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With a passion for nature-made foods, and
gardening, I’ve always been the one to bring ‘those interesting vegetarian
dishes’ to potlucks, family gatherings and parties. There is a strong misconception within both
the meat-eating and vegetarian community, that vegetarian eating is boring and
limited. Or, on the flip-side, that cooking vegetarian meals is complicated,
and you’re required to obtain all these hard-to-find ingredients that are not
available at most supermarkets. Well,
neither misconception holds true, and that is why I decided to embark on
writing a series of vegetarian cookbooks, that are user friendly for long-time
vegetarians, some-times vegetarians and those who are looking to incorporate
more nutritious dishes into their family’s meal plans.
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The
‘100 – 5 Ingredients or Less, Easy and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes’ cookbook,
marks the first book in my vegetarian cookbook series, and, I chose to go this
particular route, because of the hectic lifestyle that our society leads
today. Whether you’re a busy mom,
working professional, or time-restricted college student, the vegetarian recipes
in this cookbook all require only easy to find ingredients, and easy to follow
directions. The recipes are quick, easy,
and, there are definitely no ‘bark and berries’ dishes in this cookbook. Inside, you’ll find a very diverse selection
of recipes, all categorized by their highlighted ingredient. This makes navigating to your favorite
section and recipe, a breeze.
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Along
with proving that vegetarian cooking is neither boring nor complicated, the
‘100 – 5 Ingredients or Less, Easy and Delicious Recipes’ cookbook, is also
very easy on your budget. You won’t need
to buy any expensive, exotic, or hard-to-find ingredients. And, you also won’t need to purchase any
special cookware or kitchen gadgets. If
you’ve been frustrated before with attempts at preparing vegetarian dishes, it
is my desire that this cookbook changes your opinion of vegetarian cooking from
one of frustration, to that of being fun, easy, and of course, fabulously
delicious!
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These
vegetarian recipes call for a 70/30 mix of fresh ingredients, and packaged
ingredients, making this vegetarian cookbook easy to follow for those who do
not cook often, or, who might not acclimated to using a lot of fresh vegetarian
ingredients. For the more acclimated vegetarian, any of the called-for prepared
ingredients, can be easily substituted with their fresh equivalent. Many of
these recipes include dairy products, so while not vegan, these ingredients can
easily be swapped out with a vegan ingredient substitution
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And,
lastly, most recipes are not written ‘in stone’. So, feel free to play around
with some of the called-for ingredients, varying one or more of the vegetables,
herbs or spices, or, just make them an addition to the recipe. Vegetarian cooking should not only be
healthy, it should also be delicious and fun!
That’s coming from someone who views her kitchen, in the same way an
artist of any kind, would view their art studio or office, as a place, and
space, where wonderful creations, are imagined, and brought to delicious life.
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Bon
Veggie Appetit!
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Gina
‘The Veggie Goddess’ Matthews
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly
grease a baking sheet.
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Ingredients:
3
russet potatoes (cut into ¼ inch strips or wedges)
¼ cup grated
Parmesan or Parmesan-Romano cheese
1
teaspoon dried basil (fresh is even better)
olive
oil to drizzle
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Arrange
sliced potato strips in a single layer onto greased baking sheet, skin sides
down. Drizzle lightly and evenly with
olive oil, and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and basil. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden
brown. Remove from oven, and immediately
season with sea salt to taste, while fries are piping hot, and serve. Yields
2-4 servings.
