Once upon a time, I was a vegetarian. In fact, I was a vegetarian for a number of years (7 or 8, if memory serves me). I bought and poured over dozens of vegetarian cookbooks during that time, looking for innovative recipes that didn’t call for tofu. I am not particularly fond of tofu.

The Vegetarian Pasta Cookbook was one of the best ones I happened on. I L-O-V-E pasta. This book has a variety of hearty, filling recipes that pack a punch of nutrients. And everything has photos, so you can salivate while deciding which one to make. The recipes are divided by major ingredients such as legumes and mushrooms and there are many of each.

Unfortunately, the book falls into the out of print category so you’ll have to buy it second had (but it’s well worth the money if you are a pasta-loving veg-head).