Fresh & Fast Vegetarian_ Recipes That Make a Meal - Marie Simmons [2]
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simmons, Marie.
Fresh & fast vegetarian : recipes that make a meal / Marie Simmons ;
photographs by Luca Trovato.
p. cm.
Summary: "Approximately 150 simple vegetarian dinners"—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-547-36891-7 (pbk.)
1. Vegetarian cooking. 2. Cookbooks. I. Title. II. Title: Fresh and fast vegetarian.
TX837.S4868 2011
641.5'636—dc22 2010049779
Book design by Melissa Lotfy
Food styling by Rori Trovato / Prop styling by Dani Fisher
Printed in the United States of America
DOC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my friends at La Cocina Que Canta
and Rancho Tres Estrellas
Acknowledgments
One writes a cookbook recipe by recipe, cooking for days and days, pausing between bites to shop the markets and restock, compare notes with fellow cooks and feed friends and neighbors. Finally, the pages multiply, the deadline is near and the book is done. It's hard work, but because I am blessed with a sweet husband who encourages me each and every day and a coterie of generous, caring friends, colleagues and neighbors who share my passion and curiosity for food and are always happy to be volunteer tasters, the process is a pleasure.
The seed for this book was planted at La Cocina Que Canta, the cooking school at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, where I often teach. I am deeply grateful to Antonia Allegra for inviting me to be guest instructor, and to the fabulous staff—some of the most charming human beings on the face of the earth—who make their beautiful kitchen sing and ensure that each of my visits is inspiring and memorable.
Food and eating are so central to my circle of humanity that it is difficult to list everyone who has helped to bring this book to fruition. Those who grace my life on a regular basis are Debbie and Peter Rugh, Kathleen de Wilbur and Perry Dexter, Kathleen O'Neill, Brooke Jackson, Richard Clark, Paula and Edward Hamilton, Wendy Beers, Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, Linda Romanelli Leahy and Rob Leahy, Marvin and Maral Angus, Tracy West and Kathryn Johnson; my yoga teacher Vicki Bell; my long-time New York food editor friends Babs Chernetz, Susan Westmoreland, Michele Scicolone and Tamara Holt; my close neighbors on Rosalind Avenue, Emory and Josephine Menefee, Chere Douglas, Roger, Jools and Ryan Hand and Ruth and Mike Peretz, who are always happy to taste and offer their comments; and my book club pals Sue Ewing, Patricia Flynn, Susan Heller, Alice Johnson and Elizabeth Tilson, who all love to cook and eat as much as they love books.
This book wouldn't exist without my amazing agent, Carole Bidnick, or Rux Martin, a fabulous editor, who said, "Let's do it," without hesitation when she heard I wanted to write a vegetarian cookbook. Thank you also to Luca and Rori Trovato and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's designer Melissa Lotfy for the beautiful photographs and the fresh, clean look. I'm also grateful to Houghton's managing editor for cookbooks, Rebecca Springer, and Jacinta Monniere for her painstakingly accurate typing.
Finally, a loving nod to my precious family: John, Stephanie, Seraphina, Shawn and Joseph—you are the reason I continue to cook.
Introduction
My transition from omnivore to mostly vegetarian was gradual enough to register as a nonevent. I only wish I had a dramatic revelation to share. Although I care deeply about the health of the planet, the treatment of the animals we eat and how our food is grown, there was nothing sudden or militant about my choosing vegetarian meals. The simple fact is I eat plant-based foods because they taste good and they make me feel better.
I come to the vegetarian table as a person who loves food, loves to cook and loves big, bold imaginative flavors. As my repertoire of ingredients and techniques and my knowledge of cooking grow, I find myself cooking meat less and less often. My mantra is fast, great-tasting recipes that use the freshest ingredients