Vegetarain Cooking
There is a tendency to equate Buddhist and vegetarain cooking, but this is not always the case, certainly not in Tibet where it is hard to grow vegetables but not sheep. When asked, a Tibetan Buddhist will sometimes argue that a yak will feed a number of people so taking a yak's life is less nonvirtuous than taking the lives of a large of insects. Certainly, the Tibetans feel that killing small things (birds, for instance) for food should be avoided. Nor do they like seafood. The ideaof eating shrimp is very distasteful to the ones that I've known, almost equated with eating bugs.
The whole time I worked at "Dorje Ling," the kitchen served both vegetarian and meat dishes. One of the main chefs there was an outstanding microbiotic cook, an absolute genius with miso. Over the bookcase of cookbooks at the center is a large sign that reads: "THIS IS NOT A LENDING LIBRARY." Here are some of their selections:
Interview with a Macrobiotic Chef