ISO traditional English but vegetarian recipes?

[Oldvine]

Wouldn't any good vegetarian cook book serve the purpose? It seems confusing that the recipe collection should be "English upper classes, both of the nursery/public school and the French cook varieties" ... vegetarian. Our Amazon shows thousands of vegetarian cookbooks available and most of our natural foods stores have fliers they hand out for free with recipes. A quick Google search for "Easy vegetarian recipes" brings up a good variety. I think it's great that you want to share the household chores load.

 

[Mad Cook]

I assumed that you were doing research for an essay or something.

There are lots of books in English around on modern vegetarian cooking. I'm not veggie but others here are and might be able to suggest a few. India has a lot of vegetarians so why not look in that direction.

 

[Barly]

No, it's really for practical purposes. Cooking for a five-year old, cooking dinner for a small family and cooking for the occasional dinner party.

Of course, there are lots of vegetarian cookery books and websites, too many to sort through in fact. But I don't understand why the choice of cuisine is questionable - if people were asking about tips for Chinese recipes, you wouldn't ask "wouldn't any good meat cook book serve the purpose?"

 

[menumaker]

Sorry, but have I missed something? I haven't seen one post that has questioned your choice of cuisine which we have gleaned is vegetarian, only advising that your requirements are so wide (this I happen to see as a good and exciting thing ) you may well need to search through many books to find a good all round selection. What's not to like?

 

[Barly]

Yes, I agree - I'll simply look more widely and then pick what I like. (That's in addition to the valuable tips for concrete books and websites I've got in this thread so far!)

 

[Mad Cook]

Of course, there are lots of vegetarian cookery books and websites, too many to sort through in fact.

Oh, I SEE. YOU can't be bothered to sort through so you'd like US to do it for you.

We don't mind helping but we don't want to be taken for a mug.

 

[cave76]

Yes, I agree - I'll simply look more widely and then pick what I like. (That's in addition to the valuable tips for concrete books and websites I've got in this thread so far!)

I'm glad we could help a little. The Internet is a wild and wooly place for just one person to venture into Although I love to 'venture' (and have an adventure) Google doesn't always sort like we'd like it to and you have to speak it's language. It's a 'art' only learned by experience.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I wouldn't get hung up on recipes. I would just concentrate on cooking some vegetables that your family enjoys.

Toss a few potatoes into the oven to bake, maybe a squash. Fry up a few mushrooms to put over the potatoes, steam some carrots, make a salad and its dinner.

I would also encourage you to include your five year old son in the process, he is old enough to help out in the kitchen, in a few more years he can take a turn at preparing the family dinner once in a while so you and your wife can have a break.

Good luck!

 

[taxlady]

When I was a vegetarian I cooked stuff like shepherd's pie and pasta sauce according to the regular recipe. I just cooked some beans, but not until they were soft. Then I would run them through the meat grinder and fry them up in vegetable oil and substituted that for the minced meat. It worked really well. I used just about any kind of dried beans: kidney beans, navy beans, chick peas,...

 

[Barly]

Oh, I SEE. YOU can't be bothered to sort through so you'd like US to do it for you.

We don't mind helping but we don't want to be taken for a mug.

I'm sorry if I gave that impression. There are 180'775 books in Amazon's cookery section, and I'm not going even to guess the number of websites. I didn't expect or want anybody in the forum even to have a look at them. But maybe somebody had come across something that would help me - after all, the point of a forum like this is the exchange of experiences and knowledge. (And everybody has to start at some time, as I do now.) That can be "oh, book X which I happen to have is just what you need" or "forget books, take a tomato and cook it".

 

[Gravy Queen]

That's why I thought Elizabeth David might fit your bill with her background, Mediterranean and vegetarian cooking and recipes . I don't associate the likes of Shepherds pie as food the upper classes would eat , but it would be classed as nursery food , a comfort food but cheap and easy to make . You could indeed do vegetarian Shepherds Pie with no shepherd ;-) I think Jane Grigson is another option and indeed Delia Smith . Hopefully you will be able to research and come up with some interesting ideas ? Keep us posted and good luck .

 

[cave76]

I'm sorry if I gave that impression. There are 180'775 books in Amazon's cookery section, and I'm not going even to guess the number of websites. I didn't expect or want anybody in the forum even to have a look at them. But maybe somebody had come across something that would help me - after all, the point of a forum like this is the exchange of experiences and knowledge. (And everybody has to start at some time, as I do now.) That can be "oh, book X which I happen to have is just what you need" or "forget books, take a tomato and cook it".

" I'm sorry if I gave that impression".

That wasn't the impression I got----- at all. You've explained your reason(s) quite well and saved me the bother of talking about what forums are for. Thank you.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I think I would used my tried and true cookbooks, just adjust for no meat. Study up on "umami" and how to incorporate it without using meat. Also study about how to create a complete protein using vegetables, something that is very important.

 

[cave76]

I think I would used my tried and true cookbooks, just adjust for no meat. Study up on "umami" and how to incorporate it without using meat. Also study about how to create a complete protein using vegetables, something that is very important.

PF---- now you're talking!--amino acid supplementation (combining essential amino acids that your body doesn't make) to make a complete protein with no meat! I had to write a paper on that in biochemistry a long time ago.

It became more 'popular' when the Hippie culture espoused vegetarianism and some actually knew how and why to still get a healthy diet with no meat.
And I don't mean buying the pills to do it!

BUT----- the poorer Mexicans knew this long long before! A meatless taco, with beans, cheese and corn tortillas gave as complete a protein as a steak did.

More later, for those that are waiting for my Timeless Prose. (ZZzzzzzzz)

 

[taxlady]

PF---- now you're talking!--amino acid supplementation (combining essential amino acids that your body doesn't make) to make a complete protein with no meat! I had to write a paper on that in biochemistry a long time ago.

It became more 'popular' when the Hippie culture espoused vegetarianism and some actually knew how and why to still get a healthy diet with no meat.
And I don't mean buying the pills to do it!

BUT----- the poorer Mexicans knew this long long before! A meatless taco, with beans, cheese and corn tortillas gave as complete a protein as a steak did.

More later, for those that are waiting for my Timeless Prose. (ZZzzzzzzz)

They also knew to use nixtamalized corn, which has more available nutrients.

 

[cave76]

Of course I forgot to add rice to my meal with tacos.

 

[Mad Cook]

I'm sorry if I gave that impression. There are 180'775 books in Amazon's cookery section, and I'm not going even to guess the number of websites. I didn't expect or want anybody in the forum even to have a look at them. But maybe somebody had come across something that would help me - after all, the point of a forum like this is the exchange of experiences and knowledge. (And everybody has to start at some time, as I do now.) That can be "oh, book X which I happen to have is just what you need" or "forget books, take a tomato and cook it".

Sorry, I was a bit sharp. Don't let me put you off DC.

Henri x

 

[Barly]

No problem, and not at all.