Vegetarian Fiction

I have had this book since 1998, and I don't know how many times I have read it. It's actually a Young Adults book. During Tropical Storm Fay, we lost power several times, never knowing for how long each outage would last. So, I found myself in front of our bookcase looking for entertainment. This is the book that called to me.

It's Sunshine Rider: The First Vegetarian Western by Ric Lynden Hardman. I suppose I should warn my vegetarian readers that it takes some time before the hero, Wylie Jackson, becomes a vegetarian, and even after his change of heart there are still some pretty graphic meat references. For example, at the very beginning of the book, there is a recipe for Porterhouse Steaks that starts with a LIVE cow.... Each chapter begins with a recipe, including a few vegetarian recipes. The humor in the book extends to some of its recipes. For instance, here is part of the recipe for Masoor Dal:

"Into this smoking cauldron pitch the peas; there will be a sound like a cow backfiring. This is to be expected."

The recipe ends: "It's a dandy surprise."

I love it! So if you can handle the occasional graphic meat reference, it's an amazing and fun journey of a young man becoming an adult in the Wild West.