Book Review

The Asian Vegan Kitchen

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If you didn’t already know my husband and I are huge fans of Asian food. Thai, Chinese, Malaysia, Indian, Korean, Japanese….you name it we pretty much love it, so I was excited when I was given the opportunity to try out The Asian Vegan Kitchen, a great cookbook filled with a variety Asian recipes. 

This cookbook is set up into sections based on cuisine which include Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Burmese, Indonesian and Malaysian.  Many of the recipes take a bit of planning to make as some of the ingredients are more difficult to find in North America.  Some ingredients you can find in the international foods aisle at your local market however there will be some that you will have to go to your local Asian market (sometimes even a few different ones).

I have made a few recipes from this book (with plans to make many more) but so far my favorite has been the Vietnamese Fried Rice and the Spicy Tofu (Chinese).  The both had a ton of flavor and were fairly easy to make.

Spicy Tofu with Vietnamese Rice (also sauteed napa cabbage and eggplant with hoisin)

 

This is a great cookbook for those who are interested in Asian cooking that has been adapted for vegans.  One of the best features is the glossary in the back of the book where you can learn more about ingredients that may be less familiar and some even have suggest substitutions if you can not find that specific ingredient.  As well these recipes may at first seem complex but the great instructions make this book great for any cooking level.

Vegan Thanksgiving & Cookie Baking

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.  Since Neil is heading north to New Brunswick next week we won’t be having vegan Thanksgiving so we enjoyed it yesterday with two of my girlfriends, Monica and Laura. After we shared vegan Thanksgiving we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the kitchen baking cookies from Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. 
 

Celebration Roast, Cumin Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole

Already to bake!

We made the Blackstrap Gingersnaps first; I received a sample NuNuaturals NuStevia Baking Blend and we decided to try it out with these cookies instead of sugar.

 

Yeah! Gingersnaps!

Look mom greasy hands!

City Girl Snickerdoodles

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows


All of these cookies enjoyed with a nice cup of Boulevards Organics Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate

We also made some Lazy Samoas (not photographed) which were delicious and just like the caramel delights I enjoyed as a girl scout.  The girls and I really loved this cookbook and found that all the recipes were fun and yet easy.  A few things we really loved were that all the cookies were baked at 350F and that all took 8min to 12min which was great especially when baking 4 different kinds. I really loved all the cookies I have to say it’s a toss up between the Chocolate PB and the Snickerdoodles for my favorite.

Vegan Brunch Review and Giveaway

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The first vegan cookbook I ever bought as Vegan with a Vengeance I have used it so much over the years that it is stained with food and worn to pieces.  Over the years I picked up Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World which I loved and actually used 2 of the cupcake recipes for my wedding cupcakes. Then I was given a copy of Veganomicon by my loving husband for Christmas 2007 – I honestly haven’t used this book as much as VWAV & VCTOTW and was actually disappointed with it compared to Isa’s two earlier books.  However Isa Chandra Moskowitz  has redeemed herself with Vegan Brunch which features a number of great vegan brunch recipes.  

Vegan Brunch features savory recipes such as tofu scramble, frittatas, polenta ranchers, Tofu Benny and perogies.  Of the savory dishes I tried the tofu scramble which was delicious, the texture was almost creamy which I loved and really had the texture of scrambled eggs (or at least what I remember-it’s been awhile).  I also made the Cornbread Waffles which I loved because some days you just don’t want to have a sweet waffle and this was a great savory waffle. Lastly I made the Tofu Benny which I loved! The hollandaise was delicious and the Diner Homefries were nice and crispy. 

To be honest I have yet to try any of the sweet brunch options and am actually much more of a savory breakfast person. I actually did have plans to make the Banana Rabanada (Brazilian French Toast) this morning but my husband forgot the baguette on his desk at work. I guess I’ll make it another day!

Some other dishes I have made and loved where the Samosa Mashed Potato Pancakes, Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes and the Mushroom Gravy.  I made the Cheaspeake Tempeh Cakes for some of my omni friends and they couldn’t get enough of them.  I ate the mushroom gravy this morning with my scramble and am using the leftovers in my greenbean casserole.  

Over all this is a great book that I would recommend to anyone who loves breakfast.  This book is great because although many cookbooks have breakfast sections none have the focus and devotion to breakfast items like Vegan Brunch.

You can pick up your copy of Vegan Brunch on Amazon.

Now that you have read what I have to say about this book I am going to give you a chance to win a copy yourself. If you would like to win please leave a comment letting me know what your favorite brunch dish is by November 24th, 2009.

For extra chances to win:

  1. RT @cookveganlover (leave me a comment)
  2. Follow me on Twitter  (leave me a comment)
  3. Become a fan on Facebook (leave me a comment)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Winner: Christina- “blueberry pancakes with a side of homefries and vegan sausage. yums!”

 

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Vegan Yum Yum

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Lauren Ulm a well known vegan food blogger has released her first cookbook Vegan Yum Yum featuring “Decadent (but doable) Animal-free Recipes for Entertaining & Everyday.”  I just received a copy of this book and went right to town on cooking up various recipes.  There were a few recipes from the blog that I love that made the book which I’m very excited about as well as a variety of new recipes that are just as wonderful. I have tried the following recipes from the book:

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All of these recipes are absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to cook all of the other recipes in this book. One of my favorite features of this book is that there are many recipes that are for 2 servings and is great for my husband and I and all are easily doubled or tripled.  I also really enjoy the fact that recipes are all easy to make and are great for everyday eating and for entertaining. I would recommend that you pick yourself up a copy of this book.  It is bound to be a go to cookbook for all vegans. 

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Check out the Vegan Yum Yum Flickr Site for more photos http://www.flickr.com/groups/veganyumyum/pool/

Pick up your copy here.

The 30 Minute Vegan

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The 30 Minute Vegan is filled with a variety of great easy, quick, and delicious recipes that are (mostly) under 30 minutes. I received this book to review and had the most difficult time choosing recipes to try from it, not because I couldn’t find any but rather because I want to make everything.  That was my first indication that it had the potential to be a great cookbook.  However, the true test would be to see if any of these great sounding recipes actually turned out to be as good as they sounded.

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After hours (yes hours) of flipping through this cookbook I finally decided that I would make the Batter Baked Tempura with the Spicy Mustard Sauce, We Will Rock You Three Layer Nachos and Eggless Egg Salad.  The Batter Baked Tempura was delicious especially with the mustard sauce, however I am not sure if it totally resembled tempura but rather it was more like baked onion rings/veggies.  Nevertheless it was amazingly delicious and unfortunately was the only item I ended up taking the time to photograph.

The We Will Rock You Three Layer Nachos were next on my list of items to make and they were so good.  I made both the tempeh bean mixture and nacho cheese sauce which I put over baked blue corn chips and baked then topped with salsa, pickled jalapeno and avocado.  The recipe made so much sauce I only used half of bean mixture and nacho cheese for the nachos and saved the remainder to make a Tex-Mex Mac and Cheese the following night with mushrooms, onions and cherry tomatoes.

My husband’s favorite recipe that I made was the Eggless Egg Salad and it was certainly one of the best recipes for it that I have tried.  I served the Eggless Egg Salad in whole wheat pita halves.  The great part about this recipe is that it made enough for 2 days worth of lunches!

Overall I love this book and find that although not all of the recipes are 30 minutes with prep time and cooking they are still quick, fast, healthy and fun. You can order your own copy of The 30 Minute Vegan on Amazon. 

30minYou can also check out other reviews of The 30 Minute Vegan on the following sites:

Happy Herbivore

Basil & Spice

Vegan Guinea Pig

Chow Vegan where you can find reviews & recipes for Mango Gazpacho& Baked Tempura

Vegan Fusion – The authors blog

Vegan Crunk