Many of us who aren’t vegetarians might never have the urge to pick up a vegetarian cookbook, much less make recipes from it.
But in the case of The Southern Vegetarian: 100 Down Home Recipes for the Modern Table by Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence (Thomas Nelson, $24.99), we’d really be missing out. Those of us who live in the South know just how much food plays a part in our lives. We celebrate, stress out and mourn with it. And sometimes, the more rich and decadent it is, the better.
The husband and wife team are the creators of the blog The Chubby Vegetarian. The couple, after adjusting their way of eating and embracing an active lifestyle lost a combined100 pounds, say they don’t want to take our bacon away. They just want us to eat our vegetables.
The book begins with a rundown of essential kitchen tools like a food processor, a variety of measuring devices, pans, baking sheets and storage containers. They also offer a chapter on stocking your vegetarian pantry. It mentions a variety of fats, flours and starches, rice, pasta, sauces, sweeteners, nuts and beans. The recipes are divided into seven categories: Breakfast and Brunch; Soups and Sandwiches; Main Courses; Desserts; Appetizers; Salads; and Basic Recipes for sauces, dough and broth.
Their aim is to make vegetarian food not seem like vegetarian food. They say it is good food that just happens to be meatless. What they did was take Southern recipes that contain meat (or bacon grease or loads of butter) and tweak them. We tried the Fried Green Tomato Po’ Boy and Zucchini Fries. Both recipes were easy to follow and delicious. Other twists on classics include Artichoke Hearts and Succotash Over Smoked Cheddar Grits (as an alternative to shrimp and grits). And instead of traditional chicken-fried steak you’ll find a recipe for Chicken-Fried Portobello With Mushroom and Shallot Gravy.
We’d say they achieved that goal.
Food, Pages 31 on 09/25/2013