The Greens Cookbook

As the founding chef of Greens restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison almost single-handedly dragged vegetarian cuisine out of the sprouts-and-wheat-germ realm of 1970s hippie food co-ops and into mainstream 1980s American culture. She did this by emphasizing the importance of fresh produce, by bringing a chef’s exacting standards to even simple steps, and above all by treating vegetables, grains, legumes, and mushrooms as subjects worthy of the spotlight. There are other contenders, but "The Greens Cookbook" would be on many people’s short list of the single best plant-based cookbooks of all time.

The Benefits: Few books offer a more comprehensive and accessible guide to cooking wholesome, nutritious, seasonal food.