As a home cook, I had many teachers. My mother, grandmother, and father all helped me out in the kitchen growing up. But when I wasn’t living with them and using their guidance, I relied on cookbooks to slowly improve my cooking. Although I’m finally at the point where I can make up my own recipes, I still love to use cookbooks on days when I don’t feel like thinking anything up.
These are my favorite cookbooks from my collection. As a vegetarian, most are for that particular diet, but I included some that I use that were made for omnivores. No matter what your diet, these are all fantastic to have in your kitchen:
- The Classic Italian Cook Book by Marcella Hazan: The true classic in Italian cook books for Americans. This particular book was my grandmother’s and it’s fantastic resource for Italian cooking, with everything from homemade pasta to basic sauces. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, it’s far from it, but many of it’s recipes are easily adaptable.
- The Vegetarian Flavor Bible by Karen Page: This isn’t exactly a cookbook, there are no recipes. But I could not be a food blogger without this book. It’s basically a giant list of every ingredient along with all the flavors that go well with it. It’s a treasure trove of information for the home cook.
- Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen by Kathy Patalsky: This is such an awesome book to have around because it has such a wide variety of recipes. Any season or any mood and there’s a recipe.
- The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone: I love the intro to this book, it’s beautifully written and it feels like she’s talking right to you. The recipes have ingredients that I never thought use, but they are all delicious and super nourishing.
- The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook by Martha Stewart: Another classic for any kitchen. It’s packed with recipes, basics, and tips and I use it as reference a lot. Another non-vegetarian book, but a ton of adaptable recipes.
- Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook by Kim Barnouin: The author’s really funny and the recipes are amazing. A fantastic addition to the vegan cookbook library.
- Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero: I love Isa’s blog, the Post Punk Kitchen, so I had to get her cookbook. It doesn’t disappoint and the recipes are unique and delicious.
- Let Them Eat Vegan by Dreena Burton: I have her other cookbooks, but this one’s my favorite. It has a ton of recipes and all have been awesome.
- The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Lidden: The Oh She Glows blog is amazing and I’ve been using her recipes for years. She also takes beautiful photographs of her recipes.
You can easily find all of these on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble, I’ve even seen a few at my local health food store.
