Love Soup by Anna Thomas

When I became a vegetarian, one of the first cookbooks I bought — maybe the first — was "The Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas. It was filled with recipes that not only I, but my omnivore friends, found delicious. It was a book that made vegetarian cooking seem almost mainstream and gourmet at a time when vegetarians were still seen as a little odd. Anna Thomas was a graduate student in film production at UCLA in 1973 when she wrote that classic book. She went on to write "The Vegetarian Epicure Book II" in 1978 and "The New Vegetarian Epicure" in 1992. In addition to writing cookbooks, Anna Thomas is a screen writer and producer. She won an Academy Award for best writing/screen play written directly for the screen for El Norte, and additional kudos for My Family/Mi Familia which she co-wrote and produced. She was also a screen writer on Frida as well as other films.

Ms. Thomas has just released a new cookbook, "Love Soup," devoted to wonderful-sounding soup recipes, and I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to review her latest effort. Although the book is described as vegetarian rather than vegan, it's "vegan friendly" in the friendliest of ways. Ms. Thomas' two sons are vegan, and she knows her way around a vegan recipe. In nearly every chapter (desserts might be an exception) the vegan recipes outnumber the vegetarian ones, and most of the non-vegan ones could easily be made vegan with the simple substitution of Earth Balance or olive oil for a bit of butter, by using a vegan garnish instead of a non-vegan one, or by substituting vegan sour cream or cheese in the few recipes using those ingredients.


The veggies from spicy Indonesian yam and peanut soup
© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

The Book begins with lots of useful information about stocking the pantry, choosing ingredients and equipment, and measurements. It continues with a chapter on homemade broths, offering seven recipes for soup stock, all vegan, for those who like to make their own. The main soup chapters are arranged by season, to facilitate shopping at farmers' markets or using produce from your garden. There are also chapters for breads, enticing condiments and spreads to round out your meal.

I was planning to try a fall soup, but was too attracted to certain winter and summer recipes to do that. The summer soup I chose features zucchini, Yukon Gold potatoes, and fresh basil - all of which are in abundance at our farmers' market now. The second recipe, spicy Indonesian yam and peanut soup, sounded so delicious I just couldn't wait until winter. The next soup I plan to make is also a summer recipe, roasted eggplant and garbanzo bean soup. Doesn't that sound tempting?


Zucchini and potato soup © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

I decided to make zucchini and potato soup first, and I chose to make the puréed version because I was in the mood for a creamy soup. The author warns not to over-blend because potatoes have a tendency to become gummy when over-worked, and I under-blended at first. I didn't achieve the creaminess I was after, so I re-blended to creamy perfection. The taste was rich and delicious, and the texture lush and smooth. The soup was truly sumptuous - can't wait to make it again! I served it with an Irish soda bread. The soup took me one hour to make, start to finish.


The veggies from spicy Indonesian yam and peanut soup, simmering
© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

My next test-recipe was spicy Indonesian yam and peanut soup. Would you believe this soup contains an entire half cup of shredded ginger? Well, it does. It's a root vegetable soup with yams, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic, peanut butter, tamarind, lemon, and fragrant herbs and spices.


Spicy Indonesian yam and peanut soup © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

It was a little more complicated and time-consuming than the zucchini soup, but it was worth the effort. (And it wasn't hard to make.) I asked my husband what word he would use to describe the taste, and he said, "exquisite" - this is from a person who doesn't usually get beyond "very good" when describing something. The flavor was rich and complex, and I'd love to make this soup for company. In fact, there was SO MUCH soup that I was wishing we'd invited a few people for dinner. It was filling, too, and along with a salad, made a fabulous meal.

I'm looking forward to trying lots more of the soups from "Love Soup," if I can stop myself from making these two over and over! If you enjoy making soups filled with seasonal vegetables, beans, fresh herbs and condiments, you should take a look at "Love Soup."

Á La Mode e-cookbook review

© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

In my greedy little hands I have a copy of Hannah Kaminsky's newest ebook, "Á La Mode: Vegan Desserts That Will Keep You Churning All Year Round." This little gem, sent to me for review by Alisa Fleming, author of "Go Dairy Free," contains a selection of beguiling recipes for very unusual ice cream treats. These are not high-speed versions of cool confections, but require a bit of time and patience in exchange for highly unusual and scrumptious frozen delights. I was magnetically attracted to Birthday Cake Ice Cream, Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream and Chai Latte Ice Cream, but settled on the homey-sounding Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ice Cream, because I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand, and who could refuse an oatmeal raisin cookie?


© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Hannah gives us permission to tweak the recipes, and I did tweak a little to suit my lazy-cook ways. For example, after I ground the oats in the food processor, I went ahead and emulsified the rest of the ingredients (except the raisins, of course) in the processor rather than whisking in the pot. I didn't pre-melt the margarine (sorry, Hannah) and I added an extra cup of soymilk and an extra teaspoon of vanilla. I also added some chocolate chips just before the ice cream was finished freezing because I like my oatmeal cookies with said chips.

So how did it turn out? Well, if you like oatmeal cookies and you like ice cream, you will love this. I agree with Hannah that it would go well in an ice cream sandwich, but really, it sparkles all by itself. It's luxuriantly rich and creamy (even after spending time in the freezer) as well as pleasantly crunchy from the praline and chips. If you like to experiment with unusual and intensely flavored ice cream - anyone for Peanut Butter Bomb Shell? - you should buy this book. It's gorgeously illustrated with Hannah's photos, and a bargain at only $5. Available here. There are provisions in the recipes for non-soy and gluten-free ingredients.

Notes for this recipe:
1. Although I ground the oats as fine as I possibly could, when I took the chilled mix from the fridge, it resembled tapioca, a mass of teeny bumps. Plus, it had a thick skin. (Was it from one of my shortcuts?) I put it back into the food processor and blended it until it was perfectly creamy, figuring that it couldn't hurt to buzz in as much air as possible anyway. The only problem with doing this was the raisins got puréed along with everything else.
2. I don't own a microwave so I cooked the syrup for the praline on the stove and it worked out fine. To save myself from cleaning two sticky containers instead of one, I added the toasted oats to the syrup instead of vice versa as in the recipe.
3. Here's a David Lebovitz post about how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker.
4. I was so anxious to eat my ice cream that I just couldn't wait for it to firm up in the freezer, hence its less than photogenic shape in the photo. Really, you should let it firm up a bit, but it's just so good that it's hard to be patient!
© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Lorna Sass' "Short-Cut Vegan: Great Taste in No Time" cookbook review

Quinoa-corn Salad With Basil © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

When Lorna Sass offered to send me a cookbook to review, I was delighted, because I've always been a fan of her work. When she started publishing her cookbooks, "vegan" was still considered an fairly odd cooking style, so all the book titles used the word "vegetarian." When I first discovered "Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen" was totally vegan, I snapped up a copy, and it's become a tried and true reference at our house. We've learned through experience that her recipes always work. This has been especially helpful to my husband, as he learns to cook. He's not an intuitive cook (he describes himself as a developing cook), but he can follow a recipe, so when recipes are good, his cooking is good. I like that! We actually own four of Lorna Sass' books.


Asian slaw © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

The book she sent me is a revised version of "Short-cut Vegetarian," now more appropriately titled "Short-cut Vegan: Great Taste in No Time." This is really more than just a collection of quick recipes, it's a guide to setting up your kitchen with the supplies you need to create fast, healthy and delicious vegan meals. She gives detailed information on how to efficiently stock the pantry — shelves, freezer and refrigerator — with basic essentials. There is also helpful information on kitchen tools, food storage and food prep. She gives recipes for preparing flavor-enhancing condiments to have on hand, but also recommends store-bought equivalents if you prefer to take the easiest route. The recipes are an assortment of inviting combinations such as "Orange-Scented Lentil Ragout, "Cabbage and Potatoes in Mustard Sauce," "Pasta With Broccoli Rabe and Olives,"and "Pineapple-Ginger Ice." Each recipe is accompanied by personal commentary that expands and enriches it.


Moroccan carrot slaw © 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Because it's been so horribly hot here in the Midwest, we decided to try a few recipes that needed as little cooking as possible. All were colorful, delicious, healthy and easy to prepare. We sampled "Asian Slaw," "Quinoa-Corn Salad With Basil," "Moroccan Carrot Slaw" and "White Bean Gazpacho." Three of them are pictured in this review.

The book does not contain food photographs, so you will have to use your imagination as to what the final dish looks like, but if you are looking for a collection of tasty and interesting vegan dishes that can be prepared in short order, you might consider "Short-Cut Vegan" by Lorna Sass.

© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Cookbook review: Peta's Vegan College Cookbook

I was asked to review Peta's Vegan College Cookbook and was really looking forward to it even though it's been an awfully long time since I was in college. I don't know what I was expecting, but when I first saw the recipes, I was a little worried. For one thing, everything that's cooked, is cooked in a microwave (though you could adapt the recipes to stove and oven). And the recipes are heavily dependent on canned, frozen and fake food - lots of fake food. Not my usual style of cooking, but it makes sense, when you consider the lack of cooking facilities dorm residents face, coupled with their lack of storage. They often have a tiny refrigerator and a microwave in a micro-room. Not to mention the not- yet-fully-developed cooking skills of many college students, living on their own for the first time. Most of the ingredients are standard supermarket stuff, but some things, like vegan cream cheese and vegan mayo may be harder to find depending on where you live.

The book starts out by suggesting a list of staples to have on hand, and offers an extensive and very helpful list of meat and dairy alternatives, including brand names. The recipe section is divided into categories for breakfast, sandwiches, salads, soups, sauces, dinner, drinks, dips, snacks and desserts. There also are special sections for student staples like peanut butter, potatoes and ramen. The brand name product list was especially helpful since I'd never purchased "chicken strips" and didn't know what to look for!


WTF? Wings (looks a little like fried slugs but tastes like chicken!)

To be perfectly honest, the first few times I looked at the recipes I couldn't find anything that I'd actually want to eat! I laughed at the sandwiches — do you really need a recipe that tells you to put hummus, lettuce and tomato between two slices of bread? Or cream cheese on a bagel? There's even a "recipe" for ants on a log (called Ants on a Blog). Many of the recipes called for such excessive amounts of vegan cream cheese and mayo — sometimes in the same recipe — I could feel my jeans getting tighter as I read the list of ingredients.


Super Cheezy Sauce over rice and The Sweetness 'Tater Salad

I scratched my head and agonized over how to be fair but honest. I wanted to like this book, I really did. So, I sat myself down and took a much closer look. It's true there's a recipe calling for one cup of mayo to make a dressing for two people to dip pizza into, but on looking closer, I found lots of healthier choices, too. Something for everyone. And, if you're a new, aspiring vegetarian or vegan coming directly from a meat-eating family, maybe a few ideas for the simplest meals a vegan can throw together is exactly what you need.


Tough and Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (future post coming on this)

I decided to actually try a few recipes from several of the categories before passing judgement, choosing a mix of healthy and less healthy foods. The first thing I tried was definitely on the healthy side — The Sweetness 'Tater Salad — from the potato section (photo above). It contained raw, grated sweet potato, shredded cabbage from a bag, shredded carrots, raisins, apple, canned pineapple, lemon juice and olive oil. It was quick and easy to make, light and crunchy. It was supposed to serve two but there was an enormous amount that would easily serve four or more. Two of us happily ate it for dinner and lunch the next day, and there was still some left. I also made Super Cheezy Sauce to serve over precooked (Trader Joe's frozen to keep with the book's theme) rice. This was practically an instant sauce with yeast flakes, soy sauce, olive oil and water, and tasted surprisingly good.


In a Pickle Chickpea Salad

I made WTF? Wings (that's right) out of chicken strips (photo above), and although they were too salty for me, my son ate them all! They were tasty and chewy and I think anyone looking for a salty meat-like main dish or snack food would find them yummy. For a healthier dish from the salad section, I made In a Pickle Chickpea Salad, and it was incredibly quick and really delicious — something I would make again.


EZ Cheezy Broccoleezy

In the dinner section, I decided on two dishes, one healthy and one — ahem —less healthy. The healthy one, a delicious recipe called Tough and Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (photo above), had sweet potato, black beans and tomato, and the other, Chick Magnet "Chicken" Casserole (photo below), had everything from tofu to vegan cheddar to corn chips to chicken strips and more — probably enough salt and fat to supply an adult for weeks. For balance, I tried EZ Cheezy Broccoleezy (photo above) from the snack section. The casserole was probably the strangest thing I've ever "cooked" in my adult life, but it was delicious. It was the kind of thing a busy person, student or not, could serve to omni friends, and they'd love it. It's hard to believe it's vegan. (To cut the salt content a little, I only used half the recommended amount of chicken strips and no additional salt in the filling, but it was still intensely flavorful.) The broccoli was fine if you don't mind the slightly rubbery texture of frozen veggies. But who can complain about broccoli as a snack?


Chick Magnet "Chicken" Casserole

I couldn't resist the ice cream and pudding pie recipe from the dessert section. I had the ice cream and pudding ready to go, but then reconsidered. It didn't seem possible to mix ice cream and pudding and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours, and end up with anything but ice cream soup. I guess the recipe meant to say, "vegan pudding mix" not "vegan pudding." And what kind of pudding mix? Would that be Jello instant pudding? Well, I just couldn't bring myself to use that chemical mix — chicken strips were challenge enough! — and the other pudding mixes I encountered either had to be cooked or mixed with tofu. So I made my own instant dessert with the ice cream and pudding. I layered raspberry ice cream with chocolate pudding, sliced strawberries and sliced bananas. It wasn't a pie, but it was good — my contribution to the next edition! And proof that the book offers inspiration as well as recipes.


Parfait not actually in, but inspired by the cookbook

The authors have fullfilled their promise. Peta's Vegan College Cookbook would be a great reference for making quick, easy and enjoyable vegan food. It's filled with ideas for making the most of limited cooking equipment and supplies. With a very small amount of effort, even a student in a dorm room can enjoy delicious, vegan meals and snacks, and create dips, spreads and even whole dinners for parties. I'm not sure I would consider it cheap, though, as the authors imply. Living on packaged goods is much more expensive than cooking from scratch, but the book is primarily intended for those with limited access to cooking facilities.

If you've gotten this far and think you'd like to own this book, or give it to your favorite college student, leave a comment to that effect by May 20. (U.S. and Canada only, sorry) I'll randomly choose a name and announce the winner on this blog. Once the winner sends me a mailing address, the (slightly used) book will be on it's way!

(It's also OK to leave a comment if you don't want the book!)
COOKBOOK WINNER POSTED HERE

other reviews:
http://www.helloveggie.org/veggieblog/petas-vegan-college-cookbook.html
http://everydaydishtv.blogspot.com/2009/05/cookbook-review.html
http://kitteekake.blogspot.com/2009/05/petas-vegan-college-cookbook-review.html
http://theveggievoice.blogspot.com/2009/05/review-petas-vegan-college-cookbook.html
http://www.thevegancookbook.com/2009/05/petas-vegan-college-cookbook-review.html