Mea Culpa and book review

blueberry lemon scones with lemon sauce from Vegan Lunch Box

Wow... I've never let a blog post get so delayed! As some of you might remember from my last post, I promised a review of the new edition of Vegan Lunch Box, oh, about a week ago. The only possible explanation I can offer is that my life has been a bit insane lately. I've been traveling between Syracuse, New York City, and Northern Virginia and all the mileage I've been logging has been having a toll on my brain. My move to England is less than 4 days away (!!!) and I still have so much to do. However, in the midst of packing, trying to see friends and family one last time, and living in places other than my house, I've still been managing to get plenty of cooking and eating done, including many yummy recipes from this book. So on to the review!

As I'm sure is the case with many vegan bloggers, Jennifer McCann's Vegan Lunch Box was the first vegan blog that I found. It was pretty much my introduction to the blogging world, and I will not forget the excitement of those early times, as we in an increasingly larger and more besotted audience awaited the moment each day when Jennifer would post that day's lunchbox. Her son, Shmoo was the lucky recepient and evaluator for each day's cute and elaborate lunch. There was just something so fascinating about seeing how this mom managed to send her son off to school with a new, exciting, and healthy vegan lunch every day.

However, when the Lunch Box book came out, I have to admit that I never got around to buying it. The food looked great, but I wondered if recipes for a young child would translate to our adult palates. Well, I was thrilled when I was given the chance to review this book. The recipes are endlessly sophisticated and just as good for grown-ups as they are for kids. In fact, the world would be a better place if all adults were as adventerous in their eating as little Shmoo is! The book gives plenty of tips and tricks for how to make dishes with plenty of healthy ingredients. So far my favorite recipes have been the split pea alecha (an Ethiopian stew similar to, but less spicy than, wat) and the lentil-brown rice balls. (Lentils and brown rice are one of my favorite combinations!) I also made a dessert that my whole family enjoyed- blueberry scones which I served with lemon sauce, another recipe from the book. (pictured above) The scones were winners, made with 1/2 whole wheat flour, bursting with blueberries and the zing of lemon. The sauce was wonderful- it thickened to almost a lemon curd consistency- the recipe made a lot, so we used some on toast too!

This book has so many recipes that I want to try. Sometimes, I want more spices and heat in my dishes, but those things are relatively simple to add. If I had a kid, this book represents how I would want them to eat- healthy and full of variety, but with plenty of yumminess and fun as well.

I promise this blog is not going anywhere! We are fast approaching another VeganMoFo, and so you'll be getting daily or near-daily updates from England (as well as plenty of catch-up posts) soon!

Mea Culpa and book review