Remembering Diet for a Small Planet and Laurel's Kitchen

I remember when I first decided to go veg: I was in my twenties, and reading Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet, which was updated in 2002 under the title Hope's Edge (Villa Julie Library has this, call number Location: TX392.L28 2002). I learned how eating veg consumes less resources than those needed for meat production. (Read more about Frances Moore Lappe in the Wikipedia entry). This is obviously still a critical world issue and I feel passionately that we need to consume less and give back more to the planet.

Another favorite book from my early veg days was Laurel's Kitchen by Laurel Robertson.
I remember reading it while I rode the bus in to my job at the University of Pittsburgh. It has been updated 2 or 3 times since then and I just ordered a new version via a second-hand book dealer online: can't wait to start reading it. Laurel had some great suggestions for steering away from processed and prepackaged foods, and I bravely learned to make my own homemade mayonnaise and baked whole grain bread. A couple of her recipes became favorites: one was a lasagne-like rollup recipe in wich you spread the ricotta cheese on each lasagne noodle, set it vertically in the pan, and spoon sauce over the top, sprinkling the rollups with sunflower seeds. It's more healthful and has fewer calories than regular lasagne. Another fav was potato mushroom delight, with a cheese sauce. Anyway, I highly recommend both of these classics if you care to read more about vegetarianism as a lifestyle and a social choice.