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The Peaceful Palate

Vegetarians' Favorite Cookbook by Jennifer Raymond ISBN 1-57067-031-5 160 pages, recycled paper $20.00 FREE media mail shipping for orders over $25 in the United States. For orders under $25, add $6 for U.S. Priority Mail shipping. Canadian residents add $5 per book. All other foreign orders add $10 per book (books will be shipped airmail). Credit cards preferred. Maryland residents add 6% tax to the book sales total. Ordering Information and Order form

From the Introduction

Vegetarian Cuisine has turned several corners since the publication of my first book, The Best of Jenny's Kitchen. It has become at once simpler and more sophisticated. The notion of protein complementarity, the idea that certain foods need to be eaten together to provide complete protein, has been replaced by the knowledge that plenty of high quality protein is obtained simply by eating a variety of wholesome foods throughout the day. In other words, you don't need to struggle with complicated protein-combining charts.

Health experts now recognize that most Americans actually eat too much protein, with several negative consequences including kidney disease and osteoporosis. Our daily protein requirement is quite modest and easily met by the grains, beans, and fresh vegetables included in a vegetarian diet. As a result, vegetarian cooking has become lighter and fresher, less reliant on heavy egg and cheese dishes.

While the protein contributed by animal foods is excessive, the fat is downright lethal. Heart disease, cancer, obesity, and adult-onset diabetes are but a few of the consequences of a high fat diet. The average American consumes nearly half of his or her calories each day from fat, primarily from meat, dairy products, and eggs. In light of recommendations by health experts to significantly reduce dietary fat, the new vegetarian cuisine focuses on plant foods -- grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. These foods are low in fat, and the fat they do contain is mostly of the healthier unsaturated variety.

Even as fat has become a villain in the dietary drama, complex carbohydrate has emerged the hero. Once maligned as fattening, complex carbohydrate (also known as "starch") is the body's perfect energy food, and should constitute the majority of each day's calories. Foods which are high in complex carbohydrate also provide fiber, which helps lower blood cholesterol and maintains a healthy digestive tract. Whole grains, beans and peas, potatoes, fresh vegetables and fruits are all excellent sources of complex carbohydrate, and serve as the mainstay of a healthful diet.

The recipes which follow reflect these nutritional principles. They also reflect the belief that to cause unnecessary suffering and death of any creature is wrong. Animals live and die terribly, so that humans might eat foods which are not only unnecessary, but actually detrimental to health. By improving our own diets and lives, we can spare the cows and calves, the sheep and lambs, the pigs and chickens and turkeys. Our food can become a true celebration of life, for all beings.

I hope you will enjoy these recipes, this celebration of all life.

Jennifer Raymond
Calistoga, California

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Choosing Food for Optimum Health
• Protein
• Calcium
• Protein Myths and Facts
• Putting Fat in Its Place
• Cutting the Fat
• Dairy Products and Eggs
• About Sweeteners
• Cooking with Dried Beans
• Equipping Your Kitchen
• Stocking Your Pantry for Healthful Eating
• What to Eat When You Don't Eat Meat
• Foods Which May Be New To You
• Recipes:
  • Breakfasts
  • Breads
  • Sandwiches
  • Salads & Salad Dressings
  • Sauces, Spreads & Dips
  • Soups and Stews
  • Vegetables
  • Grains and Side Dishes
  • Main Dishes
  • Desserts
• Index

Ordering Information and Order form

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