We live in a blessed age for vegan and vegetarian cookbooks. Far from being at a loss for cooking resources, cookbook shelves are booming with books on making plants and plant-forward fare part of our regular diet. Though this is indeed wonderful news, some works can get lost in this immense wealth. 

The Moosewood Collective’s The Moosewood Restaurant Table could easily be passed over for something a bit more tailored to a niche diet: Mexican plant-based cuisine, for instance or a guide on making your own plant-based cheeses. This book is decidedly not that. In fact, from the outside, it could be mistaken for your run-of-the-mill restaurant cookbook. A highlight of patron favorites over the years. But though it certainly fits as a collection of recipe winners, it offers so much more.

When it comes to old cookbooks, the wealth of options is almost entirely meat and dairy heavy. The world decades ago was much different in terms of which foods were prioritized, what was considered healthy, what was edible. Plant-based eating wasn’t the vogue term it is now.

When it comes to food, it’s all about outward appearance. Think about it. A brightly colored photograph of a tomato soup will always trump a brown potato stew.

You’d be forgiven for being skeptical of a vegan Mexican cookbook. Mexican cuisine, historically and now, is heavy on animal protein.

When you think of Indian dining, you might envision samosas, naan bread, biryanis, Chicken Tikka Masala, or sumptuous pakoras. There's nothing wrong with this, only that these delicious treats hardly scratch the surface of riches stemming from the Indian subcontinent.