The Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine
But the great books are about more than mere recipes. Just as a great pop song forces you to get up and dance or play air guitar, a great cookbook is one that forces you into the kitchen.
That or a craving for something, whether or not you’ve made it lately or ever.
I share the author’s love of cooking, food, and the tools that enable them, though I’m well shy of 200 cookbooks.
I use the Joy of Cooking as a reference book, more than a recipe guide, just as I use every recipe as an outline, rather than the rigid series of steps some would decree. Trouble is, it like so many encyclopedic resources, has a lot of pages on meat which as a vegetarian is just so much baggage. I cooked meat for years, liked cooking and eating it, then stopped, and don’t miss it. (I realized most of what I ate it for was the spices it came with: barbecue, sausages, chilis, etc.)
I dip into others as well — the Moosewood books, all vegetarian, are quite good — but sometimes the mainstream references are essential. I have come to regard meatless cooking as I do filmmaking during the reign of the Hays Office’s Production Code of 1930: you can make your statement, but it might take some imagination, and there are many films of that period that defined the art for many years. Just as the filmmakers of the 30s were unable to show full-frontal nudity, I’m unlikely to dish up a rare filet mignon, but my chilis, tacos, and pasties pass muster just fine.
Another thing I share with the author is a love of Asian and Italian foods,for the practical reason they are often or can be made meatless, and as a matter of taste. And that is actually where I see a big hole in my collection, so perhaps I’ll hit the Friends of Library sale myself.