5 cookbooks in 5 days, 2: The Urban Vegan

Welcome to the 2nd installment of this week's 5-part cookbook review series! As I mentioned last night, I will be reviewing a new vegan cookbook (and 1 zine!) every day of this week. Tonight, I have The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine, by Dynise Balcavage of the Urban Vegan blog.

True story: Urban Vegan was the 2nd vegan blog I discovered, way back in the summer of 2006, and it was one of my main inspirations to start this blog. As anyone who reads her work knew, it wasn't if, but when Dynise would come out with a cookbook. I love the way she distills the essence of urbanity into her recipes- diverse, edgy, cosmopolitan, unexpected, but ultimately, homey. If like me, you are an urban person at heart (whether or not you live in a metropolis like Philadelphia), you have to pick up this book. What I love is how the recipes are inspired by Dynise's travels to all corners of the world, but somehow fit together very nicely. Check out some of my favorite recipes:


alternative granola - Peruvian influence, a use I'd never imagined for quinoa!


spätzle- you don't need any special tools for this Central European comfort food


chickpea paprikash- daiku's favorite recipe from the book- the paprika taste is so deep and rich, it'll blow your mind


Havana beans and rice- a little taste of Cuba, right in your kitchen


punka pie- I never even liked pumpkin pie before this!


blue mosque ayran- a refreshing and minty drink from the Middle East, perfect for hot summer days

crème brûlée - yes, you heard me!


tiramisu- oh man, possibly my favorite recipe from this book. boozy and decadent and coffee-y- wow!


portobello burger- so simple, yet so good


Here's the tiramisu that Luciana and I made for our recent Halloween party. We called it "fetalmisu"- get it? Ok, even if fetus humor isn't your thing, you have got to get your hands on this book!

Stay tuned for installments 3, 4, and 5. In the meantime, check out my first cookbook review from last night, 500 Vegan Recipes.

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 2: The Urban Vegan

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 1: 500 Vegan Recipes

It's such an exciting time! Those of you who are cookbook addicts, and I dare say that's more than a few of you, might be aware that a ton of new vegan cookbooks have been published recently. This week, I've decided to give a few of these books some love- so I've decided to do a series called 5 cookbooks in 5 days, one each day until Friday.

The schedule will be as follows:
Mon (today!) - 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
Tue - The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage
Wed - Potluck Mania by Joanna Vaught
Thur - The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek
Fri- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Just a quick note to let you know that I know all of these authors, I have tested recipes for most of these books, and as a result have received free copies of some of them. I won't lie to you, I'm going to highlight what's good about these books! However, I think you'll agree that there just isn't much bad to say about any of them.

On to today's book!

500 Vegan Recipes is brought to you by the lovely and prolific bloggers Celine (of Have Cake Will Travel) and Joni (of Just the Food). Just as its name implies, this is a big book, and has an encyclopedic selection of recipes for every meal, mood, and occasion. The book gives lots of background on ingredients and techniques, enough to give beginners the knowledge to begin and more advanced cooks confidence to experiment. The recipes, however, are anything but basic- both Celine and Joni are creative enough to write truly enticing and unusual recipes. A broccoli salad with candied nuts? It's good! A muffin made from a cookie? It's possible!

Here are some of my favorite recipes:



Cannellini All'Italiana (hearty, stick-to-your-ribs, lip-smacking yet oh-so-simple to make)



Homemade bacon bits (much better than the overpriced chemical stuff at the store!)



Braised brussels sprouts and apples (so simple, but so good)



"That" broccoli salad (a perfect old-school blend of healthy and decadent, savory and sweet)



Agave bread (a wholesome bread with a light and delicate taste)



Mole bread (a wonderful complex bread with cocoa and spices)



Mexican hot mocha (a hot and comforting drink- with a kick)

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 1: 500 Vegan Recipes

in praise of gluten and other yummy things.

I want to sound a battle cry today. This is something that's been rattling around in my brain for a long time, and I've been wanting to address it for a long time, but dietitian Virginia Messina has done it much more masterfully on her blog.

The issue? What vegan means, and what it doesn't mean. First, read her article, No Need for Vegans to Give up Fat, Gluten, Soy or Cooked Foods Obviously, Messina is speaking from a nutrition stand-point, making the point that unless you are allergic to gluten, there is nothing wrong with it, that fat is essential to our bodies, that soy is quite nutritious, and that certain nutrients are more, not less, bio-available through cooking.

However, she has inspired me to make a list of my own.

Vegan DOES mean:

• a diet and lifestyle free of animal products, or as free as humanly possible
  
• a life of compassion and respect for all living beings
  
• ...THAT'S IT!

Vegan DOES NOT mean:

• gluten- or wheat-free
• soy-free
• raw
• organic
  
• low- or no-fat
• sugar-free
• alcohol-free
• health food
• certain brands or companies
• free from refined foods
• free from junk food
• caffeine-free
• salt-free
• whole foods or whole grains
  
• a diet in the sense of a weight-loss strategy
• activism, at least activism of any particular sort
• environmentalism (being vegan is the best thing you can do for the environment, but not all vegans have to be environmentalists or even care about it)
• religiousness, or lack of religiousness
  
• limiting foods for the sake of limiting foods
• food snobbery
  
• orthorexia
  
• disordered eating
• a fast or "detox" of any kind

It's bad enough that people think that because I'm vegan that either I or my diet are rigid, limited, closed, or unexciting. It doesn't help that so many vegans themselves seem to conflate these issues. Again, if you have Celiac disease or have a true allergy or need to lose weight, etc. I completely understand. You can be vegan AND gluten-free, but not because one automatically means the other. I myself have been known to integrate my veganism with an effort to eat healthy, eat for the health of the planet, or for the health of my community.

However, I think it's about time that we clarify, to ourselves and to society at large, that veganism is not a blanket term for "diet" or "healthy" or "activist" - it's just an effort to reduce animal suffering through judiciously removing animal products and exploitation from our food and lifestyle choices.

Now, I'm off to make dinner: pizza. Delicious chewy sourdough crust (gluten! white flour! cooked!), vegan cheese (soy! processed food! salt! fat!), lots of olive oil (fat!), tempeh sausage (soy!) tomato sauce made with wine (alcohol!) ... still badass, still vegan.

Whew! What say you?

in praise of gluten and other yummy things.

I like... I don't like... November edition

A lot of bloggers have been posting these stream-of-consciousness lists lately, and I love reading them, so I thought I'd post one of my own, organized by the season in which we (in the Northern Hemisphere) find ourselves... If you post a list of your own, let me know, I'd love to read yours!

In November I like...

• a good sparkly sunny day
• baked squashes and root veggies of all kinds
• turning on the oven for any reason, and then leaving the door open when it's done, for the extra heat!
• the smell of fires burning in the fireplace, and the fires themselves for that matter
  
• mulled wine, mulled cider, hot toddies
• scented candles
• my Philosophy cinnamon bun scented body wash
• using the space heater in the bathroom so a shower becomes a sauna experience
• apples!
  
• looking forward to the holidays- songs, cookies, travel
• tea, tea, tea! and teapots, mugs, accessories, cozies, etc.
• lots of throw blankets and fuzzy socks and slippers and heat packs
• cozy Thanksgiving at home, and planning for it
• cranberries and canned pumpkin- on sale!
• seeing lights and decorations in public places and peoples' houses

In November I don't like...

• when daylight savings time ends and it's dark around 4 p.m...
• and knowing that in a couple of weeks it'll be dark at 8 a.m. too
• cold!
• knowing I won't eat another fresh tomato for about 8 months
• food photography is difficult because natural light is gone, and it's dark by the time dinner's ready (or sometimes lunch, for that matter)
• putting clothes on when they are cold- it's physical torture for me!
• looking forward to the holidays- consumerism, commercialization, figuring out what to do with the kitties
• dry, pale skin
• raking leaves- over and over again
• cold numb toes
• fearing the first snow
• wearing layers of clothing- makes me feel fat, itchy, and claustrophobic
• the endless search for a pretty! warm! functional! affordable! vegan! winter coat
• sports- I just don't care!
• 3 words: seasonal. affective. disorder.
  
• the farmers market becomes a sea of potatoes and turnips... (nothing against potatoes and turnips, which I love, but I miss the color and variety of a summer market)
  

I like... I don't like... November edition

the UK 100

There have been a lot of local versions of the Vegan 100 list floating around- for example, the NYC 100 and the Portland 100. I've wanted to play along, but there is no Syracuse 100! So instead, I decided to take this UK 100 list posted by Liz and try my hand at it- after all, I did live in England for a few months! I'm curious to see how I do. If you've lived in the UK, or have visited, or are just an Anglophile (Britophile?), why not play along?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!



All items on the list refer to the vegan version. Please don’t contact me to tell me that butter isn’t vegan, for example. I mean a vegan version of it!

Hampshire watercress
Haggis
Montezumas chocolate
Melting mozarella Cheezly
Tartex

Granose Mock Duck
Sosmix
Churros at Terre a Terre
Yorkshire pudding
Beans on toast
Crumpets
Mushy peas
Aldi croissants
Bourbon biscuits
Holland and Barrett fruit flapjacks
Linda McCartney sausages and chips
Marmite on toast
Kent black cherries
Marmite breadsticks (If Marmite crackers count...)
Beanfeast
Sunday roast at The George (hey! what about the Elvis Burger at the George??) Anything at Birmingham’s curry mile
Rhubarb crumble with Swedish Glace
Paskin’s full breakfast
Jersey Royal potatoes swimming in butter
Evesham asparagus
Potato farls
Bubble and Squeak
Sticky toffee pudding
Irn Bru
Bacon buttie with tomato sauce
Marigold bouillon powder
Booja Booja truffles
Scones and jam
Bird’s custard (I still have a huge container of it here at home!)
Anything at Dandelion and Burdock
White chocolate
A bought pizza with cheese in the UK
Hot cross buns
Staffordshire oatcakes
Bread and butter pudding
Summer pudding
Pickled onions
Potato from the Baked Potato Shop in Edinburgh
Weatherspoons curry
Irish stew with dumplings
Mashed carrot and swede (mmm... somehow, roast root veggies taste better in the UK!)
Pease pudding
Christmas pudding
Cranachan
Blue Sheese
Faggots
English muffins
Pringles
Scotch broth
Walker’s prawn cocktail crisps (I miss these!)
Mildred’s mushroom and ale pie
Masala dosa
Realeat fishcakes


Worcestershire sauce
Mushroom ketchup
Pickled walnuts (I have a jar of these at home, but haven't opened them yet)
Ribena
Anything at Vbites Co-op donuts
Picalilli (and brought some jars back- yum!)
Ryvita
Anything at Saf
Chip shop curry sauce and chips
Parmezano
Warehouse Café bangers and mash
Innocent Smoothie
Vimto Eccles cake
Semolina pudding with jam
Linda McCartney country pie Scallop (potato fritter)
Elderflower cordial
Spotted dick
Victoria plum

Marigold braised tofu
Clive’s pie
Wagamama Yasai Chilli Men
Sarsaparilla (this is British???)
Spring cabbage
Holland and Barrett Porkless Pie
Henderson’s relish
Scottish raspberries
Scouse
Colcannon
Fry’s Peppermint Cream
Hobnobs
Roast parsnips
Booja Booja ice cream (could not afford this!)
Champ
Pimms (mmmmm)
Rice pudding
Nuttolene
Beef and Tomato Pot Noodle
Sesame Snaps

37... not bad, eh? This just proves that I need to come back to the UK soon! Anyone wanna buy me tickets???

the UK 100

sour grapes

Just a little kitchen tip for those of you who want to get into Iranian cooking. As you know, sour is a huge component of the cuisine- we get our sour from many sources- lemons and limes, fresh and dried, pomegranate in various forms, and... sour grapes! If you go to an Iranian market, you can actually find sour grape powder sold in the spice aisle. However, you can capture that flavor yourself, as long as you have access to some grape vines! What you should do is pick some unripe grapes- if you taste them they should be edible, but seriously pucker-inducing- and then preserve them. You can dry them and grind them to make powder, or juice them and freeze the juice in small segments (maybe an ice cube tray?), or just freeze them whole and throw them into recipes where a little sour somethin-somethin is called for.

The response to my Grandma recipe was so positive (thank you!) that I'm working on another of her recipes to post soon. Stay tuned!

sour grapes

pizza crust- yet another v. v. important debate

yet another DEBATE OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE!! this one is a debate that goes on in my very own house, in my very own marriage, on a regular basis: thin crust or deep-dish pizza?

chewy, doughy, deep-dish baked in a cast iron pan?

Or a crispy thin crust baked on a pizza stone?

A crust that is a meal in and of itself?

Or crust as amuse-bouche-style delivery system for toppings?

What say you, dear readers, WHAT SAY YOU?

pizza crust- yet another v. v. important debate