Hi there,
International Woman’s Day is March 8, and I would like to salute an extraordinary female chef, the groundbreaking Mollie Katzen.
In the 1970s a cookbook was born that captured the world’s flavors in a new way. It was called the Moosewood Cookbook, revolutionizing how people cooked.
The Moosewood Cookbook was written in 1977 by an artist and self-taught cook Mollie Katzen. This book drew on her experience cooking in her beloved Moosewood natural foods restaurant in Ithaca, New York, and featured recipes inspired by her travels. This cookbook was a major influence on the vegetarian food movement and helped to expand our horizons in the kitchen.
Mollie presented her readers with a wide variety of vegetarian dishes which are both accessible and flavorful. Further, readers were also introduced to ingredients and techniques from around the world. The book helped to make cooking and exploring new ingredients accessible to cooks of all levels.
Creative, flavorful, and inspiring, the Moosewood Cookbook has won many awards and honors and helped raise the vegetarian food profile. Of Mollie’s many books, the Moosewood Cookbook remains her best-known and beloved, inspiring a new generation of cooks to be Gutsy Gourmets and to explore the global table.
I chose to make Mollie’s Ratatouille to showcase the simplicity of her genius.
““Women of my generation were keen – rightly – not to be tied to the stove, but the ramifications of this were that they felt a sense of dread in the kitchen. How can this be good for anyone? I also feel that to denigrate any activity because it has traditionally been associated with the female sphere is in itself anti-feminist.”
Nigella Lawson
I hope you have enjoyed meeting Mollie and learning about her groundbreaking cookbook. Our COOKBOOK CONFIDENTIAL COOKBOOK CLUB will be reviewing the Moosewood Cookbooks in April and will be giving you lots of other recipes to try.
37 responses to “INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – saluting Mollie Katzen”
A favourite cookbook in my collection. I’ve made this ratatouille many times and have never been disappointed. I’m looking forward to April.
It will be another fun experience. Have a great day Darlene.
I am looking forward to it too. It was so much fun reading and sharing what you all posted.
An excellent recipe. The cookbook sounds like one that should be in every kitchen.
Thanks Viv. Mollie sure was a groundbreaker.
I LOVE this cookbook! I got it in 1981 and our family STILL finds pleasure in the recipes.
Ahh, sounds like I am preaching to the choir. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
Thanks Bernadette, we just bought a copy of the Moosewood Cookbook. Looking forward to using it.
That is fun! I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Your posts are always creative.
The perfect recipe to celebrate women’s day 😉😋
Thanks Ribana. Who would be your chef choice for Women’s Day?
Wow, she was gutsy and brave to introduce the vegetarian cooking style at that time! Ratatouille is a wonderful classic recipe~
She sure was. Thanks for stopping by Jenna.
A standard on my shelf since I first set up my kitchen! I’m so glad you chose this Bernie because it was one of the first things I made from the book, and the first time I had even tasted ratatouille. Little did I know that all these decades later, I would still be making this dish, in all my wonderful variations!
Thanks Dot. Mollie Katzen was such a pioneer, she seemed a natural to salute. I can’t wait to read your review.
I think we all bought that cookbook! It was great.
Along with Dr. Scholl’s sandals😂
A classic recipe for a reason!
Growing up on Mediterranean foods, this wasn’t new to me, but no doubt the book contributed a lot to American cooking. 🙂
Lucky you having grown up on Mediterranean cooking. Yes, for people in the U.S. in the 1970’s, her cookbook was truly groundbreaking.
HI Bernadette, I have not as yet made this recipe. I made the Hungarian Mushroom Soup and the Greek spanakopita both of which were delicious.
I love Molly Katzen and have 4 of her cookbooks on my shelves! I use them often! Reliably good recipes!! Thanks for this post!!!
My comment autocorrected my spelling of Mollie’s name…🤦♀️
Somehow I am not surprised my friend.
I’d never heard of Mollie or the Moosewood cookbook before picking up a digital copy for cookbook club, but last week in Wellington saw an anniversary copy of it for sale. I’ve just finished reading it – now to decide what to cook…
Jo, I can’t wait to read your post on the Moosewood Cookbook. It will be interesting to read your review, since you never read the book in the past.
Celebrating Mollie Katzen and all her tasty recipes on Women’s Day is wonderful!
Happy belated Women’s Day to you today and everyday!
I hope your day was extra special!
This reminds me of Laura’s Kitchen…an earthy vegatarian cookbook of the 70s
I never heard of Laura’s Kitchen. I am off to discover it. Hope your wedding plans are going smoothly.
yes i have had her cookbooks for many years! I love that quote about not denigrating a task just because women have done it for years. I’ve been reading a book about France; funnily enough there is a recipe for ratatouille which states that each vegetable must be cooked separately! interesting …
Hoping my previous comment appears …
Hi Sherry, yes your comment appeared and I so appreciate your reading and commenting on the quote by Nigella Lawson.
I adore ratatouille in any shape or form, so this is great! I enjoyed the highlight of Mollie Katzen’s cookbook. I have heard of the book but never have seen it. Looking forward to all the great recipes from the cookbook club!
I had that cookbook! Your post is making me want to go find it! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for dinner party. I’m looking forward to what you’ll bring tomorrow!
Mollie Katzen is one of my favorite cookbook authors! The Moosewood cookbook is the first vegetarian cookbook I owned.
Thanks Becky for stopping by and commenting.