identifying with a Mennonite chef

Doris Janzen Longacre was way ahead of her time. Living from 1940-1979, she put together a cookbook chock-full of her cooking philosophy: enjoy more while consuming less of the world's resources, entitled More-With-Less. She wholeheartedly supports vegetarians and vegans, while advising that eating a hen that no longer produces eggs or a cow that no longer gives milk is an acceptable protein source.

Here is a quote from Ms. Longacre (great name) that really resounds with my cooking style:

"I am a chronic recipe improver. Recipes are not sacred cannon. They exist only to lure us into the kitchen. The real recipe writing begins when I check what is in our own cupboards, how much time I have, what we are prepared to spend, what we feel is responsible, and what we like.... Great recipes are born this way."

from More-With-Less by Doris Janzen Longacre