Was that before or after Ever-Green came out? I was pretty disappointed that it wasn’t even a vegetarian book.
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I guess it depends on the degree of vegetarianism you mean - a lot of different people for example who eat dairy products, eggs , seafood or fish call themselves vegetarian and I suspect she was aiming for this broader vegetarian adjacent audience. how far from vegetarian (with recommended modifications) is it? Personally I appreciate being provided with a diversity of sustaining plant and non-meat focussed dishes and she did offer a tofu book.
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What made me disappointed is that on Amazon it is listed as “a plant-based” cookbook. The term “plant-based” signals vegan to me, although I know not to assume that’s the case. This book is not vegetarian or even pescatarian. There is a chapter of “mains without meat” which is vegetarian (not vegan), and there is “veggie-packed mains” which includes chicken, pork, and beef.
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It did not signal that to me, but then I am neither vegan nor vegetarian but inclined to eating more foods that are vegetable based while reducing white carbs as well. From the blurbs it seems she was trying to address a range of orientations to eating that was more plant-centric than plant exclusive. More like this - love the use of the word inclusive here!
I own the book now so will be able to see how it shakes out.
I have that ATK book. I don’t have it with me right now, because I lent it out, but I recall it is basically a vegan book, but they will sometimes say “dairy or vegan cheese” or “butter” with the intent you use a vegan or non-vegan butter. There are no meat recipes in that book.
But the thing is, the term plant-based has a history. It came into use when doctors like John McDougal and Caldwell Esselstyn started promoting what was in fact a vegan diet, but didn’t want to use the term “vegan” to describe it, because they were encouraging people to adopt it for health reasons and not animal rights reasons. And they also didn’t want to call it veganism because they were discussion diet only, and their followers were not giving up non-food animal products, such as leather or fur, as vegans do. Veganism is a lifestyle that goes beyond diet, while “plant-based” describes just the diet. If you talk to anyone that has been associated with veganism for a long time, this is the meaning they will ascribe to “plant-based”. What has been happening in the last few years is that marketers have gotten hold of the term, and are using it in a different way. So now we are seeing “plant-based” burger patties that have beef in them (yes, I have seen these). And “plant-based” cookbooks with meat recipes. But make no mistake, this is a fairly recent corruption of the term, and in the vegan and plant-based communities, it has been used for decades to mean a completely animal-free diet.
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thanks for the clarification with respect to the background of the term. Reading the ATK description with that in mind is a different experience. It definitely seems that the usage of the term has shifted to attract flexitarians and others - so that its not clear what it means in the current book market.
I was surprised Ever-Green wasn’t a completely vegetarian book.
Maybe the publisher or she didn’t think it would sell well enough, who knows.
I’m currently in India, where almost every menu has a tiny mark to signify vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, and looking through the contents here it struck me how easy it would have been to put a symbol next to recipes that contained meat or fish (I’m using the ebook).
Those nits aside, I’m still looking forward to exploring the book this quarter.
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Does anyone have any favorites from the Pati Jinich books?
I haven’t cooked enough of her recipes to have favorites but if you haven’t already, check out her website. Many, many recipes there including ones from her most recent TV series, Frontera.
I made these empanadas today and had a sneak preview - excellent: https://patijinich.com/empanadas/
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Your reporting threads are here:
Andrea Nguyen
Pati Jinich
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An easy way to support the site:
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How are we feeling about a fall COTM? Do we have someone willing to coordinate a nomination thread?
Please head over to nominate books for next quarter
