You know, I?m a little bit of a history fan. And okay, that might be putting it lightly.
So is it really that surprising that my love of plant-based eats and digging around in archives have finally united in a book? I think not!
I?m really excited to formally announce that I?ve published a new eBook titled ?The Vintage Vegetarian?!
This is the first book in what I hope becomes a series focusing on different time periods and cuisines. Focusing on recipes from the 1800s, this book explores everything from tasty sweets to interesting beverages and hearty entrees.
This book includes both the weird and the wonderful. In no way do I guarantee that all of these recipes will turn out fantastic – that?s part of the thrill of historical cooking! Home cooks back in the day rarely wrote down their recipes, and rarely did things the same way twice. We take our chances with these recipes?and sometimes, they yield awesome results that even appeal to a modern palate!
There are ten categories of food for you to explore and learn about:
Breakfasts,?Soups,?Salads!
Vegetable Dishes and?Sauces!
Spreads, Preserves, & Seasonings!
Baked Goods,?Cakes,?Sweets!
Beverages!
For more unusual recipes, I?ve included a little historical information to explain where this dish came from, or what exactly it is – sometimes it?s hard to tell from the name alone. So not only will you learn some great new recipes, but you?ll pick up some food trivia as well!
You might wonder why I?ve broadened my scope to vegetarian recipes for this project instead of focusing on vegan recipes, considering most of my recipes on this blog are vegan. Well, the simple answer to that is that historically, vegan recipes are super rare! There certainly aren?t enough floating around in archives to create a broad range of course offerings for a particular time period.
But hey, some old things become new again – did you know that they were making almond milk in the 1800s? I sure didn?t!
Since historical recipes use way different measurements than we do today, I?ve provided equivalency tables in the front matter, but also included conversions right alongside the actual recipes too. Nothing annoys me more than having to flip back and forth to understand old-timey measurements, so I solved this one for us both. I?ve also included modern substitutes for weird ingredients like pearlash
This eBook is now available on Amazon in all countries! You can click on the book cover or follow this link right here to be taken to the listing.
And to celebrate, I?m delighted to share one of the tasty recipes from this book with you now!
Cauliflower ? la Reine
There are a few cauliflower recipes dedicated to various queens floating around. Most contain a portion of veal or other meat products. Whichever queen enjoyed this recipe clearly had an appreciation for fine meatless dishes. A soup?on refers to a very small quantity of something; in this case, a small amount of thyme and marjoram.
Boil a cauliflower in salted water till tender, but not overdone; when cold, cut it up neatly in small sprigs; make a dressing of three tablespoonfuls of oil and one tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste; rub a dish slightly with garlic, arrange the pieces of cauliflower on it, strew over them some capers, a little tarragon, chervil, parsley, all fairly minced, and a soup?on of dried thyme and marjoram, powdered; pour the dressing over it, and serve.
