Vegetarian Pleasures

Barbara Jacobs

British drolleries infuse this book of essays and 140-plus recipes from the pen and kitchens of Spencer, former "Guardian" columnist. He specializes in vegetables, and even though the recipes for various legume and leafy dishes aren't thrilling, his witticisms and observations are positively tangy. He mocks a disappointing California food-extolling press junket, groans about that abomination, airline food (a term he insists is an oxymoron), and muses amusingly on aphrodisiacs and "food sensitivities." No slouch in the culinary department, Spencer offers up some unusual vegetarian treats: cabbage-and-walnut mold, stuffed avocado pancakes with tomato and malt-whiskey sauce, Moroccan potato casserole. Some ingredients may puzzle American chefs, but the subtle humor won't