Vegetarian Planet

Vegetarian cookbooks sometimes concern me, as their thrust seems actually to be towards NON-vegetarians. Such great volumes of text are spent trying to convince the reader of the sundry benefits of the vegetarian diet that the energy left over for recipes and recipe description is minimal ("This cheesy soy casserole is just so yummy!"). No, thanks. "Vegetarian Planet," though, seems content to convince on the strength of its recipes. I fell for this book partly because of the fact that it has an entire chapter on dumplings--from gnocchi to pierogis, from quenelles to pot-stickers--but the desserts also interested me, and so did the salads (in addition to these and others, there are also chapters on tortillas, pizza, and burgers and sandwiches). This is a lovely book, put together by a palate familiar with a wide range of cuisines and flavors, and smart enough to know how to combine them in some swinging recipes. The recipes are terrific--the pasta recipes are especially to be recommended (try the one which uses as the sauce a puree of sweet red peppers and almonds--absolutely divine!).

The book design is horrible (just try to read the page numbers through the "decorative" stripes!), Emmons's introductions to the recipes are often cutesy, and some of the recipes take a LOT of work. So why award this book five stars? Because these recipes simply can't be beat. The falafel burgers alone are worth buying the book for -- spiked with carrot, lemon, cumin, and tahini, they taste infinitely better than any beef hamburger I've ever tried. Then there's delicate rattatouille with feather-light basil dumplings, the espresso peanut cookies, the Chinese noodle pancakes with asparagus, the bistro salad with chunks of avocado nestled among tender leaves of butter lettuce, the unusual and beguiling pasta with roasted garlic and butternut squash ... page after page of fabulous, fresh, imaginative food. This is a book you can cook out of for a dinner party without road-testing the menu, because you know Emmons's food will be delicious. And it won't duplicate other books in your collection with yet another risotto or miso soup; the recipes are original without being silly or trendy.Many of the dishes are somewhat challenging, but the payoff is always worth it. Although there are recipes here that work well for weeknights, I think of this largely as a book for times when I want the pleasure of making something special, good enough for company or for indulging myself and my family. I've cooked perhaps 30 things or more from this, and had only one failure, with the over-rich brownies.The sidebars are often helpful and fun to read, as well. Simply a stellar book.

This is the first vegetarian cookbook that I have tried, and I must say that it has become one of my favorites. I am not a vegetarian, but do always try to cook and eat healthy foods, which is one of the reasons why I purchased this book. I have a wide variety of cookbooks in my collection, but I find myself pulling this one off of the shelf all of the time. Everything that I have tried has turned out wonderfully! Ms. Emmons writes little stories about the recipes that make it fun to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some fun,easy, and healthy recipes.

Hi! I've just gotta say Vegetarian Planet is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. I have a vegetarian restuarant in Bethel, Maine and this book has become our "Bible".The recipes rock. I particularly like the informational side bars. The stories heading into each dish are fun to read. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to break out of the ho-hum beige and boring old style vegetarian cooking. This book will send your tastebuds soaring across the planet!!

Finally a good vegetarian cookbook! I have always cooked somewhat vegetarian, even though I am still a part-time carnivore, and most of the veggie recipes I have come across were from Italian, Thai, Chinese and Indian cookbooks. However, what I wanted was a collection of recipes that were CREATIVE, DELICIOUS and MODERATELY complex. (I can't count how many "vegetarian" cookbooks I have picked up that have 3-4 item "recipes" for baked and mashed potatoes.) Enter "Vegetarian Planet", the first thing that struck me was how creative the recipes are, and how Didi creates delicious recipes with very little difficulty. Most of the recipes in this book take about 10-15 (easy to procure) ingredients. I found this book to contain lots of practical recipes that can be completed in 20-30 minutes. I don't know if Didi intended this to be so 'practical' or 'useful' of a cookbook, but she is very good about pointing out recipes that may take a little extra effort to complete. If you are a veggie, and want to add some truly gourmet dining experiences to your week, pick up this book...you won't be disappointed.