Holiday Gift Suggestions – 2 Great Vegan Cookbooks

Cook the Pantry

For the vegan in your life, Vegan Heritage Press continues to publish innovative books that make living a plant-based diet easier. “Cook the Pantry: Vegan Pantry-to-Plate Recipes in 20 Minutes (or Less!)” by Robin Robertson not only proves you can cook up great vegan dishes but quickly as well. There are recipes for artichoke muffaleta poboys (recipe below), five-minute couscous salad and Kitchen Sink capellini. Desserts include no-bake oatmeal cookies, pecan pie balls and Easy as Chocolate pie.

Robertson is the author of more than 20 cookbooks, including “Vegan Planet,” “One-Dish Vegan” and “Vegan Unplugged” which she wrote with her husband, Jon, in the aftermath of a hurricane and a power outage.

Artichoke Muffaleta Po-Boys

3 scallions, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/4 cup pickled vegetables, well-drained

1/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, well-drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, well-drained and halved

1/2 tablespoon Cajun spice blend

2 tablespoons Creole mustard

2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise

2 small sub rolls

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

Pickled sliced jalapenos

Tabasco or other hot sauce, to serve

Directions: In a food processor, combine the scallion and garlic and process until finely minced. Add the pickled vegetables, olives, and pulse to make a relish. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the artichoke hearts, season with the spice blend, and cook until nicely browned, about 5 minutes per side.

To assemble the sandwiches, spread the mayonnaise and the mustard on the inside top and bottom of the bread. Spread the lettuce onto the bottom of each sandwich, followed by tomato slices. Top with the relish mixture, a few slices of jalapenos, and the artichokes. Serve at once with Tabasco.

Makes 2 servings.

The Abundance Diet

Want to try out veganism? Author Somer McCown offers a month-long plan to switch to a plant-based diet and revigorate your health in the process. She explains how to reverse negative ideas about food, reorganize your pantry, shop at the store, save money and much more in "The Abundance Diet: The 28-Day Plan to reinvent your health, lose weight, and discover the power of plant-based foods," also by Vegan Heritage Press.

McCowan should know. She reversed severe ulcerative colitis through a plant-based diet.

Some of the recipes include Cheesy-Smoky-Spicy Black Bean Soup, Tropical Colada Green Smoothie, Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna, Bananas Foster Pancakes and Blueberry Peach Tart with Apricot Crumble.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.

Cookbook Thursday: Vegan Indian style with Richa Hingle; Gentry’s 'Real Food for Everyone' in paperback

            Over the years I’ve evolved from enjoying an Indian dish or two to discovering the nation’s cuisine and actively seeking out its culinary wealth. It’s still a new horizon for me, navigating the spices and sauces, so I was thrilled to receive for review “Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook” by Richa Hingle. Not only is this lovely cookbook full of great recipes to try, but plenty of cooking tips as well — even a grocery list to teach me what ingredients to have on hand.

            Hingle grew up in India, prefers a vegan diet and is the creator of VeganRicha.com so these recipes are all plant-based. There’s my favorite chickpea curry, baked dishes such as spicy red lentil cauliflower potato casserole, mango curry tofu, avocado Naan and so much more. For dessert, how about fudgy cardamom squares, coconut balls or doughnuts soaked in sugar syrup.

            Here’s a fun recipe for “Easy Curried Green Beans.”

Easy Curried Green Beans

From “Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen”

1 teaspoon safflower or coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

3/4 cup chopped or thinly sliced red or white onion

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

3 1/2 cups fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces (thawed if frozen)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Cook until they start to pop. Stir in the onion and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garam masala, turmeric and cayenne. Cook until fragrant, 2 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.

Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, if using, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the green beans, salt and wa­ter. Mix well, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Stir, taste and adjust salt and spice. Check the beans for doneness. Add a bit more water if you want to keep it saucy. Cover and cook until beans are cooked through, 5 minutes. The beans should not be mushy, but just about well-cooked. Serve hot, garnished with cilantro.

            Now in paperback is Ann Gentry’s “Real Food for Everyone: Vegan-Friendly Meals for Meal-Lovers, Vegetarians, and Vegans,” full of healthy recipes such as pinto bean enchiladas, sesame-shiitake tofu frittatas and chocolate silk pie. After you gaze through these recipes, you’ll agree with Gentry that “being vegan is actually cool.”’

            Here’s an innovative recipe for those looking for alternatives to dairy. Gentry uses this cheese recipe in her Real Food Daily restaurant.

Vegan Cashew Cheese

From “Real Food for Everyone”

Makes 4 cups

1 1/4 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons sea salt1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 1/2 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
1 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) agar agar flakes
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup yellow or white miso
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions: Using the pulse button, finely grind the cashews in a food processor (do not allow the cashews to turn into a paste). Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. Pulse 3 more times to blend in the spices. Combine the soy milk, agar and oil in a heavy medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the agar is dissolved. With the food processor running, gradually pour the milk mixture through the feed tube and into the cashew mixture. Blend for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. Blend in the miso and lemon juice.

For grated or sliced cheese: Transfer the cheese to a container; cover and refrigerate until it is very firm, about 4 hours. Once it is firm, grate or slice the cheese as desired.

For melted cheese: Use the cheese immediately as melted cheese. To make the cheese in advance, cover and refrigerate it. When ready to use, melt it in a saucepan over medium heat until it is smooth and creamy, stirring frequently and adding more soy milk to the melted cheese to thin, if necessary.
            The cheese will keep for 4 days, covered and refrigerated.

Chere Dastugue Coen is the author of "Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History," "Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana" and "Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana" and co-author of "Magic's in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets." She also writes Louisiana romances under Cherie Claire, including "A Cajun Dream" and "The Letter." Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Cookbook Thursday: Vegan lovers rejoice!

            Life used to be hard for vegetarians, and harder still for vegans. Several beautiful new cookbooks have emerged on the market, giving hope to those who insist on a non-animal diet.

            Cookbook veteran Robin Robertson of Virginia looked to the world for inspiration and compiled a variety of recipes from 20 different countries in “Vegan Without Borders: Easy Everyday Meals from Around the World.” There’s Portobello mushrooms with béarnaise sauce from France, cucumber and white bean ceviche from South America and eggplant satays from Thailand, to name a few. This lovely hardback book is beautifully illustrated as well, so it makes a great gift for the vegan in the family.

            Other vegan books by Robertson include “More Quick-Fix Vegan” as a follow-up to her “Quick-Fix Vegan,” 150 easy-to-make recipes; “Hot Vegan: 200 Sultry and Full-Flavored Recipes from Around the World,” which should please Louisiana palates; and “The Nut Butter Cookbook” that offers 100 vegan recipes that are made from different kinds of nut butter. The latter book is timely due to the processed peanut butter recalls, since Robertson advocates creating at home alternatives such as almond and sunflower butter as well as cheeses, creams and sauces from every kind of nut and seed (check out the awesome recipe below).

            Is one of you a vegan and the other is not? Try “The Lusty Vegan: A Cookbook and Relationship Manifesto for Vegans and the People Who Love Them” by Chef Ayindé Howell and food writer Zoe Eisenberg. This fun cookbook offers humor and relationship tips in addition to its numerous recipes.

            Making life easier is “Everyday Vegan Eats: Family Favorites from My Kitchen to Yours” by Zsu Dever and “Vegan Tacos: Authentic and Inspired Recipes for Mexico’s Favorite Street Food” by Chef Jason Wyrick, both from Vegan Heritage Press. And one that’s sure to please all food lovers — great for parties with non-vegan eaters — is “Vegan Pizza: 50 Cheesy, Crispy, Healthy Recipes” by Julie Hasson.

            To whet your appetite, here is a recipe for vegetable cashew korma from “The Nut Butter Cookbook.”

Vegetable Cashew Korma

From “The Nut Butter Cookbook”

1 cup raw cashew pieces, soaked in water for 3 hours or overnight

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch dice

3 cups small broccoli or cauliflower florets

1 large sweet yellow onion

4 cloves garlic

2 jalapeños, seeded and minced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon garam masala

Salt and black pepper

1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup coconut milk

8 ounces fresh baby spinach

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

            Directions: Drain the cashews and transfer them to a high-speed blender or food processor. Add 1 cup of the broth and process until very smooth. Set aside.

Steam the potatoes and broccoli over boiling water, either separately or together, depending on the size of your steamer, until just tender but not soft, 10 to 15 minutes. If steaming the vegetables together, start with the potatoes, then about 7 minutes later add the broccoli, in order for them to be done around the same time. Remove from the heat, uncover, and set aside.

            In a food processor, combine the onion, garlic, jalapeños, and ginger and puree until smooth.
            Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the pureed onion mixture and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes to cook off any raw taste. Do not burn. Stir in the coriander, garam masala, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice, chickpeas, and remaining 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the reserved cashew cream and the coconut milk. Cook uncovered over low heat for about 15 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the spinach, peas, cilantro, and reserved steamed vegetables, and heat until hot. Add the lime juice, then taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve hot.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.