Almost Vegetarian : A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time, Chicken & FishSome of the Time, & Altogether Well All of the Time

Rating:
Summary: Nothing fishy about being "almost vegetarian!"
Review: This is an excellent cookbook for the millions of people out there who aren't strict vegetarians, but have cut red meat out of their diets. Also, this is great for those who are moving -- slowly or more rapidly -- in the direction of either total vegetarianism, or perhaps "pesco-vegetarian" (veggie except for some fish). Personally, I made my transition to 99% vegetarian (occasionally I will eat salmon) over a period of several years, first cutting out red meat about 12 years ago, then reducing poultry consumption until totally eliminating it from my diet about 4 or 5 years ago, and now am almost completely vegetarian. If you are strictly "vegan," you might not like this book, and the meat recipes could also be annoying to strict vegetarians, but overall, I think this book is a very useful and practical guide for those moving -- for health, environmental, or ethical reasons -- towards a more plant-based diet. And in my opinion, there's nothing "fishy" about that!!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of info, some great recipes
Review: We've had this book for a few years and have found it to be a very useful book, especially for side dishes (since we are not completely vegetarian). It inspired me to try out veggies I had never prepared before. The "fresh vegetable directory" section is a great resource on how to store veggies, how long they keep, peak season, etc. There are also make-ahead recipes, great for entertaining. Some of the hit recipes with our guests are the winter squash gratin and the mediterranean eggplant and peppers. One that sounded great but didn't turn out for us was the roasted red pepper terrine. Overall though, this is a great book.