The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook

So I've already admitted that I'm in need of some inspiration in the kitchen. Well another fact is that I love my meat. Steaks, chicken and more... I'm quite a fan. When it comes to fruits and veggies, it's not that I don't like them. After all, I adore zucchini, squash, portebellas, tomatoes, strawberries, etc etc, but when it comes to accessorizing my meat meal with them my average idea is a bag of frozen steam veggies. And trust me after a while that gets dull. Then, with all that in my mind I see a cookbook called “The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook”, what could be better?!

I am in desperate need for suggestions and creative ideas to incorporate more vegetables and the idea of “vegetarian dishes carnivores will devour” is absolutely divine.

Divided by seasons, there are 52 menus to choose from with both calm and exotic ideas. This is so much more than rabbit food! (With a recipe per week, this would make for a great Julia and Julie type personal challenge). Reading the intro about how the author came across an ideal for meatless meals through health concerns is not a new idea, but it is a refreshing one to take seriously. Learning about a 1918 cookbook with an effort to conserve food resources, including meat as well as the public health campaign from 2001 to have “meatless Mondays” is new to me and fascinating.

Loving it. For my Sister B there are the GL = Gluten-Free and for my SisterL there are KIDDO = Kid friendly meals (which with 6+ kids might be handy...). There are also V = Vegan for those “crazy” people and more. I love the seasonal outlook to this cookbook. It seems so often with other books and recipes I will find that they say to use it at the best time of year for __ when it's in season. Yet, not having a bachelor of science in farming (or agriculture) I can never keep it straight on what vegetable is in season and when. This helps!

The Pantry Lexicon is awesome and worthy of purchase on it's own. I'm just glad it is included here. Oh and for those that need a little more enticement there is a multiple page spread of colored cuisine photos mid-book.

Thanks to Lara Simpson of Perseus Books for providing a copy for review.