8 Vegetarian-Friendly Cookbooks to Inspire Your Spring Garden
In a few short weeks, the tomatoes, squash and lettuce you planted earlier this year will start to pop out of your carefully tended garden. Congrats on the fruits (err… veggies) of your labor you bonafide urban gardener, you. What better way to proudly show off your bounty than with making fresh root veggies recipes and hosting a spring soiree for your nearest and dearest? To get your inspiration juices flowing, we’ve rounded up eight of the most mouth-watering, beautifully photographed vegetarian cookbooks we could find. Now all we need is our invite!
1. The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon ($25): You’ll enjoy Liddon’s engaging, witty writing as much as her colorful, flavorful recipes. Her vegan recipes are full of bright, complex flavors, so even your most carnivorous dinner guest won’t miss the meat.
2. Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life by Louisa Shafia ($23): Shafia’s hearty, fresh fava bean and seared zucchini with garlicky croutons recipe is a perfect way to put that gorgeous zucchini you’ve grown to good use. It’s a serious salad meant to be a star that you can prep ahead of time, so you won’t be stuck in the kitchen all evening.
3. Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchenby Heidi Swanson ($23): Use up those baskets of cherry tomatoes with Sawnson’s simple roasted cherry tomato recipe. Pour over angel hair pasta with freshly torn basil and grated parm in a white bowl, and serve family style for a rustic and striking meal.
4. Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi ($35): Ottolenghi is a rock star in the vegetarian world (hey, it’s a thing!) so having Plenty in your garden cooking collection is totally essential. Plenty features large, gorgeous photos of Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern-influenced recipes like Shakshuka and lentils with broiled eggplant. While some of his recipes call for some exotic ingredients you’ll have to hunt for, others, like the tomato party, are pared down and totally doable at a moment’s notice.
5. Bowl: Vegetarian Recipes for Ramen, Pho, Bibimbap, Dumplings and Other One-Dish Meals by Lukas Volger ($25): When it comes to dinner party prep, there’s nothing better than a one-dish meal. Not only does it mean less clean-up on your part and gives you a chance to use lots of different veggies, but bowls are comforting, filling and universally adored. Whether you’re in an Asian-inspired mood or are craving your own Chipotle burrito bowl, Volger has you covered.
6. The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Tableby Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence ($25): If you think Southern cooking is all about pork barbecue and sausage gravy, think again. Burks and Lawrence do a beautiful job of dispelling the meat myths with their veg-friendly comfort food. The roasted beets with sea salt granola and honey tarragon dressing is particularly lovely for a dinner party with vibrant colors, balanced flavors and fresh ingredients.
7. The Forest Feast: Simple Vegetarian Recipes from My Cabin in the Woods by Erin Gleeson ($35): Gleeson is as talented an artist as she is a cook; her gorgeous watercolor illustrations are reason enough to buy this cookbook! After moving from NYC to a literal cabin in the California woods, Gleeson got inspired by the edible nature surrounding her and began cooking with the hyper-local ingredients. Many of her recipes are four ingredients or less, making her cookbook more of a bible for dinner party situations!
8.The Plantiful Table: Easy, From-the-Earth Recipes for the Whole Familyby Andrea Duclos ($25): Duclos has been documenting her gardening adventures in her sunny Florida backyard on her blog, Oh Dear Drea for years. Now, the vegan mom has an entire cookbook dedicated to her budget-friendly, satisfying vegan meals. Her “Things on Toast” section is particularly genius; serve her pea pesto with mushroom and crispy sage toast as an app for your party (and have it for lunch the next day too!).
What have you planted in your garden this year? When the first veggie pops up, be sure to tag us in your Instagram pic @BritandCo so we can see!
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