meat,anditisclearfromthewaythequestionisphrasedthat
thequestionerhasmentallysubtractedthechoporhamburger
fromhisorherplate,leavingthemashedpotatoesandboiled
cabbage,andiswonderingwhattoputinplaceofthemeat.A
heap of soybeans perhaps?
Theremaybe thosewhowouldenjoysuchameal,but for
mosttastestheansweristorethinktheentireideaofthemain
course, sothat itconsists ofa combination ofingredients,
perhapswithasaladontheside,insteadofdetacheditems.
GoodChinesedishes,forinstance,aresuperbcombinations
of one or more high-protein ingredients—in vegetarian
Chinese cooking, they
mayincludetofu,nuts,beansprouts,mushrooms,orwheat
gluten, with fresh, lightly cooked vegetablesand rice. An
Indiancurryusinglentilsforprotein,servedoverbrownrice
with somefreshsliced cucumberforlight relief,makesan
equallysatisfyingmeal,asdoesanItalianvegetarianlasagna
withsalad.Youcanevenmake“tofumeatballs”toputontop
of your spaghetti. Asimpler meal might consist of whole
grainsandvegetables.MostWesternerseatverylittlemillet,
whole wheat,or buckwheat,but thesegrains canform the
basisofadishthatisarefreshingchange.Inthefirstedition
ofthisbookIprovidedsomerecipesandhintsonvegetarian
cookingtohelpreadersmakethetransitiontowhatwas,then,
stillan unusual diet; but in theinterveningyears somany
excellentvegetariancookbookshavebeenpublishedthatthe
assistanceIwasabletoprovideseemsquiteunnecessarynow.
(I’verecommendedafewcookbooksinAppendix2.)Some
peoplefindithard,atfirst,tochangetheirattitudetoameal.
Gettingusedtomealswithoutacentralpieceofanimalflesh
maytaketime, butonceithashappened youwillhaveso
manyinteresting newdishes to choose from that you will