Vegetarian cooking for everyone

What Hacker News says

1. downutSep 2024
   I have a hardback first ed. of and can strongly recommend "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone". I see there is a second edition. I would be wary. Even Fuschia Dunlop modifies favorites in succeeding editions, and I hate that.

   We're not even slightly vegetarian, except in the Anthony Bourdain way, likely paraphrasing: "If you could cook vegetarian like this, fucking hippies, I'd eat vegetarian every day." Yup.

   The thing about competent vegetarian dishes is that they are a pleasure to eat. But it is hard to get a pure "American" vegetarian cuisine from individual cooks that isn't hmm, dreary. The thing about Madison is her recipes are not dreary. I often consult her soups and stews recipes for instance to understand how she is flavoring these w/o meat (and especially, meat stocks).

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2. neilkFeb 2020
   The cookbooks and recipe formats that we have were never designed for someone in your situation. And if you have a background in a field with standardized parts and repeatable results, the kinds of instructions cookbooks give can be maddening. Totally understandable.

   One book that helped me was Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. You may not want to cook vegetarian, but many vegetarians are young people who are also building their own cooking styles from scratch. So VCfE goes through the basics - like what is cubing and what is dicing - with illustrations. While it has complex recipes, it also includes almost absurdly simple ones, like preparing beans with olive oil and salt. But think of them like "kata"; basic exercises, that you can build up to more complex forms.

   A recent book which I've recently found extremely useful is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. It is a wonderfully readable introduction to the elements of cooking and how they combine, and it is great for complete newbies as well as experienced home cooks. It manages to be both accessible, practical and a little bit technical, perfect for the techie who wants to get better at cooking. It taught me things simple dishes like roasted chicken, which I had prepared like a hundred times before I read it, which have changed how I cook forever.

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3. hyperbovineApr 2017
   It's worth reiterating that there's a whole continuum between eating meat and eating no meat called "eating less meat". Always amazes me how people overlook this when writing off reduced meat consumption as not for them.

   Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison is a great way to start down this path.

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4. niels_olsonDec 2010
   As a doctor who counsels patients on weight loss every day, I think this is the sanest healthy-eating article I've seen from a layman in a long time. This is absolutely great. A small point: willpower starts in the store. It's much easier to choose against cookies once in the store than three times a day at home.

   Let me encourage folks that exercise is still the other very important part of the equation, and, like eating right, has other benefits as well: less back pain, more energy, better concentration, better self image. Exercise will also help preserve muscle mass.

   I also give people a standard reading/homework list:

   -- Michael Pollan's essay Unhappy Meals

   -- Deborah Madsion's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

   -- Howard McGee's On Food and Cooking

   -- Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

   -- Watch "Food, Inc" and "King Corn"

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5. niels_olsonOct 2010
   Doc, here. I don't think the article is sensationalist at all. Here's a quick list of basic steps I recommend

   * standing desk: I love mine. 2x6 legs, 2x4 connecters, $50 at Home Depot, and 4 hours of work -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/niels_olson/5097452401/lightbox...

   * live close enough to work to walk or ride. Ride to the train or ferry if necessary. (I ride 17 miles, take a train, then another 4 miles)

   * Move to Southern California. I'm not kidding.

   * Strength:

   50 low crunches, 5n pushups, m half-down pullups

   50 side crunches, 5(n-1) pushups, m-2 half-down pullups

   50 crunches, 5(n-2) pushups, m-4 half-down pullups

   50 opposite side crunches, 5(n-3) pushups, m-6 half-down pullups

   50 crunches

   Vary n and m to ability

   * Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

   Michael Pollan, Unhappy Meals (Food, Inc; King Corn, and Omnivore's Dilemma condensed into one essay) --http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t....

   Join the Slow Food movement: http://www.slowfood.com/about_us/eng/manifesto.lasso

   Four books I'd like to see in every kitchen:

   * Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (number one among vegetarians, but also the vegetable cookbook everyone should have) -- http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooking-Everyone-Deborah-Ma...

   * Mark Bittman, Fish (If you can't cook fish after this, kill yourself) -- http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Complete-Guide-Buying-Cooking/dp/...

   * Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (unrivaled, in depth, the go-to resource for food hackers) -- http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0...

   * Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (the original food hacker) -- http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Vol/dp/03...

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6. hyperbovineOct 2010
   But, have you factored in the decreased life expectancy associated with biking 17 miles a day on the streets of Southern California? :-) Here in the Bay Area, we have bike lanes, and drivers that actually stop for you.

   Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, AKA the Big Orange Book, is fantastic. The mushroom risotto recipe is to die for.

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