My Favorite Cookbooks

I make dinner for the family every night and often bake on the weekends. I’m a cook who follows recipes, not an improviser, and there are certain cookbooks I return to again and again. Below are the books that have stood the test of time and some favorite recipes from each.

The Complete Vegetarian Cuisine by Rose Elliott (1988)

Elliott’s was one of the first vegetarian cookbooks I owned. It’s a beautiful volume, with lovely photos. I especially like the introductory section that has pictures of ingredients — a page for legumes, a page for brassicas, a page for mushrooms and truffles, etc. Elliott is British, and some of the recipes will be less familiar to American audiences but turn out to be very helpful when trying to parse what they mean by a madeira cake on The Great British Bake Off.

Favorite recipes: Pasta Bow Salad, Potato and Cheese Layer, Nut Balls in Tomato Sauce

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day by The Moosewood Collective (1994)

Moosewood is a vegetarian cookbook mainstay. This collection is my favorite for its fast recipes (most 30 minutes or less). Each recipe lists the estimated cooking time and suggests accompaniments to make a meal. I’ve had this for so long that a lot of its recipes are connected with memories: The friend who peeled a whole head of garlic for the Tomato Garlic Soup with Tortellini or the number of times my roommate and I made Pasta Fresca, full of fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, the first summer we lived on our own.

Favorite recipes: North African Couscous Paella, Orecchietti with Peas and Onions, Spicy Corn Quesadillas

Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven by Mollie Katzen (1997)

I love this vegetable-forward book by Katzen. The sections include appetizers, soups, pastas, desserts, as well as more than two dozen suggested menus, putting the dishes together for any occasion. The lentil soup is made with dried apricots, which creates a cozy balance of savory and sweet and is just what you need as the weather turns colder.

Favorite recipes: Lentil Soup with a Hint of Fruit, Fantastic Bulgur Dish, Black Beans in Mango Sauce

Bread Illustrated: A Step-by-step Guide to Achieving Bakery-quality Results at Home by America’s Test Kitchen (2016)

I’ve already written a whole post about how much I love this book. My husband has given it to me twice, the second time as a spiral bound volume so the binding wouldn’t fall apart. The super detailed instructions and lots of photographs allowed me to go from someone who makes bread to a baker. Each recipe contains troubleshooting tips to elevate your skills.

Favorite recipes: Japanese Milk Bread, Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Kaiser Rolls

One Pan, Two Plates: Vegetarian Suppers by Carla Snyder and Jody Horton (2016)

Snyder dedicates her cookbook to “all the time-starved souls who like to cook, love to eat, but hate to wash dishes.” Her recipes are delicious but uncomplicated and make for great weeknight meals. Although each recipe lists the cooking time, there is also an index of 30-minute-or-less meals that I always reference when I’m meal planning. This collection is full of flavor and color.

Favorite recipes: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash, Apple, and Walnuts; Couscous with Broccolini, Chickpeas, and Fried Halloumi; Superfood Salad