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Rating: 
Summary: Superior Recipes at a Superior Value, but not Classic
Review: This cookbook is a superior value, especially for casual cooks who wish to increase the number of vegetarian meals in their diet. It presents an excellent variety of dishes which avoid the preconceptions of a vegetarian regimen by presenting a wide variety of vegetable, grain, bean, and pasta dishes, avoiding a heavy concentration on the expected vegetable proteins. Herein lies the irony of the book's title. By successfully including a very wide variety of recipes and by having no reservations about using dairy and egg products in the recipes, Ms. Lemlin probably ends up with a volume where 'classic' vegetarian dishes are very much in the minority. I think a major hint that the title was given simply for marketing effect is the fact that Jeanne at no time gives a definition of what she considers a 'classic' vegetarian dish. I certainly don't know what that definition may be. That said, let me repeat that this is a very good cookbook. When I began reading this cookbook in order to review it, I set out with the deliberate intention of finding things which would justify fewer than five (5) stars, since I seem to be giving a lot of five star reviews lately. I am happy to say I did not find any egregious errors aside from the inappropriateness of the title. I will not hold that against the book. I will only warn you again, dear reader, that the title may be misleading. The only issue of substance I have with the book is it's treatment of rice dishes. There is not a single risotto recipe in the whole book. And, what, I ask you, may be a more classic meatless dish than mushroom risotto made with a vegetable stock. Otherwise, the treatment of rice is also a bit skimpy. The author relies on the conventional wisdom of two parts water to one part rice for cooking white rice. Even a cursory glance at the back of the Uncle Ben's box shows this is not strictly true. Many sources concur that a less than two to one ratio is always better, and the relative amount of water should decrease as the amount of rice increases. Fortunately, there are numerous books specializing in rice cookery which I recommend you consult. An especially good discussion of plain rice cookery can be found in John Thorne's book 'A Pot on the Fire'. Another minor rice gaff is when Ms. Lemlin says arborio rice is very short grained. I believe it is actually a medium length rice. Still very good for risotto of course. As this book has some 300 recipes and can be bought for less than $12 dollars, I consider this a great bargain, considering the quality of the recipes. For the hard cover at $30, I would give it only 4 stars. For the paperback, I give it the full five!
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