The Weekday Vegetarians

Introduction

Why Now?

On a sunny morning a few Octobers ago, I was crossing Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn on my way to work, when a thought landed in my head as if delivered by lightning bolt: We need to stop eating so much meat. The realization was so strong I felt the immediate need to text Andy, my husband, who was on his way to work, too.

Me: Should we become vegetarians?

I had no idea how he d respond. Andy s idea of a perfect dinner has always been an old family recipe for breaded, vinegary pork chops, followed closely by Marcella Hazan s iconic Bolognese (the one where the ground chuck drinks up what must be a gallon of wine, milk, and tomato juice). In the summer, his happiest place is holding a gin and tonic while grilling a fleet of chicken thighs that have been steeping in an herby yogurt marinade all day. We both grew up in houses where dinner was defined as animal protein, starch, and vegetable, and even though we had half-heartedly been discussing cutting back on meat for years for our health and the planet s health, the truth was neither of us could really picture how it would look in our family of four the two of us and our two teenagers. We had our family dinner routine, we liked our family dinner routine, and our family dinner routine worked. The readers of Dinner: A Love Story, the website and cookbook series that I d been writing for a decade, seemed to be on the same page as us, consistently Instagramming and sharing my recipes for Red Wine Braised Short Ribs and Chicken Parm Meatballs and Roast Chicken, and visiting those pages way more frequently than, say, the baked Miso-Butter Tofu. Sure, there were more and more calls for vegetarian dinner ideas as the years went on, but if I am to believe my website s metrics, meat was still king.

In other words, I expected Andy to reply to my text with something like Let me know how it goes or Good luck getting everyone on board with that one, but instead this is what he

Jenny Rosenstrach is the creator of the award-winning website Dinner: A Love Story and the New York Times bestselling author of Dinner: A Love Story; Dinner: The Playbook; and How to Celebrate Everything. She is a food columnist for the website Cup of Jo and her work has appeared in national publications, on television shows, and on websites that include The New York Times, Food52, Food Network, Martha Stewart Living, NPR s Weekend Edition, and Bon Appétit, where she and her husband, Andy Ward, co-wrote the Providers column. She lives with Andy and their two daughters in Westchester County, New York.

. . . thanks to this book, we have the fruits (and veggies and tacos and soups) of her labor to make our own plant-forward meals as effortless as they are satisfying. Real Simple Cook These Books

Jenny Rosenstrach s book The Weekday Vegetarians is perfect for anyone who, like me, is looking to live a more meat-free lifestyle. Julie Hines, Managing Editor, Food Network Kitchen App

There s a lot to be said about becoming a vegetarian right now, not just for yourself but for your body, your family, and the world at large. The Weekday Vegetarians lights a deliciously colorful and incredibly easy path for anyone s life. Jenny s approach to dinner has me not only thrilled to cook as a (mostly) vegetarian woman with things on-hand in my cupboard but also to get my two kids involved in exploring alongside me. Latonya Yvette, author of Woman of Color and founder of the lifestyle blog LY

These bright, cheery, and inviting recipes are the sort that you ll keep in your back pocket for days worth celebrating and days when you just need to get something delicious and inviting on the table without much fuss. From inspired salads to cozy pastas and soups, there is a little something for every mood and every appetite. This is the kind of low-stress, high-reward vegetarian cooking I love! Yossy Arefi, author and photographer of Sweeter Off the Vine and Snacking Cakes

Jenny has the culinary gift of creating innovative vegetarian meals you can t wait to eat all week long. She reinvents your go-to classics into plant-based creations, a few of which have already become family favorites. The Weekday Vegetarians inspires you to open your fridge, pull out the veg, and realize that the last thing you miss is the meat. Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious