1 . Taste of Jamaica vegetarian

Hot, Healthy and Spicy!

Experience the Island’s Rich Cooking Traditions!

25 Vegetarian Dishes from the Land of Reggae!

$5.95

Introduction: Welcome to the world of Jamaican vegetarian cuisine! This cookbook is a celebration of the vibrant and flavorful dishes that have made Jamaican food famous around the world. From hearty stews to spicy curries, this cookbook offers a range of delicious vegetarian recipes that show the island’s diverse cooking traditions.

Jamaican cuisine is known for its bold flavors and vibrant spices, and this cookbook is no exception. Whether you’re a lifelong vegetarian or simply looking to incorporate more plant-based meals into your diet, this cookbook is sure to delight your taste buds and introduce you to new and exciting flavors.

Inside these pages, you’ll find recipes for classic Jamaican dishes like ackee and saltfish, plantain chips, and jerk tofu. You’ll also discover lesser-known gems(佳肴) like callaloo soup, pumpkin curry, and mango chow. Each recipe is accompanied by amazing full-color photographs that will make your mouth water and inspire you to get cooking.

So grab your apron and get ready to embark on a cooking journey to Jamaica. Whether you’re cooking for family and friends or simply looking to explore new flavors, this Jamaican vegetarian cookbook is sure to become a staple in your kitchen. All recipes are for 4 persons.

2 . When I graduated from college and moved to Washington, D.C., in 2017, I left all of my friends behind. Treating new associates with home-cooked meals was my best attempt at making new friends and curing my loneliness. Soon enough, everyone was asking me for the recipes(食谱), which is how Bun Bo Bae, my Vietnamese cooking blog, came into being in 2019.

I’ve probably been destined(注定的) to start a food blog. I spent most of my childhood in the kitchen with my mom. As a child, I’d sit and watch her cook. My duties started with just passing her the ingredients(配料). Soon, I was measuring, steaming and stir-frying my way toward kitchen mastery. I left for college before I could learn my mom’s best dishes.

Studying abroad, I was desperately homesick in the beginning. So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes for my favorite dishes. It turns out that my mom doesn’t have any recipes. She grew up in the kitchen with her mom too, and my grandma passed on her knowledge orally(口头地).

Bun Bo Bae was initially a space for me to put what I learned into writing. I didn’t want all of the secret knowledge behind dishes like my mom’s bún bò hué (a spicy beef and pork noodle soup that inspired the blog’s name) or my dad’s thit bǎm sôt cà chua (a pork-based tomato sauce) to vanish one day if the oral tradition ended. I wanted to write down every piece of advice I was given in detail to make sure people could keep creating these dishes as authentically as possible. As my food blog and follower count grew, so did my confidence in the kitchen.

Bun Bo Bae also promoted my confidence at work. I taught myself social media and web building, and the skills helped me land my job at NPR (National Public Radio), where one of my recipes was served in Sound Bites. I even hosted a cooking class for my colleagues to celebrate AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month.

4 . Lilly and Audrey are younger than most cookbook authors. But they have been developing their kitchen skills for more than half their lives. When they had just learned to walk, they loved to hang out in the kitchen while their parents cooked dinner. At age 5, they made their first dish without help: pumpkin muffins.

Audrey can still remember the way the muffins rose in the oven (烤箱), the painful wait for them to cool and the sweetness of the fresh-made treats. “It was super exciting to make something so delicious almost all on our own,” she says.

Their parents are not very skilled at cooking, so Lilly and Audrey turned to other people for cooking advice. Auspiciously, they live in Sonoma, California, an area that is known for its farms and restaurants. One local cook gave the twins (双胞胎) lessons on cooking techniques, such as how to use knives; those classes taught Lilly and Audrey how to use kitchen tools safely.

In 2009, they started a blog (博客), on which they share photos and recipes (菜谱) they have created. Though the twins love creating sweet foods such as muffins, they also think about healthy food. They hope their cookbook will encourage kids to make better food choices by making them more knowledgeable.

“Knowing more about your food and where it comes from certainly causes you to know more about what you eat and to put the best food in your body,” Lilly says. That has been true for her. Lilly used to avoid eggplant at all costs, until one day she tried cooking it for herself. Now it’s one of her favorite vegetables. “If you make something yourself and give it a try, you’ll probably like it,” she says.

6 . The Comfort of Cooking

Most people like eating delicious foods since they believe those foods can make them relax and help get rid of (摆脱) the tiredness of daily lives.     1     Cooking can provide you with many benefits. It can also be fun and a comfort for you when you are feeling down. Can you remember your first time of cooking? Perhaps it’s making dumplings with your grandma, cooking scrambled eggs with tomatoes alone, or helping your family to prepare a large meal during festivals.

Cooking has been found to improve confidence, according to The Mental Health Foundation.     2     You can use different ingredients (原料) and your imagination to create whatever you want to. Just following the cookbook or the video is also meaningful. You will get a sense of achievement when you see the final works after all the hardships.

    3     You will be freed from your worries or anything else that troubles you when focusing your attention on cooking. There is no time for your mind to wander. It is common that we may come across something unexpected which is a burden to us, but remember to find a way to relieve the pressure. Cooking is a calming activity waiting for you.

Cooking is a great way to experience different cultures as well. Different countries have different ways of cooking which lead to various featured foods.     4     By cooking those foods, it seems that you are a native to that country.

Cooking also brings people together. Prepare a meal for the family reunion. Invite some friends to your home. While you are doing the cooking, happy laughter and cheerful voices may fill every corner of the house.     5    

9 . Do you enjoy eating a nice piece of a cow? Or pig back meat? Chances are that you do, though you’re more likely to call these dishes beef and bacon. But why do the words for these animals change after they’re killed and served? And why does this change only happen with certain meats?

To answer these questions, we have to step back almost 1,000 years into the past, as the current saying is that this linguistic phenomenon (语言现象) results from the Norman invasion (侵略) of England.

In 1066, the Old French-speaking Normans took control of the Anglo-Saxons, who spoke Old English. The Norman rulers used different measures of oppression (压迫的措施), but they also introduced their language. They used French words for the meat that appeared on their tables. Meanwhile, the Old English words were still used by the Anglo-Saxons who farmed and raised the animals. Such was the Norman influence on England that their terms for meat have always been there as part of the modern English language for cuisine (烹饪).

It’s not just adult cows that got a new name after they were killed and prepared for Norman dinners. A young cow is called a “calf”, and this word comes from Old English. However, the animal is changed into “veal” after it is cooked.

Besides the word pig, which, like cow, has Old English origins (来源), the Anglo-Saxons used to use the word “swine” for these animals. Both became pork when the Normans ate their meat, though.

Chicken is one of several exceptions. While the Normans used the French word poulet for chicken meat, this became “pullet” in English. This word is only really used by chicken farmers. No one is quite sure why this happened! Here’s another exception, as fish is fish regardless of whether it’s swimming in a river or appearing on a dinner table. One possibility for why the French word poisson has never entered the English language is that it’s too close to “poison” — something no one wants to eat!