Book excerpt: The author of the bestselling cookbook classic, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and the forthcoming In My Kitchen, solves the perennial question of what to cook for dinner in her first collection of suppertime solutions, with more than 100 inspiring recipes to enjoy every night of the week. What’s for supper? For vegetarians and health-conscious nonvegetarians, the quest for recipes that don’t call for meat often can seem daunting. Focusing on recipes for a relaxing evening, Deborah Madison has created an innovative array of main dishes for casual dining. Unfussy but creative, the recipes in Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen will bring joy to your table in the form of simple, wholesome, and delicious main dish meals. These are recipes to savor throughout the week—quick weekday meals as well as more leisurely weekend or company fare—and throughout the year. The emphasis is on freshness and seasonality in recipes for savory pies and gratins, vegetable stews and braises, pasta and vegetable dishes, crepes and fritters, delicious new ways to use tofu and tempeh, egg dishes that make a supper, hearty cool-weather as well as light warm-weather meals, and a delightful assortment of sandwich suppers. Recipes include such imaginative and irresistible dishes as Masa Crêpes with Chard, Chiles, and Cilantro; Spicy Tofu with Thai Basil and Coconut Rice Cakes; Lemony Risotto Croquettes with Slivered Snow Peas, Asparagus, and Leeks; and Gnocchi with Winter Squash and Seared Radicchio. Vegan variations are given throughout, so whether you are a committed vegetarian or a “vegophile” like Deborah Madison herself, you’ll find recipes in this wonderful new collection you will want to cook again and again. I love supper. It’s friendly and relaxed. It’s easy to invite people over for supper, for there’s a quality of comfort that isn’t always there with dinner, a meal that suggests more serious culinary expectations—truly a joy to meet, but not all the time. Supper, on the other hand, is for when friends happen to run into each other at the farmers’ market or drop in from out of town. Supper is for Sunday night or a Thursday. Supper can be impromptu, it can be potluck, and it can break the formality of a classic menu. With supper, there’s a willingness to make do with what’s available and to cook and eat simply. It can also be special and beautifully crafted if that’s what you want. —from the Introduction