Cookbook Review: Vegan Eats World Cookbook
February Cooking By Color – White, Brown, Black
Terry Hope Romero’s new cookbook, Vegan Eats World, is one of the best cookbooks to come out recently. Being a world traveler I’m a big fan of a full color cookbook that features some of my favorite foods from across the globe. It’s almost like the noodle chapter was written just for me! One of my favorite white foods happens to be rice noodles! Read on to find out how to make Terry’s take on my favorite dish from Thailand; Pad Thai with Avocado and Spicy Greens.
I tried a few recipes from Vegan Eats World and they were all delish. Last month I made the French Farmhouse Asparagus Bisque (page 123) in hopes of posting this review during my green month, but it never made it to the blog! So when February came along I looked in the index to see what kind of white foods I could choose from. Rice Noodles for the win! I had a hard time choosing from all the delicious sounding rice noodle dishes, but ended up having everything on hand for the pad thai. Honestly, avocado didn’t sound so good to me for this dish so I left it out.
Pad Thai is really one of the easiest dishes from Thailand to whip up. I like the addition of spicy greens and went with arugula. I loved the baked tofu, and my roommate has been making it every week since so we have yummy tofu on hand. I left out the garlic and reduced the shallot to only one, because I can’t handle that much allium family and it was just fine for me.
Click here for this Pad Thai with Avocado and Spicy Greens recipe! Enter the giveaway for the book at the bottom of this post! Now onto my review of the cookbook!
Loves:
I really like the use of the symbols for the recipes, which include under 45 minutes, inactive cooking time, cheaper, beginner recipes, low-fat, gluten-free, soy-free. This are extremely helpful for those in a hurry, on a budget, or have allergies.
The kitchen cartography is very informative yet simple for beginners. Lots of great information here. Being a chef and cooking instructor this section gives me warm fuzzies. I like when cookbooks share important details like knife techniques, tips for cooking, and ingredient glossaries especially when something as unique as global cuisine.
Spice mixture recipes are a nice touch. Toasting and or grinding your own spices can make such a big difference. The taste of bottled store bought garam masala is different than making your own. Homemade is so much more flavorful.
I really like the pickles, chutneys and saucier sauces chapter. Everyone seems to associate “pickles” with cooked brined cucumbers so showing some quick pickle variations is a nice touch. I also love making my own sauces and dressings from scratch. The macrobiotic side of me is going gaga for this chapter.
I like the added info in the swirly blue text telling you where to find ingredients or what tools to use. Helpful and highlighting it with the blue swirls makes it easy to find. I also like the green box info on various ingredients.
Irks:
It doesn’t seem as “international” as I would hope for but highlights some cuisine I’m sure most people have not tried but should! I wish the recipes were easily marked by what part of the country it’s from. The “globes” before the recipe could have been used for that. Some recipes you need to read quite a bit to find out where it’s from. For someone who does not know about food from other nations they are not going to easily be able to identify it based on the title.
Overall:
It’s a must have if you like global cuisine. Most of what you’ll find is Asian, Middle Eastern, with Indian, French and Italian thrown in. For more Latino flair be sure to check out Terry’s last book Viva Vegan!
What are your favorite ethnic foods? Have you traveled the world and found cultures that naturally have a lot of vegan options?
TWO lucky people in the US or Canada will win a copy of Vegan Eats World! Enter below and I’ll announce the winner next Friday!
GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Winners are Millie and Tricia S.