg. stew, roasted winter veg, the baked millet, mushrooms and chestnut in red wine, the jerusalem artichoke, cooked greens etc. etc.

The first recipe I tried was Finnish pulla, a braided bread rich with fragrant, hand-ground cardamom. I divided it into 64 pieces and baked it for my 18th-19th century literature classes (I teach at a big university). What better way to get them interested in the past, than with traditional recipes? The pulla was a complete success, and simple even for an only-occasional bread baker like me. It turned out soft, aromatic, and it rose nicely, which pulla fans assure me is not always the case. The students loved it, so I'm going to try Darra Goldstein's gingerbread on them next! I will give several of these books as gifts, to get my friends through the sleets of February. Thank you, Ms. Goldstein, for a lovely cookbook. [email protected]