We love to cook. We especially like to cook for other people. And we always like to try new and interesting recipes. I would say that it's rare that we cook the same dinner twice in three months. Most of the time we cook out of cookbooks. That doesn't mean that we always follow the recipes exactly, but rather that we often base our cooking off of the ideas we find in these books. Sometimes we decide to "Iron Chef" it -- to create a yummy meal out of whatever ingredients we have on hand. Occasionally one of us will go out and buy an assortment of challenging ingredients, leaving it to the other to creatively turn the disparate items into something cohesive and edible (and usually quite tasty). In the summer, when we receive produce from our local farm subscription, our cooking revolves around these weekly fresh vegetables. But despite the many ad hoc meals, our cookbooks remain a source of inspiration and guidance. They include:

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books). I fondly refer to this book as my "Crazy Woman Cookbook". Not that Madison is actually crazy, but some of her recipes require either a New York city location (in order to find some exotic ingredient found only in specialty Argentinean food shops) or a large backyard garden (in order to pick fresh chervil and the like). She lists capers as a basic ingredient (which isn't horrible, really), states that when she says "1 garlic clove," she means one that is "medium, neither from a super-large head or from the center of the head" (what should we do with those shunned cloves, I wonder), and warns never to use "the so-called Parmesan that comes in a green can or box." But despite its peculiarities, the book is a wonderful encyclopedia on cooking with vegetables, in addition to containing both simple and extravagant recipes. If I could only keep one of my cookbooks, this would be it.

The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books). This book is apparently a compendium of recipes from the Greens restaurant in San Francisco. I turn to this book for ideas for salads, pizzas, pastas, and casseroles. There's also a great sauce chapter, and a soups chapter that I occasionally dip into. Its recipes are generally solid vegetarian main courses that suffice as meals in of themselves.

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, ed. by Jennifer Dorland Darling. One of the classics and my first ever cookbook. Every "normal" recipe that the average American has ever eaten lies inside, plus famous dishes from other countries. It tells you how to do the basics -- scramble eggs, make a white sauce, core an apple -- as well as providing numerous charts, pictures, and diagrams to answer just about any kitchen question.

The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen (Ten Speed Press). A vegetarian classic. I was first introduced to Katzen's recipes by my friend Ilana back when we shared a food co-op. Always within reach of the average cook, the recipes are sometimes simple, sometimes more complex, but always very tasty.

From the Earth: Chinese Vegetarian Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo (Macmillan). This book is wonderful. Most English-language cookbooks that focus on Asian cuisine, cater towards their audience by filling up on meat-centered dishes. This book is new to my collection, a gift from my mother who said that it was difficult to find a vegetarian Chinese cookbook, and that this one was actually second-hand (though in great shape) and out of print. So far I've been very happy with it, and there are still plenty of unexplored recipes remaining.

The Indian Spice Kitchen: Essential Ingredients and Over 200 Authentic Recipes by Monisha Bharadwaj (Hippocrene Books). This is a really fun book, with each two-page spread being devoted to one Indian ingredient. In addition to notes about how to store and prepare the ingredients, the book also talks about medical uses and how the ingredients are grown and harvested. And recipes highlighting each ingredient share space with beautiful color photographs.

A Spoonful of Ginger: Irresistible, health-giving recipes from Asian kitchens by Nina Simonds (Alfred A. Knopf). Lots of interesting recipes lie between the covers of this book. They cover all of Asia (although with a tilt toward China), and I especially like experimenting with the Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese recipes.

The Not-strictly Vegetarian Cookbook by Lois Dribin & Suan Ivankovich (Fisher Books). Various mellow, but tasty recipes including those for fish, although sometimes a bit heavy with cream and cheese.