This illustrated edition of The Laurel Health Cookery brings back one of the most ambitious vegetarian cookbooks of early twentieth-century America—a remarkable culinary encyclopedia of practical recipes, kitchen wisdom, food preservation, menus, entertaining, and meatless cookery.

First published in 1911 by Evora Bucknum Perkins, The Laurel Health Cookery was created by an experienced teacher of vegetarian and hygienic cookery who wanted to place practical knowledge within reach of ordinary households. Rather than offering a narrow collection of vegetable recipes, Perkins built an extraordinarily comprehensive guide to the vegetarian kitchen.

With approximately 1,760 recipes and hundreds of pages of instruction, this historic volume explores the full progression of a meal—from preparing and preserving ingredients to soups, substantial entrées, vegetables, salads, breads, desserts, beverages, menus, and picnic lunches.

Inside you will discover:

• Fresh and cooked fruits, with directions for canning, jellies, and jams
• Vegetable preservation, including canning and drying
• Water soups, cream soups, bisques, chowders, purées, and fruit soups
• Hearty vegetarian entrées and substantial meatless dishes
• Nuts and nut foods, legumes, eggs, and Perkins's distinctive “True Meats”
• Trumese and Nutmese preparations and dishes
• Mushrooms, chestnuts, stuffings, dressings, gravies, and sauces
• A wide-ranging collection of vegetable, fruit, and substantial salads
• Puddings with and without eggs
• Vegetable gelatin preparations
• Pies, cakes, icings, fillings, ice creams, and fruit ices
• Cereals and macaroni
• Leavened breads and unleavened breads made without chemical leaveners
• Sandwiches and lunch ideas
• Milk, cream, butter, and cheese preparations
• Fruit-based and other beverages
• Confections and sweets
• Complete meals and menus
• Picnic and traveling lunches

Perkins also devotes substantial attention to the craft behind the recipes. Her opening chapters discuss cooking utensils, kitchen organization, preparation in advance, economy, measurements, flavorings, garnishing, and attractive presentation. She teaches readers not merely what to cook but how to work intelligently in the kitchen.

One of the book's most fascinating features is its inventive approach to vegetarian protein. Nuts, legumes, eggs, and specially prepared nut-based foods are transformed into roasts, entrées, salads, and other satisfying dishes. The result is a fascinating record of how cooks of the period developed an independent vegetarian culinary vocabulary rather than simply removing meat from conventional recipes.