Vegetarian

[zephyr]

Daughter became a vegetarian a few months ago and from the new year will stop eating fish as well. Any good simple vegetarian cookbooks out there?

[Ms_Lilith]

The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook

[KidKruger]

www.manjulaskitchen.com

Indian vegetarian food, no book req'd.

[PeckhamRose]

I got a really good one from a certain supermarket on Dog Kennel Hill.

(wellllll they don't pay me to advertise them!)

[aquarius moon]

Rather than use a specific vegetarian cookbook, you can cook all your usual recipes, eg. pies, curries, chilli, cottage pie, stew, lasagne, bolognese, casseroles etc. using a meat alternative instead. It has a similar texture to real meat when mixed with all the different sauces.

Quorn mince & pieces are popular. You can buy them either chilled or frozen in the vegetarian section of Sainsburys.

Holland & Barrett do a good selection of veggie stuff, including fishless fish fingers!, but they are quite expensive.

Good luck to your daughter. I'm always pleased to hear that a former meat eater, has become a fellow veggie!

[louisiana]

Anything by Rose Elliot tends to be good. e.g. Vegan Feasts.

If your daughter is amenable, I think pulses make a good part-basis for a lot of veg/vegan cooking. There's a surprising variety there, and SMBS (on Lordship Lane) is definitely your friend on this score. Lentils, borlotti beans, chick peas etc. have plenty of protein and many other nutrients, they fill you up etc. Great for fibre too. And they are great in winter! And in salads. I love 'em! :) There are lots of Spanish recipes with chick peas, lentils etc. That's what many - non-coastal - Spanish people ate, before Spain joined the EU :-S Really, you could turn out an entirely different pulse-based meal every day for a month: Indian-tinged, Med-tinged, whatever.

If you go down the pulses route, do check out the wonder that it the pressure cooker, if you're not already familiar with it. It makes light work of anything pulse-like, including chick peas. I can recommend the WMF range of pressure cookers (German): good ratings on Amazon; I have one of my own as a consequence, which has proved ultra-reliable. Also excellent for spare parts, unlike models from other manufacturers (where I have experienced some failures e.g. Tefal). I know this is just my own experience, but I've been doing pressure cooking (of pulses) for 30+ years.

(Speaking as an ex-vegetarian), I think flavour is important, and that means taking care of herbs and spices and other major contributors to flavour such as celery (an incredibly useful flavour veg in stews, soups, bakes etc) or star anise or soy or mustard or cardamom or cumin or dried peppers or fennel or paprika.... I'm not a big fan of 'fake' as in trying to re-create meat-type experiences with soya etc. I would say stick with good food with good flavours, and avoid the 'potato-trying-to-be-cheese' thing.

For inspiration, Terra a Terre in Brighton. They do the most fabulous food, and it is all vegetarian, and a lot of it vegan. For me, one of the best restaurants in the UK.

Finally, a little recipe: Catalan spinach.

Spinach (plenty), pine nuts, raisins, olive oil, garlic.

Toss pine nuts and raisins and chopped garlic in olive oil, in a large pan, until browning. Add plenty of spinach. Voila. Totally tasty as well as incredibly nutritious.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Tell daughter to cook/prepare her own food. My daughter's vegetarian phase lasted less than a fortnight under those conditions.

[louisiana]

aquarius moon Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Rather than use a specific vegetarian cookbook,

> you can cook all your usual recipes, eg. pies,

> curries, chilli, cottage pie, stew, lasagne,

> bolognese, casseroles etc. using a meat

> alternative instead. It has a similar texture to

> real meat when mixed with all the different

> sauces.

> Quorn mince & pieces are popular. You can buy them

> either chilled or frozen in the vegetarian section

> of Sainsburys.

> Holland & Barrett do a good selection of veggie

> stuff, including fishless fish fingers!, but they

> are quite expensive.

> Good luck to your daughter. I'm always pleased to

> hear that a former meat eater, has become a fellow

> veggie!

Hmm, why try to re-create meat? Or fish?

Isn't vegan food good enough?

I think it is.

You really don't need to make fake food (a la fake fish, fake cheese, fake meat). Like the agri-industrial business would like you to.

You just really need to get back in touch with flavours and where they come from. And that doesn't necessarily mean meat or fish or vegan-style substitutions thereof.

I'm dead against promoting supply chains that push yet more unsustainable land use in developing countries, McDonald's style. Palm oil, soya etc. Some of the agricultural issues created are massive. It's not about meat/non-meat: it's about industry.

Vegetarian-vegan does not mean 'created without issues'.

Anyone who is veggie/vegan should be aware of those issues. As should we all.

[felt-tip]

The greens cookbook is very good

[louisiana]

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Tell daughter to cook/prepare her own food. My

> daughter's vegetarian phase lasted less than a

> fortnight under those conditions.

Too right, PGC!

But I confess, all my veggie-leanings happened after I left home and had to fend for myself, aged 17. I wouldn't have expected a parent to have taken a blind bit of notice of my dietary views. (My parents were more of the force-feeding variety: eat this or you're not moving from your seat in 48 hrs.)

[Tarot]

There are certain illness,es you can get from a vegan type diet,lack of protein, etc, so its not for everyone

especially if the person has,t reached adulthood yet.

[wee quinnie]

As mentioned above - Rose Elliot is a good easy standby. Before buying, I'd check the library or veggie resources online.

[zephyr]

Thanks for the suggestions. Bookwise, have gone for the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. The other suggestions are helpful

[Thomas Micklewright]

If you need any other information on veggie or vegan food check out the Dulwich Vegan and Vegetarian Society:

We meet on a monthly basis at Blue Brick Caf?, 14 Fellbrigg Road, London, SE22 9HH, with the next one being Thursday 20 January 2010 at 6.30pm.

Thomas Micklewright

Web: http://www.dvvs.vegangroup.co.uk

Facebook: The Dulwich Vegan and Vegetarian Society

[clare]

Good luck Zephyr ! My 2 daughters have not eaten meat or fish since they were 7. Their brother eats meat, fish and veg but no fruit. Their dad has no dairy, hates pulses and can only eat white meat.

I eat everything.

Now the girls are older I am trying to get them to cook at least one family meal a week but unless you are very organised it's a bit of a pain, especially when they're tired after school.

Stock up on dried fruit/nuts instead of biscuits and too much bread. (tho' I know this all costs a lot of money- you have to think about what your savings are on not buying meat as much)

Best family meals for us are roast dinners (with veggie sausages/nut roasts), stir fries (hurrah we can all eat nuts !), soups, and lots of quorn bol etc.

P S A (small) good knock on effect though is the girls no longer eat haribos, marshmallows or anything with gelatine in (SMBS for veggie jellies for Xmas trifle! Thy are great for veggie packed lunch stuff too but it's easy to spend loads of money there. You can often get the same stuff but cheaper in Peckham)

[Tarot]

The Dulwich Vegan and Vegetarian Society,s next meeting, takes place on the 20Th January, atBlue Brick Cafe,

14,Fellbrig Road, East Dulwich,S,E,22 9HH.at 6.30pm.

For anyone interested.

[zephyr]

Thanks Clare

this is our eldest daughter so she has already started sorting out her own meals sometimes. Next step is to sort out everyone elses at the same time. The boys do it occasionally but it is always meat based.

Have tried nut roasts for when everyone else is gorging on meat but I will point her to SMBS with her friends - I haven't been there for years. Used to go there all the time before we moved to Nunhead.