book review: My Sweet Vegan

Greetings from Los Angeles! I can't believe that almost 10 days have gone by since I last blogged, but time just kind of got away from me in the whirlwind of writing, packing, grading, cleaning, baking, and traveling that was the past week. Now, things have calmed down and Daiku and I have 3 weeks to get our hands on all the vegan food goodness that southern California has to offer, so I can relax and catch up on blogging.

My first post is about something I'm very excited about- My Sweet Vegan, the new cookbook written by the lovely and talented Hannah of BitterSweet. I had been waiting for this book to come out ever since getting to know Hannah through her photos and blog over the summer, and so didn't hesitate when asked to write a review of the book.

This book caps a great year for vegan cookbooks, and makes me believe that vegan baking has truly come into its own. There is simply no reason to ever think that "decadent vegan" or "vegan dessert" are oxymorons any more! Even though it was difficult deciding what to make from this book first, the fact that I received it in the middle of holiday baking narrowed down the field a bit. Daiku and I noticed that Hannah included a recipe for Pfeffernusse - traditional German spice cookies laced with anise. Between Daiku's German heritage and my love of all things anise, we knew that these cookies would be added to the rotation.

Here they are going into the oven. While they were baking, they filled the house with an indescribable scent- sweet, spicy, evocative of everything that is good about the holidays.

Here they are after baking and covered with powdered sugar. These cookies exceeded expectations in both taste and texture. Fluffy yet chewy, full of the scent of anise and other flavors, they were a great twist on the traditional ginger holiday cookie. My uncle, who used to live in Germany, loved them. So did my mom, who is not even a big fan of anise- ok, she hates the stuff! But she loved the cookie!

Here are just a few of the recipes that I hope to make from My Sweet Vegan soon:

• orange hazelnut biscotti
• ginger dream pie
• coconut custard pie
• baklava tart
• root beer float cupcakes
• poppy seed cupcakes with lemon curd filling
  

This is a book you'll want to read both in and out of the kitchen- the elegant photographs, informative text, and skillful recipes will give you a lot to enjoy. My only warning is this- if you are easily sent into existential crises, you might start freaking out that an 18 year-old college student has written this book and set the bar higher for all of us! Try to get over the angst though, and reward yourself by trying a recipe or 3 from this book.

Congratulations, Hannah!

(check out My Sweet Vegan on Amazon.com)

Soon to come- more holiday baking, quick meals, and of course, posts about traveling and eating in Southern California, my former home. Have a great day, everybody!

book review: My Sweet Vegan