Vegan Fusion
World Cuisine
by Mark Reinfeld and Bo Rinaldi
Beaufort Books, 2007
$19.95, paperback
243 pages
Health, inspiration, peace - can you find it on a plate? Deepak Chopra and Pierce Brosnan think that the local, vegan menu at Kuai's Blossoming Lotus Restaurant can get you there. Who knew that one of the James Bonds is into vegan cuisine? Insert shaken, not stirred joke here.
The philosophy of the restaurant and the recipes in this book is based in what the authors call "a wider circle of compassion" that is expanded, naturally to include animals and the earth, but relying on a vegan and live food menu of local produce. Their goal is to heal our bodies and our planet.
The vegan diet and lifestyle, like all such philosophies, can be followed with varying degrees of rigor, but is basically plant based. Obviously that means no meat, but also no dairy, eggs, or even honey. While that list could include white sugar and transfats, not a healthy way to eat, they use "natural" foods, that is without dyes or preservatives, and food consumed near where it is produced.
The authors point our that people follow a vegan diet for health and medical reasons such as cholesterol and toxic residues, or for environmental and political reasons, distressed by clear cutting forests and wanton use of water resources. A vegan diet may also appeal to those with moral and ethical concerns about fair trade and factory farming.
You can tie yourself in knots or spend hours on the internet debating and debunking. But even in a hectic, 9 to 5, SUV world, you can carve out some time for good food. The books wisely takes a transition dieting approach, recognizing that lasting change comes gradually. Forcing yourself or your family to give up familiar and comforting foods may just cause resentment. You can even develop new favorites if they are introduced gently.
The book includes an easy to get started with set of menus for the everyday vegan that includes dishes like pasta primavera, asparagus risotto, carrot cake, black bean soup, and banana bread. These are not hard to face at all.
So how do you make carrot cake without eggs and cream cheese frosting? Use spelt flour, sucanat (a sweetener derived from granulated sugar cane), cinnamon and raisins, and finish it with Cashew Creme Frosting made with coconut milk and dates. It may not be traditional, but it sounds good.
Some of the dishes require special ingredients that fill out a vegan diet, such as seitan, spirulina, tempeh, and wakame. But most of these are easily available at specialty stores and with time and these recipes, you'll get comfortable cooking with them.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus on the other hand, doesn't require any special ingredients beyond tahini, and will work equally well in a lunch boxes as a party dip. Like many of the book's recipes, this one strays from the classic preparation for an excellent result. The roasted peppers add a gentle smoky sweetness, cumin, garlic and shoyu add depth, and a squeeze of lemons juice lifts the whole out of leguminous stodginess.
It you're ready for a change, looking to sneak some good and healthy flavor onto the family dinner table, or seeing another new year's resolution slip away unresolved, try these recipes for an easy and pleasant change.
© 2008 Claudia Kousoulas
