Vegetarian Planet: 350 Big-Flavor Recipes for Out-Of-This-World Food Every Day (Non) [Hardcover]

Didi Emmons (Author)

Book Description

Series: Non | Publication Date: May 23, 1997

Never before has so much of Earth's bounty been so abundantly available in local stores and supermarkets. In Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons takes vibrant flavors from around the world and, using techniques known to any home cook and easy-to-find ingredients, creates 350 dishes at once bold and flavorful, soothing and homey. Not a book of recipes from this country or that, it is instead a celebration of the new, globally inspired American pantry. Vegetarians have adventuresome palates. At last, here is a book that lets them incorporate their favorite global flavors into simple everyday meals. For the many nonvegetarians who occasionally eat meatless meals but may be used to thinking of vegetarian dining as a parade of side dishes, Vegetarian Planet offers ten big chapters of substantial and hearty main dishes.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Emmons's trendy Boston restaurant, the Delux Cafe, is not vegetarian, but she herself eats meat only occasionally, and her cookbook presents 350 recipes for the vegetarian food she likes best. She's a personable writer and a knowledgeable, accomplished cook. Although she shies away from "fusion cuisine," she likes to put her own spin on dishes from many different cuisines: Green Grape and Tomatillo Gazpacho, Caesar Revamped, Gruyere Potato Rosti. Emmons's friendly style and tasty recipes should make this popular with vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike. Recommended. Claessens isn't anti-tofu, but she knows that the idea of tofu burgers and cheesecake turns off many would-be vegetarians, so she concentrates on easily prepared recipes using familiar ingredients: Garlic-Lover's Vegetable Soup, Pasta with Vegetable Cheese Sauce. The recipes are okay but not always particularly exciting, and they will probably have more appeal to those who are already vegetarian rather than to potential "converts." Diana Shaw's Almost Vegetarian (LJ 9/15/94) is better suited to those thinking about embracing a vegetarian diet, and Sarah Fritschner's Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook (LJ 6/15/96) is more helpful for those looking for quick vegetarian meals that will appeal to the whole family.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

With virtually every eater eager to reduce the amount of cholesterol and other saturated fats in everyday diets, vegetarian cooking is gaining new adherents. Emmons' vegetarian cookbook distinguishes itself from other similar current offerings by presenting recipes for complex creations that make vegetarianism more attractive than cooking found in customary tofu-and-tamari tomes. Emmons delights in variations on lasagna, and she has plenty of Mexican-inspired items to attract pepper lovers. Thoughtful attention to spices and herbs will help win converts to vegetarianism from meat-centered diners. An entire chapter on "burgers" aims to woo the younger set, but long ingredient lists and time-consuming techniques make these burgers more complicated for the time-pressed cook than their fast-food cousins. Experienced home chefs looking for alternatives to meat-based cuisine will find plenty here to delight vegetarian family members and dinner guests. Mark Knoblauch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (May 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558321144
• ISBN-13: 978-1558321144
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best veg book in my collection of over 500 books, September 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vegetarian Planet: 350 Big-Flavor Recipes for Out-Of-This-World Food Every Day (Non) (Paperback)

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!!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite Cookbooks!, December 16, 1999

By 

Linda Decker - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vegetarian Planet: 350 Big-Flavor Recipes for Out-Of-This-World Food Every Day (Non) (Hardcover)

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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out-of-this-world recipes for everyone--not just vegetarians, May 25, 2002

By 

Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vegetarian Planet: 350 Big-Flavor Recipes for Out-Of-This-World Food Every Day (Non) (Paperback)

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!).