Tread Kindly, Eat Well
Recommended Reading, Part 1
by Kevin - Jul 22, 2010
A frequent question in class is this: "What is your favorite cookbook?"
Well, truth be told, I don't have a single favorite. I seldom use them anymore, so that makes it difficult to have a frontrunner.
I do provide all class attendees with a list of cookbooks that I think are helpful. Some of the books are packed with nutritional information and others are full of recipes that are easy to execute with items found in the standard supermarket. Some are just funky enough that everyone should have them.
So here's the short list, with a few reasons why I recommend them.
Unplugged Kitchen – Viana LaPlace
I enjoy it when a book is published as mainstream, yet is so devotedly vegetarian or vegan. Ms. LaPlace did that with Unplugged Kitchen. She took a back-to-basics idea, that of using only hand tools to prepare a meal, and the result is a book that is solidly plant-based. Some eggs and dairy are used, but they are minimal and easily omitted. The folk- and family-lore that she includes helps keep one grounded as the recipes are followed. She demonstrates that this type of eating need not be fussy or unapproachable, but should be celebratory.
One other note: This book is a fantastic companion to a summertime garden.
Clean Food – Terry Walters
Like with Unplugged Kitchen, Terry Walters has produced a cookbook that doesn't label itself as anything polarized. Rather, it's about good, clean, seasonal eating, as experienced through plant-based dishes. Among the recipes, she also includes how to make various substitutes ingredients, such as tofu or nut-based creams. Her desserts are fabulous. The book also contains a section which defines terms and gives information on ingredients that are unique to a vegan diet.
The Real Food Daily Cookbook – Ann Gentry
Ann Gentry has become a model for taking vegan food into the mainstream. Her restaurants in Los Angeles are wildly popular among all types of eaters. I can vouch for the quality of the food—her place is a required stop when I go visit my son. This book lays it all out for you to duplicate. The recipes are easy to follow, with lots of photographs and explanations.
Vegan Soul Kitchen – Bryant Terry
Bryant Terry is stone-cold cool and he knows it. There's nothing wrong with that if you can back it up, which he does with style in Vegan Soul Food. I wish I had come up with Fried Green Tomatoes with Creamy Celeriac Sauce. Any book that contains Upper Caribbean Creamy Grits with Roasted Plantain Pieces should be on your bookshelf. Realizing that all your funk should be congruent, he provides a soundtrack for each dish, providing a wrap-around immersion experience.
Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food – Alicia C. Simpson
Giving a glimpse into her own becoming-vegan experience, Alicia Simpson makes everyday vegan food extremely easy and accessible. No snobbery here, only good eats that make you feel good all over. Menus, a guide to vegan ingredients, a whole chapter on smoothies, and no less than five enchilada recipes! The recipes are easy, quick, and on the economic side.
Supermarket Vegan – Donna Klein
Donna Klein's book proves that being vegan is not synonymous with being rich or elite. A vegan diet is seriously economical, which she demonstrates by using easy-to-find, supermarket-available, products in over 200 recipes. None of the recipes is difficult. This book is perfect for any home cook, as well as a chef with very little time on his hands!
Laurel's Kitchen – Robertson, Flinders, Godfrey
This is a real classic for vegetarian cooking, first published in 1976. The reason I like this book so much, in spite of its reliance on eggs and dairy, is the exhaustive information contained in the book's charts. These provide nutritional breakdown for almost every plant food you can imagine. (Did you know that a sprouted garbanzo bean contains more accessible protein than a cooked one? Me neither!) In addition, full chapters are devoted to explaining plant-based nutrition. Any recipe containing egg and dairy is easily adapted to being fully vegan.
Enjoy perusing these books if you come to a class, as I have them all handy. Also, let me know of books that you've found helpful. What is on your dream vegan bookshelf?
