Review: Down Home American Vegetarian Cuisine
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2013
Bindi Wetzel's Healthy Vegetarian Collection: More Than 100 Healthy Recipes for a Vegetarian Diet begins with a well researched discussion of vegetarianism, what a vegetarian diet is, the diverse reasons people choose to pursue a vegetarian lifestyle, the varieties of diets that fall under the general rubric "vegetarianism" (vegan, lacto-ovo, at al), etc. The 100 recipes that follow are divided by meal - Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Appetizers and Desserts. The author is, herself, vegetarian, and was raised in a vegetarian household (I'm guessing right here in the USA), and it shows in the very tasty recipes given in all categories that are very much geared, to my mind, toward a down home American palate. Many of the breakfasts focus on one variation or another of "veggie bacon and eggs," which you gotta admit, as an American, is likely to be a favorite for many (it is mine, for sure). My favorite so far in this category is the "Potato Frittata," featuring eggs, potatoes, asparagus and shredded cheddar - yum!  Lunch recipes include American favorites like potato salad, veggie-bobs on the grill, pizza, veggie lasagna, coleslaw, fried green tomatoes, pasta salad, corn salad with peppers, eggplant Parmesan, grilled cheese (with apples), chili, stuffed peppers and more. Dinners include eggplant lasagna, pepper soup, Mexican fritters, slow cooker spinach casserole (with eggs and plenty of ricotta), veggie burgers "with a kick," more pizza, tacos, stir-fry, pot pies, quesadillas, "vegetarian steak"(made with tofu), Italian ziti, and yet still more... For vegetarians with a taste for American cuisine, this book is ideal.