Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special: More Than 275 Recipes for Soups, Stews, Salads and Extras

This is one of the Moosewood Collective's better books. It is focused on soups, salads and accompaniments, and those are where they really excel. There are over 200 recipes in the book, and it's very diverse, ranging from a chilled cherry-almond milk soup (vegan) to a Portuguese mussel stew, with lots of vegetarian soups in between, such as Choklay's Tibetan lentil soup (which is a favorite of mine). They had the seasons in mind when compiling this collection of recipes, so you'll find ideas for what to do with your produce year-round.

Some of the recipes have not turned out 100% well for me (such as Baked bean soup--too sour), but, overall, if you have good ingredients, and you're sure to add the optional ingredients whenever possible, you will likely be happy with the results.

Menu ideas are included for every recipe, and nutritional information is given. The layout and look of the book are appealing, with matte, off-white paper and occasional hand drawn images. The ingredients list is offset well from the instructions, and relevant commentary accompanies every recipe.

Other recipes in the book: Golden summer soup (with yellow squash and sage) French roasted onion soup Mock chicken noodle soup (try this, vegetarians--delicious!!) Fassoulada (a Greek bean and vegetable soup) Tomato & kale soup with barley Creamy potato cabbage soup Strawberry soup (chilled, of course, and with Cointreau) Catfish gumbo Asparagus & fennel pasta salad Fattoush (a bread salad) Orzo & pesto-stuffed tomatoes Wilted spinach & portabella mushrooms (no bacon required!) Five-herb salad Spicy cucumber salad Luscious lemon-tahini dressing Herbed cheese quick bread Our special gluten-free bread Curried croutons Goat cheese toasts Jalapeño cream Scallion pancakes Spiced paneer