Anna Thomas can take partial credit for my becoming a vegetarian. As a teen growing up in San Jose, I didn’t know a single vegetarian and the option to not eat meat hadn’t really occurred to me but the truth is … meat really grossed me out. I slathered huge amounts of ketchup on what I was required to eat and avoided eating it when I could. I’m pretty sure I’m one of those people that just IS vegetarian. There was never a big decision to become a vegetarian or a struggle to withdraw from eating meat. Dropping meat was like finally coming home. It seems to be a trend for vegan, vegetarians and raw foodists to judge other people’s diets, but for me personally what’s important is that people make their food decisions as consciously as possible. There are no right answers that apply to everyone when it comes to diet. Study ancient nutrition systems like Ayurveda or Chinese Nutrition and it’s noted – every constitution has different needs and appropriate desires. Find out what yours are!
When I came across Anna Thomas’s “Vegetarian Epicure” at a big drug store’s closeout sale as a teenager, I bought it along with earrings, shampoos and other things that caught my eye. I still have that book although the binding’s now broken and, truth to be told, many of the recipes have so much butter, cream and other artery clogging ingredients I wouldn’t dream of making them anymore.
Vegetarianism has come along way since the hippy days – and lots of the original cookbook authors like Anna Thomas and Mollie Katzen have continued to put out wonderful, albeit healthier cookbooks.
Love Soup has 160 soup recipes. I’ve tried two and they’ve both been exceptional. Tonight we had “kale and sweet potato soup with cumin and lemon” and “roasted golden beet soup”. The book’s essentially vegan with almost nary a dairy item to be found.
Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of The Vegetarian Epicure
