Weekend Cooking: Everyday Happy Herbivore

I have been following Lindsay's blog for a while now, and because I heard so many good things about the book I got really curious. When I saw the book only costs about 13 euro in the pre order on the book depository,I decided to buy it.

Title: Everyday Happy Herbivore
Author: Lindsay S. Nixon
Subject: Vegan Cooking
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
Release date: December, 2011
Length: 336 pages

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"After vegan chef Lindsay S. Nixon wrapped up her popular cookbook The Happy Herbivore Cookbook last year, she went back to her kitchen in her new home of St. Maarten. Island living encouraged her to come up with simpler recipes, which led her to create a follow-up cookbook with a focus on recipes that bring tasty back to quick-and-easy.

Now, in Nixon’s much-anticipated follow-up cookbook, Everyday Happy Herbivore, readers will see, once again, that just because plant-based eating is optimal for health, that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive or time-consuming.

Everyday Happy Herbivore will include more than 175 doable recipes—recipes that are so quick and easy, you could cook three healthy meals from scratch every day.

Each of Nixon’s recipes are made with wholesome, easy-to-find, fresh ingredients and include no added fats. With additional notes indicating recipes that are ideal for preparing ahead of time and those you can whip up with just a few dollars, Everyday Happy Herbivore will be the must-have cookbook for anyone desiring a healthier, happier menu!"

Personal opinion:
When I finally got this book on my doormat, I was really excited! I just couldn't believe that such a nice looking cookbook with so many pictures only cost me 13 euro! I mean if you buy a book like this in the Netherlands, you easily pay 20-30 euro, so I was astonished really. Lindsay holds a brief introduction on the basics of quick and healthy vegan cooking but jumps right into the recipes after that. I loved that for once a recipe that claims to be quick, actually was! In a lot of other cookbooks, when it says you will have the meal done in 30 minutes, I spend an hour in the kitchen. So when I made my first recipes from this book, I went in an hour before dinnertime, only to be finished 20 minutes later, for real! I was really pleased by this and therefore I think I will use this a lot when I want something quick and tasty.

The book does have a wide variety of recipes, which I really like. I do notice that there are a lot of bean recipes in there though. So if you dislike beans, this book might not be for you. Otherwise most recipes use easy ingredients, especially if your pantry is vaganised already. My pantry isn't, so sometimes I still wonder where to get certain items, but I have this a lot less than with certain other vegan cookbooks I own. In the back of the book there is some handy information on certain ingredients and a metric conversion table. The latter is great for me of course :) As you may have noticed I am very positive about this book, and I will probably buy Lindsay's first book too when I have the chance.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Other reviews: None yet.
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

As always a recipe from the book :) This time I will share a salad that I tried and loved!

Southwest Chop Salad (serves 2 - original served 1, but I adjusted)
- 2 cups chopped lettuce
- 1/2 cup cooked rice (the original uses brown, I used multi grain)
- 2/3 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed (I also had leftover kidney beans, so tossed those in as well)
- 1/2 cup yellow corn
- 1/2 cup tomatoes (which we forgot to add, oops)
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions
- optional corn chips (we left them out)

Mix all ingredients together, except for corn chips. Break chips over top of the salad if using. Add the dressing. I used smoked BBQ sauce as a dressing, which I thought was great with these ingredients, but the book also suggests hot sauce with fresh lime juice or salsa. It is a great salad for lunch and also in a bento.

But this is not all! I have a little extra for you, namely an author interview with Lindsay! She was so kind to answer some questions :)

Q: Why should people consider going vegan?
A: There are so many compelling reasons to eat a plant-based diet. It's the best thing you can do for our planet, for your health, for the animals and for humanity.


Q: What is an easy dish that you would recommend to someone who is
vegetarian but haven't made the switch to a vegan lifestyle yet?
A: Everyone has their owns likes and dislikes, so it's really up to that individual. Scope out some vegan recipes and see which ones appeal to you, which ones sound interesting or delicious and give it a try!

Q: What are the three ingredients you would advise to purchase if you are
going vegan? (Please keep in mind that I live in Europe and not
everything that is available in the states is available here)
A: I just spent the last year as an ex-pat living on a French and Dutch island... and then I spent a month in Europe... and will be going back for three months in 2012 (to live in Germany) so I'm not too attached to any american products except, maybe oatmeal and peanut butter, which you can find in most of europe.
For Europeans, I'd say find a soya or almond or rice drink you like and stick with it. I found soy yogurts and soy butters pretty common over there, and those could be helpful too, though not necessary and not something I'd recommend. Same with tofu. Nice if you can find it, but not necessary.
All you need to be vegan is fruits, vegetables, grains and beans -- and thankfully, those are in abundance all over Europe!

Q: Because I am a huge fan of home made burgers, what is your favorite
vegan burger recipe?
It's a tie between the mushroom burgers in my first cookbook, The Happy Herbivore, and the Quick Burgers (black bean burgers) in my second cookbook, Everyday Happy Herbivore.

Thank you so much Lindsay, for taking the time to answer these questions!

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, please check out what the other participants have been up to :)

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