From Publishers Weekly
Cook's Illustrated executive editor Bishop largely succeeds in removing the tarnish from vegetarian cooking, sharing simple, seasonal dishes that make the lack of meat seem like an afterthought. Bishop's no-nonsense attitude toward tofu leads into a series of recipes that call for browning the tofu, then coating it with a pan sauce, such as Pan-Glazed Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce. The majority of these dishes can be thrown together at the last minute, such as Wilted Spinach Salad with Japanese Flavors, and Chard Burritos with Tomato-Chipotle Salsa; the few that are more labor-intensive (Orange Risotto Cakes with Pistachio Crust, for example) and are worth the effort. Many of the dishes have Italian or Mexican influences, and Bishop arranges recipes by season. Occasionally it's not clear what connects a dish to its season, (why is Fettuccine with Caramelized Onion Sauce a fall meal?), and there is some repetition: spring's Chickpea Patties with Arugula Salad hardly vary from the Herbed Chickpea Patties with Israeli Salad that appear in summer. There are odd lapses, too, such as a sidebar on blending puréed soups that neglects to mention immersion blenders, and a recipe for Root Vegetable Tarts with Rosemary that calls for a 14-ounce package of puff pastry, then uses only half of the package. Largely, though, the inventiveness of Arugula and Pear Soup and Tender Lettuce and Peach Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Sour Orange Vinaigrette far outweighs those puzzling blips. These are excellent recipes for alluring food. 16 color photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
Jack Bishop's commitment to simplicity and his talent for fine-tuning recipes so they work perfectly in real time make his books favorites among vegetarians and occasional vegetarians alike. As a busy husband, father of two young children, cookbook author, magazine and book editor, and head cook for his family, Bishop demands a lot from the meals that make it into his repertoire. They must be convenient dishes that he can prepare at the end of a day in an hour or less with readily available ingredients. They must satisfy his and his wife's discriminating palates. And last, but emphatically not least, they have to pass muster with his five- and nine-year-old daughters. In A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, Bishop guides you through the seasons with 248 of his favorite everyday recipes, which deliciously embody his philosophy of "shop locally, cook globally, and keep things easy." Cooking with seasonal produce, he says, is the best way to bring a welcome variety to the table. In spring, dinner might be Soft Tacos with Garlicky Greens or Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Asparagus and Eggs, perhaps with a side of Sugar-Snap Peas with Fried Ginger. Summer brings Savory Corn Griddle Cakes or Fresh Tomato Pizza with Avocado. For fall, Root Vegetable Tarts with Rosemary or Orecchiette with Spicy Broccoli is on the menu. And in winter, when farmers' markets are a distant memory in most parts of the country, there are dozens of flavorful choices, including Pan-Glazed Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce, Caribbean Black Beans with Sautéed Plantains, and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Mushrooms. In concise sidebars that accompany each recipe, Bishop shares tips gleaned from his ten years' experience at Cook's Illustrated, covering everything from choosing a good vegetable broth to picking the best potatoes for mashing to mastering the secrets of successful stir-frying.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
IntroductionAs a husband, father of two young children, cookbook author, and magazine editor, I have a hectic and unpredictable schedule. But every evening, shortly after five, I stop answering the phone and e-mails in my home office and head into the kitchen. The kids are upstairs with my wife, Lauren, practicing piano, bathing, or just hanging out in their rooms, so I usually have the kitchen to myself. I begin by cleaning up the mess from the day— emptying the dishwasher, rinsing my daughters" paintbrushes, and taking out the garbage. I turn on the radio, pull out a cutting board, and start chopping and slicing. The pressures and frenetic pace of the day fade away as dinner comes together. By around six, the table is set, the kids are seated, and supper is on the table. Since I cook vegetarian meals almost every day of the year, I ask a lot from the recipes that make it into my repertoire. First, they have to be convenient. Sure, I wish I had hours to prepare dinner, but I don"t: a couple of simple dishes are about all I want to tackle on most nights. Second, every one of my meals has to pack plenty of flavor—my wife, a former pastry chef, has a discriminating palate, as do I. And finally, and perhaps most important, they have to satisfy nine-year-old Rose and five-year-old Eve, who have had their own busy days. In this book, you"ll find the family favorites that I return to again and again. I love vegetarian meals for the variety they bring to the table. Vegetarian cooking is my connection to the seasons and to local farms and the six-month growing season on eastern Long Island, where we live. One day, I celebrate the arrival of the first new potatoes by preparing home fries with fingerlings so fresh they exude juices when cut. The next week it"s the first really good tomatoes of the year and time to make pasta with sautéed tomatoes, pan-roasted garlic, and fresh basil. My family belongs to Quail Hill, an organic community farm about a fifteen-minute drive from our home. From June through November, we pick our own vegetables at this farm, which is set on two hundred rolling acres. The people who run the farm demonstrate their passion for vegetables by planting an amazing array of them: forty-two varieties of tomatoes, eggplants in hues of orange, red, green, lavender, purple, black, and ivory. At the farm, Rose and Eve learn how to dig baby Yukon Gold potatoes from the warm clay soil, play on the tire swing, or talk to the hens that lay eggs for us. It"s also where I become inspired by purple basil, red-skinned carrots, or ordinary-looking cucumbers. By the first weekend in November, Quail Hill shuts down for the season. A few other farmers stick it out until Thanksgiving, selling broccoli, winter squash, and cabbage, but by December the local crops, which were in such abundance just weeks before, are gone. Since I"m a practical cook as well as a seasonal one, I shop exclusively in supermarkets during the winter and spring. But that doesn"t mean I buy rock-hard tomatoes in January or corn on the cob in March. Winter means greens, root vegetables, grains, beans, and other wholesome, hearty foods in my kitchen. Although many of these ingredients are not local, they are in tune with the season. Even in winter, my basic approach to food remains the same. Time is precious, and there are lots of other demands on me during the day, so high-impact, high-flavor items from my pantry are a must. Although simple, the food in my kitchen is never boring or dull. If I had to sum up my food philosophy, it might be "shop local and cook global, but keep it real." In my daily cooking, I draw on the cuisines of Mexico, the Caribbean, India, Thailand, Italy, Spain, France, China, and Japan, adapting dishes to suit the ingredients I have at hand. Yes, there are nights when I stare into the refrigerator and feel as if I just can"t come up with any appealing ideas. And yes, there are nights when we take the kids out for pizza. But most days I relish the job of preparing meals for my family. Cooking is time for me to relax and to focus on something other than work, the unpaid bills in my desk drawer, the overgrown weed patch otherwise known as our back yard, or the pile of laundry upstairs in the hamper. And dinner is about talking with my wife and kids, teaching my kids about food, and appreciating all the good things in our lives. The food doesn"t have to be fancy—and mine surely isn"t. As long as it"s produced honestly and tastes good, food is cause for celebration, every day of the year.Copyright © 2004 by Jack Bishop. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Jack Bishop's Commitment to simplicity and his talent for fine-tuning recipes so they work perfectly in real time make his books favorites among vegetarians and occasional vegetarians alike. As a busy husband, father of two young children, cookbook author, magazine and book editor, and head cook for his family, Bishop demands a lot from the meals that make it into his repertoire. They must be convenient dishes that he can prepare at the end of a day in an hour or less with readily available ingredients. They must satisfy his and his wife's discriminating palates. And last, but emphatically not least, they have to pass muster with his five- and nine-year-old daughters. In A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, Bishop guides you through the seasons with 248 of his favorite everyday recipes, which deliclously embody his philosophy of "shop locally, cook globally, and keep things easy." Cooking with seasonal produce, he says, is the best way to bring a welcome variety to the table. In spring, dinner might be Soft Tacos with Garlicky Greens or Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Asparagus and Eggs, perhaps with a side of Sugar-Snap Peas with Fried Ginger. Summer brings Savory Corn Griddle Cakes or Fresh Tomato Pizza with Avocado. For fall, Root Vegetable Tarts with Rosemary or Orecchiette with Spicy Broccoli is on the menu. And for winter, when farmers' markets are a distant memory in most parts of the country, Bishop gives you dozens of flavorful choices, including Pan-Glazed Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce, Caribbean Black Beans with Sauteed Plantains, and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Mushrooms. In concise sidebars that accompany each recipe, Bishop shares tips gleaned from his ten years' experience at Cook's Illustrated, covering everything from choosing a good vegetable broth to picking the best potatoes for mashing to stir-frying successfully.

FROM THE CRITICS

Dwight Garner - The New York Times

Bishop is the executive editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine and a regular on the America's Test Kitchen show, but his enticing new book has none of the galloping nerdiness of their books. His recipes for dishes like posole verde, chard burritos with tomato-chipotle salsa, tortilla soup and fried green tomatoes with buttermilk coleslaw are models of clarity.

Publishers Weekly

Cook's Illustrated executive editor Bishop largely succeeds in removing the tarnish from vegetarian cooking, sharing simple, seasonal dishes that make the lack of meat seem like an afterthought. Bishop's no-nonsense attitude toward tofu leads into a series of recipes that call for browning the tofu, then coating it with a pan sauce, such as Pan-Glazed Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce. The majority of these dishes can be thrown together at the last minute, such as Wilted Spinach Salad with Japanese Flavors, and Chard Burritos with Tomato-Chipotle Salsa; the few that are more labor-intensive (Orange Risotto Cakes with Pistachio Crust, for example) and are worth the effort. Many of the dishes have Italian or Mexican influences, and Bishop arranges recipes by season. Occasionally it's not clear what connects a dish to its season, (why is Fettuccine with Caramelized Onion Sauce a fall meal?), and there is some repetition: spring's Chickpea Patties with Arugula Salad hardly vary from the Herbed Chickpea Patties with Israeli Salad that appear in summer. There are odd lapses, too, such as a sidebar on blending pureed soups that neglects to mention immersion blenders, and a recipe for Root Vegetable Tarts with Rosemary that calls for a 14-ounce package of puff pastry, then uses only half of the package. Largely, though, the inventiveness of Arugula and Pear Soup and Tender Lettuce and Peach Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Sour Orange Vinaigrette far outweighs those puzzling blips. These are excellent recipes for alluring food. 16 color photos. Agent, Angela Miller. (May 21) Forecast: Bishop (The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook; Vegetables Every Day) has become a recognizable name, and will embark on a five-city tour. His book should have wide appeal. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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