From veteran food writer, recipe developer, and creator of the James
Beard Award-winning Jarry magazine comes an innovative approach to
vegetarian cooking.
What have I got to eat? It's a question we ask every time we open up
the refrigerator or pantry door. It might be eggs, some cheese, and half
a loaf of bread, or a box of wilting greens, garlic, and some sweet
potatoes. Though these ingredients may not seem like much to make a
delicious meal, recipe developer and author Lukas Volger knows it's all
you need. In Start Simple he offers a radically new, uncomplicated,
and creative approach to cooking that allows you to use what you already
have on hand to make great meals you didn't think were possible.
Magic can happen with just a few ingredients: sweet potatoes, tortillas,
eggs, cabbage, hearty greens, beans, winter squash, mushrooms, tofu,
summer squash, and cauliflower. Volger advises readers to stock up on
these eleven building blocks instead of shopping for a single recipe. A
protein (tofu, beans, eggs) is a foundation. A crunchy garnish (cabbage,
greens) is a finishing touch. Once these structural components of a meal
are established, home chefs can throw in their own variations and
favorite flavors--mixing, matching, and adding ingredients to customize
their dishes.
While Start Simple is a vegetarian cookbook--none of the recipes
include meat--Volger's approach transcends categories. His methods
aren't about subscribing to a specific dietary regimen; they are about
simply recognizing and embracing the way people cook and eat today.
Creating weekly meal plans based on intricate recipes sounds good, but
it can be difficult to execute. Having a well-stocked pantry paired with
a choose-you-own adventure guide to creating simple yet inventive meals
is more practical for your average home cook.
