Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville
This is my favorite vegetarian cookbook. It has hundreds of recipes and many are very delicious. There are some unusual recipes that call for different ingredients (leeks, sprouts etc.) However, these many not be that unusual to you. I come from a "meat and taters" family so they are not common foods in my house.
"The opening of Greens
Restaurant on San Francisco Bay in 1979 changed forever the image of
vegetarian cooking in America. From the restaurant's imaginative mix of
casual elegance, exciting tastes, and a subtle message of health and
harmony, a distinctive cuisine was born that has continued to bring joy
to many thousands of diners every year as well as to the hundreds of
thousands of readers who delight in The Greens Cookbook. In its
latest incarnation, the restaurant has evolved toward a lighter,
leaner, simpler cuisine, one that keeps all the spirit and refinement of
the original menu but depends more on the excitement of sparkling fresh
produce and its integral relationship to the dishes it inspires.
In
close to 300 original recipes, the new Greens style includes exuberant
salads, soups, the legendary crusty Greens pizzas, curries and hearty
stews, grilled vegetables, and intriguing turnovers made with filo
pastry, tortillas, and savory doughs. And of course there are heavenly
breads and the famous desserts, like ginger pound cake with poached
apricots and cherries. This cornucopia of brilliant dishes focuses on
tantalizing tastes, with a new simplicity, clarity, and liveliness as
its hallmark.
Annie Somerville, the executive chef at Greens,
goes right to the heart of the matter: extraordinary produce that's
bursting with flavor, color, and texture. Some of her favorites--like
crinkly Bloomsdale spinach, candy-striped Chioggia beets, succulent
Rosefir potatoes--are highlighted in the text for gardeners and farmers'
market aficionados. But the Greens style is above all accessible;
ordinary red beets will be just fine if more exotic varieties are
unavailable. To help with availability, there's information on locating
farmers' markets throughout the country as well as sources for plants,
seeds, and local resources.
Because the garden is at the center
of this book, readers are encouraged to try their hand, in tiny
backyards and windowsill boxes if necessary. Invaluable growing tips
are offered from Green Gulch Farm, the source of much of the stunning
produce served at the restaurant. Other special features include a
section on low-fat cooking and another on pairing wine with vegetarian
food.
All of the abundance and exuberance that the title Fields of Greens
implies is here, for the novice as well as the expert, for simple
last-minute meals as well as extravagant occasions. For truly inspired
contemporary vegetarian cooking, Fields of Greens is the essential sourcebook.
Annie
Somerville trained under Deborah Madison, the founding chef at Greens
Restaurant. Under Somerville's guidance as executive chef, Greens has
become a culinary landmark. Her work has been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, Ladies' Home Journal, SF, and California magazine. She also contributed to The Open Hand Cookbook and Women Chefs cookbook." Description by Goodreads.
If you are vegetarian, or have "vegis" in the friend or family circles of your life this could be a very useful book to have.
Good Day and Good Reading
