It’s Day Six of Santa Cruz Restaurant Examiner/Santa Cruz Foodie’s “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway.” Today’s prize is a facsimile edition of a book originally published in 1838, entitled “Vegetable Diet: As Sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in All Ages” ($29.99, Andrews McMeel Publishing, October 2012). See end of article for how to enter.
This book is the “first book published to advocate for a vegetarian lifestyle (vegan actually)…and we’ve reissued it in a beautiful, cloth-bound hardback,” says Andrews McMeel Publishing’s cookbook publicist Emily Farris. In Vegetable Diet, William A. Alcott, a physician, educator, reformer, and founding member of the American Vegetarian Society, uses letters from medical experts to confirm the superiority of a vegetable diet for supporting health and recovering from disease. Alcott was the author of more than 100 books, and his works are still cited today. Vegetable Diet’s introduction is by Anna Thomas, herself the author of several cookbooks including “The Vegetarian Epicure” and the James Beard award-winning “Love Soup.”
Vegetable Diet is one of three books that Andrews McMeel published in October to launch its historic culinary book series (which includes, but is not limited to, cookbooks). The American Antiquarian Society strives to “collect, preserve and make available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience.” The AAS cookbook collection has 1,100 volumes, and Andrews McMeel is publishing 100 of these, some in print and others as e-books.
This book would make an interesting holiday gift for any foodies you know (especially history-loving ones), or a gift for yourself. Looking for more book holiday gifts? A couple more to consider from Andrews McMeel: “Bake It in a Cupcake: 50 Treats with a Surprise Inside” by Megan Seling ($24.99, Oct. 2012) with recipes like Cherry Pie Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting and “I Love Cinnamon Rolls” by Judith Fertig ($19.99, Sept. 2012) with 50 recipes including Pumpkin Streusel, Moroccan Rose Petal, and Szechuan Pepper Cinnamon Rolls with a Fresh Ginger Glaze. Or for anyone with a young child at home, I recommend “Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes” by Catherine McCord ($27.50, Sept. 2012, William Morrow Cookbooks). McCord has a popular site, Weelicious.com, and this book includes baby recipes like The Teething Cookie and Sweet Potato-Puree and toddler recipes like Sunflower Seed Brittle, Cheesy Chicken Taquitos, Turkey Pesto Meatballs and Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese.
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THE CONTEST:
Reminder — during the entire “12 Days of Christmas” promotion, each person can only win one prize.
DAY SIX PRIZE – The winner will be mailed a copy of “Vegetable Diet” from The American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection of Andrews McMeel Publishing ($29.99, October 2012).
To enter, email your name to tfatemiwalker@yahoo.com and include the words “Vegetable book contest entry.”
Or post a comment to this article on my Facebook page, also including the phrase “Vegetable book contest entry.”
Either way, the entry deadline is Tues. Dec. 18 at 5 p.m.
The drawing will take place that evening; the winner will be notified via email.