Book Review

Deborah Madison’s The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Reviewed by Andrea Yoder

Deborah Madison has been one of my favorite chef-authors for many years.  She has written over 10 cookbooks including Vegetable Literacy and her most recent cookbook, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  I have a weakness for her cookbooks, so when I saw a copy of her most recent book on the shelf at the bookstore I couldn’t resist.  Deborah has focused her career on preparing simple, seasonal, vegetable-based cooking.  In her early days she worked at Alice Water’s well-known San Francisco restaurant, Chez Panisse.  She later opened her own restaurant, Greens, which focused on vegetarian cuisine.

   The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone was preceeded by an earlier cookbook Deborah published in 1997 entitled Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  Her original work is considered a classic cookbook in the realm of vegetarian cuisine and has won several awards.  Her new cookbook is “for everyone interested in learning how to cook vegetables creatively, healthfully, and passionately.” The recipes are simple & written with the intent that they will be prepared at home, as opposed to being chef-y restaurant recipes. Since Deborah is cooking in a different region of the United States, there are a few times when you might need to make a minor substitution for an ingredient that we may not have available in a given season in Wisconsin.
   Deborah takes the time throughout the book to include her own personal commentary on most of her recipes.  She offers suggestions for making substitutions or slight alterations to recipes to give the cook more options to choose from.  She also makes suggestions for other recipes in the book that might pair well together so you can easily put together a full meal.  I also appreciate that she takes time in the beginning of the book to include some basic information about how to go about cooking in an approachable way.  She also includes a section on basic cooking fundamentals that enable any cook, no matter how much experience you may have, to become more savvy in the kitchen.
   While the list price for this book is $40, it is a value when you consider the book includes over 1600 recipes featuring many of the vegetables we grow on our farm over the course of the season.  If you’re looking for a good vegetable-centric cookbook to guide you through a CSA season, I’d encourage you to consider Deborah Madison’s The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  Her simple recipes & vegetable storage information will be helpful to those who may be new to CSA and are learning to cook new vegetables.  Her book also may be appealing to cooks with more experience who are looking for simple recipes that highlight the delicious vegetables they’ve grown to love.
   I selected 3 simple recipes from her book to feature this month.  If you have some of these vegetables remaining from the late season 2014 shares, perhaps you can find a use for them with some of Deborah Madison’s ideas.

Roasted Beets, Apples, and Onions with Cider Vinegar

“This is a bold dish, far greater than the sum of its parts. Any leftovers make a great little

salad or item on a composed salad plate. Use any color beet or a mixture.”

Recipe borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Yield: 4 servings

4 medium beets, steamed, peeled and cut into ½ –inch dice

2 cups diced apples, skin on

½ onion, diced

¾ tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 Tbsp brown sugar, optional

1 ½ Tbsp butter or sunflower seed oil

Freshly milled pepper

Apple cider vinegar or horseradish, for serving

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter or oil a 4-cup casserole or

gratin dish.

2. Toss the beets with the apples and onions, season with the salt,

vinegar, and nutmeg. If you favor extra sweetness, add the sugar as

well.

3. Slide the vegetables into the baking dish and dot with the butter or

drizzle with oil. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

4. Serve warm or even chilled. Season with pepper and have extra

vinegar or horseradish on the table, if you like their extra bite

Roasted Onions with Vinegar & Rosemary

“Serve these easily prepared onions as a side dish, or add them, chopped, to arugula or

spinach salad or spoon them over bruschetta with slivered Manchego cheese.”

Recipe borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

4 to 5 onions, sliced into ½-inch rounds

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic or aged sherry vinegar

1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary

Sea salt and freshly milled pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Toss the onions with the oil, vinegar, and rosemary. Season with salt and

pepper. Put them in a baking dish with a few tablespoons water.

3. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until the

onions are browned around the edges and tender, about 30 minutes more.

Give them a stir every 10 minutes or so toward the end.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Candied Ginger

“Chunks of candied ginger make these particularly good. If you don’t have ginger readily

at hand, replace it with chopped dates, raisins or fresh pineapple. Serve these with Brie or

other mild cheese, butter, or cream cheese.”

Recipe borrowed from Deborah Madison’s cookbook,The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Yield: 10 to 12 muffins

⅓ cup chopped candied ginger

¼ cup butter, melted

⅓ cup unsulfured molasses

1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato

or winter squash

2 eggs, at room temperature

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Oil muffin tins.

2. Mix the ginger and wet ingredients in a bowl until smooth; mix the dry

ingredients in a second bowl. Combine the two, mixing gently until well

blended.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake on the middle rack until

lightly browned, 25 minutes

Winter Division Championship Round!

We are officially crowning the Sweet Potatoes the Fall Vegetable champion, and let me tell you that Jack is eager for their next battle.  We had to hold him back, as we need to crown a Winter division champion first. As we draw to an end next week, we have decided that we will allow the vegetables to rest and recuperate over the weekend.  After today's battle, we will start up the Final Four match ups on Monday with Ramps vs. Mini Sweet Peppers. Then on Tuesday the Sweet Potatoes are going to try to mash up the winner of today's match. Here are the current standings.

As you may remember, the Rutabaga shredded the Celeriac in the first winter round. After that dicing, we are eager to see who will win in this match-up. These root beauties are considered a solid vegetable that stores well for a long period of time.  To help with their sweetness, we leave them in the field until after the first light frost to make them even better than the waxy ones you'll find in the store.  If you would rather have a Shepard's pie with a mashed Rutabaga topping, 'LIKE' our Facebook post today to root for the Ruties team.

In the first Winter match-up, The Red Beets sliced up the Beauty Heart Radishes to take the win.  But can they do it again against the Rutabaga's or will the beets get beat? We have the beets, we have the beets, we have the beets, yaahhh, we have them! The beets have come to this match-up with a quick win in mind. They are so versatile and colorful, it seems an unfair advantage in the looks department.  But they are not just a pretty vegetable, they also have a wide variety of uses from salads to desserts and everything in between. To show your love for these red beauties, 'SHARE' our photo on Facebook today!

So, who will come out as the hottest vegetable in today's dish?  Only you can decide.

Final Match-Up for the Winter Vegetables

     It was an eventful weekend in terms of our vegetable bracket so before we jump into today’s big game, let’s recap the weekend events and look at our bracket below! In the battle between sweet potatoes and the honeynut butternut squash, sweet potatoes pulled ahead with the win. Broccoli romanesco and Brussels sprouts battled it out on Saturday but the broccoli romanesco pulled ahead with the ‘LIKES’. The weekend finished off with rutabagas nearly sweeping the board against the celeriac.

     Today we have our final match-up before the 8 elite vegetables start competing for the title of champion in our vegetable bracket. It’s another game of colors today with the Beauty Heart Radishes trying to out shine the Red Beets.  As all honorable matches start, let’s meet the competitors!

     The beauty heart radishes bring a crisp, colorful, sweet and mild kick to the table. Versatile, like many of the vegetable competitors, these vibrant radishes are great for both stir-frys and as on-the-go snacks with a veggie dip.  They also make a great topping for pizzas and salads! Beauty and Heart are exactly what these radishes are bringing to this match-up.

     Fighting the Beauty Heart Radishes we have the infamous Red Beets. These beets keep a few tricks up their sleeves – I mean leaves! Not only do they work great on salads and in soups, they also work wonders for fermenting and, shocking to some, are a hidden gem for many desserts! Chocolate beet cake anyone? It’s not easy to beat the beets, but today’s match-up will show us just how true that really is!

    So vegetable lovers, who is going to be our final competitor joining the elite 8 vegetables – the kicking beauty heart radishes or the unbeatable red beets? Head back to our Facebook page and place your vote!