Review: Pie

I purchased this beautiful zine a few months ago. It was a little pricey for a zine but 100% of the proceeds go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank so it was worth it. This is a full color zine with two very interesting pie recipes (Chocolate Chess Pie and Cranberry-Pecan Crumble Pie) and a plethora of quotes, stories and beautiful photos about pie. There is even a pie chart! 

Order here.

A photo posted by Sarah (@wingedsnail99) on Feb 23, 2015 at 10:32am PST

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Ethiopian: Injera Recipe Review

Since I received Teff Love in the mail at the beginning of the month, I've been cooking all things Ethiopian. I've basically eaten nothing but Ethiopian food since this book arrived and it's been a deliciously good time! 

There are two recipes for injera in Teff Love and one in Vegan Eats World. I decided to try them all and give you the run down. 

Vegan Eats World, Ethiopian Savoury Crepes (206) 
Method: 1 hour ferment
Ingredients: common pantry items 
Difficulty: very simple
Taste: decent

While not an 'authentic' injera this recipe is easy, fast and reliable. It's perfect for the weekday injera fix. 

#injera #ethiopian #food #vegan

A photo posted by Sarah (@wingedsnail99) on Feb 16, 2015 at 10:24am PST

Teff Love, long ferment (Ye'tef Injera, page 30)
Method: 6 day ferment (if you have to make the Ersho starter, 3 if you don't)
Ingredients: common pantry items
Difficulty: moderate, as it takes a few minutes of upkeep each day)
Taste: good

While this recipe does take a few days to develop the flavor is there and it isn't really that hard to do - it just takes a little planning. 

Teff Love, short ferment (Quick Teff Crepes, page 33)
Method: instant
Ingredients: speciality items (vegan yogurt, carbonated water)
Difficulty: easy
Taste: After days and days of easy cooking injera, I was surprised to find that I couldn't make this recipe cook properly. It was failed crepe after failed crepe. After 1/2 the batter I simply gave up! 

Overall, I would make the Vegan Eats World recipe for week-day Ethiopian feasts and go with the long fermented version offered in Teff Love for dinner parties, special occasions, and weekend meals because it does taste better. 

Note: There is yet another recipe for injera in 'Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food' but I haven't tried it yet because it calls for urad dal which I haven't been able to source in Brandon yet.  

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Ethiopian Food

I moved to Brandon, Manitoba from the great cosmopolitan that is T dot and it has been quite the adjustment. For some reason my desire to cook and create in the kitchen was really affected by the move. However the forthcoming (and ordered) Kittee Berns cookbook, Teff Love, inspired me to create a huge Ethiopian meal. I followed the "Ethiopian Mesob Not be Missed" suggested meal plan from Vegan Eats World but included the Keysir Allecha (Beets) from Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food.

I really like how Kittee Berns uses traditional names for dishes and helps you learn a least a little about the language. Terry Hope Romero uses bland English names for all the dishes which is quite the disappointment. 

#ethiopian #food #cookbooks #cooking #yummers

A photo posted by Sarah (@wingedsnail99) on Jan 26, 2015 at 12:32pm PST

The menu:
Cauliflower and Green Beans in Berbere Sauce (Vegan Eats World, 288) - really made potatoes and kale in Berbere Sauce.
Seitan Tibs Simmered in Berbere (Vegan Eats World, 168) - I used pressed tofu. I liked this dish.
Fluffly Scrambled Chickpea 'Eggs' with Shallots (Vegan Eats World, 269) - Decent but the recipe in Papa Tofu is much better.
Saucy Berber Lentils (Vegan Eats World, 165) - decent
Ethiopian Savoury Crepes (Vegan Eats World, 206)
Keysir Allecha (Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food, 50) 

The injera recipe from Vegan Eats World was the best part of this meal. I couldn't find injera ready-made for purchase in Brandon and the last time that I purchased them (in Toronto) I got a stale batch. This recipe makes decent injera (better than stale ones) and is only a 2 hour wait! They are easy to cook up as well. They may not be 'authentic' but they will definitely do in a pinch! I still want to try the recipe in Papa Tofu but I like that this recipe can be cooked up easily and they do taste decent.

I purchased the berbere spice blend and it wasn't very vibrant. I think a combination of the spice blend and the non-authentic nature of the Vegan Eats World recipes made the entire meal seem sort of... bland. I am glad that I tried the recipes from Vegan Eats World but I will be returning to the recipes in Papa Tofu and in the forthcoming Teff Love. 

The intention of the meal was to get me back into the kitchen as I had hoped that cooking a huge meal would get my culinary creative juices flowing and it has. I've been dreaming of a chocolate coconut carrot cake...

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Review: Vegan Secret Supper Cookbook

I have wanted to create my own underground kitchen for years now. We have had long, involved conversations about the legal ramifications of such an activity as well as conversations relating to logistics and culinary talent. And in the end? We went out for supper.

Undertaking a project of the scale of an underground supper club, especially on a weekly basis is truly daunting. Doing it well? With innovative and interesting recipes? It seems all but impossible. But that's what Merida Anderson did. Well she did all that AND she wrote a cookbook about it. 

Vegan Secret Supper is a beautiful book. The layout and full colour photos show plated meals that one would expect to see in fine dining restaurants. The vegan cookbook market has exploded in recent years but there are very few cookbooks that explore the fine dining style of cooking. While technically fine dining the recipes in the cookbook seem very approachable. This is because the recipes are separated by component but remain on the same page spread for ease of use. Additionally, plating instructions are given clearly and concisely. Anderson has a love of whole foods evident by the fact that she largely skips ingredients like vegan butter in favour of a homemade substitution. Vegans have come to rely too heavily on commercially made components. 

While untrained as a chef, Merida Anderson is clearly a highly creative individual as Vegan Secret Supper is full of innovative and interesting recipes. I am interested in the Radicchio Marmalade (99), the Smoke Infused Olive Oil (206), the Coconut Melting Cheese (194) and the Hazelnut Rye Crisps (123). The first thing I plan on cooking is the Butternut Squash & Almond Gnocchi sauteed with Sage Garlic Butter. (87)

And thus brings me to my criticisms of this cookbook. Recipe titles are all as long as the one for the Gnocchi. The first time I flipped through this cookbook my eyes glossed over at the series of cumbersome restaurant style recipe names and I almost missed out on a lot of interesting recipes.

I was also expecting a lot more of Anderson's character to shine through. I expected a cookbook emerging from an underground supper club to be full of illicit tales and intersting stories. I have never seen shorter headnotes than those that appear in this book. The headnote for the warm beet salad (78) appears as follows 

"I still can't believe I hated beets as a kid. Now I can practically eat beets at every meal. Roasting beets brings out the best of their flavor, keeping all the nutrients inside." 

And that's it - there is no passion conveyed in that headnote! No interesting story. Nothing that compels me to make the dish. And this headnote is one of the longest ones in the cookbook!

This cookbook left me wanted more. I want to know what it's like to run an underground kitchen. I want action shots and battlefield stories - but instead we are left with 'I used to hate beets. Now I love them'.

I am left to dream about illicit underground adventures while cook and eat my own vegan secret supper.               

Vegan Secret Supper available in April 2013 through Arsenal Pulp Press.

The Small Print: I received this cookbook as review product. I did not promise a positive review nor receive any additional compensation for this review.

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Addicted to Cookbooks: PPK collection

As a long term vegetarian I frequently get asked for recommendations for good vegan and vegetarian cookbooks. I usually steer potential cookbook buyers in the direction of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero of Post Punk Kitchen Fame.

Here are some short reviews of the cookbooks pictured above.

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (co-authored) - The tiny square trilogy of vegan dessert cookbooks are amazing as well as being cute. Recipe include drop cookies, wholesome cookies, bar cookies, fancy cookies and rolled cookies. This is THE book for vegan cookie monsters. Favourite Recipe: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Pie in the Sky (co-authored) - This book came out while both authors were working on independent projects and it shows in the quality and breadth of recipes included. Most of these recipes are actually cobblers and not pies. Additionally, most are fruit pies which are easy for the home cook to veganize from traditional recipes. I purchased this book to complete the trilogy!  Favourite Recipe: Pucker Up Raspberry Pie

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (co-authored)​ - This is the first in the dessert trilogy and by far the best. Published in the height of cupcake mania it includes a vast array of cupcake and frosting recipes. It may seem passe now but this cookbook really revolutionized vegan desserts. Favourite Recipe: Mucho Margarita Cupcakes 

Vegan Brunch (Isa Chandra Moskowitz) - I pre-ordered this cookbook (first time I have ever done that) and was very disappointed in the quality and creativity of the recipes included in this cookbook. The recipes appeared poorly tested and I experienced many disappointments in the kitchen. So many in fact that I have traded this book for another! Favourite Recipe: Buckwheat Waffles 

Vegan with A Vengeance (Isa Chandra Moskowitz) - This is a well used cookbook and was the first of Isa's cookbooks. It is a funny basic cookbook that covers a wide variety of different food styles from Jerk Seitan to Green Thai Curry. Favourite Recipe: Chocolate Pudding

Veganomicon (co-authored) - The subtitle of this tome is 'The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook'. The depth and breadth of the recipes in this cookbook make it a modern classic. Additionally, the index in this book is great which makes it very easy to look up a recipe. If you are going to buy just one cookbook, this is the one! Favourite Recipe: Chile Cornmeal-Cursted Tofu Po'Boy

Viva Vegan! (Terry Hope Romero)​ - Terry's first solo cookbook is a Latin Dream with recipes tamales, tortillas, and churros. I have really enjoyed cooking new-to-me recipes such as tamales (which have become a comfort food staple!) Favourite Recipe: Pickled Red Onions

Vegan Eats World (Terry Hope Romero)​ - A recent publication Vegan Eats World is full of interesting classic international recipes that allows vegans to travel the world through the kitchen. I have not made that many dishes from this book but those I have have been interesting with complex flavours. One thing I do not understand is her decisions regarding the naming of dishes. She refers to the French flatbread Socca as 'chickpea crepes' while both naan and roti are called as such. It seems arbitrary.  Favourite Recipe: Potato Pierogi with Fried Onions

Isa has another cookbook - Appetite for Reduction - which after my disappointment with Vegan Brunch I have not purchased. (She also has a soon-to-be-released Isa Does It.) When I leafed through Appetite it seemed similar in style and coverage to Veganomicon and also included ideas for salads and bowls that I can create without a recipe. I enjoy Terry's solo books of international recipes as they challenge the palate and the mind.

While the creativity of these authors (especially Isa) has waned in recent years perhaps due to publishing deadlines, as a duo they can still rock the vegan cookbook world! Cookbooks like Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World have encouraged vegans with tasty, approachable, and reliable recipes for years. 

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