Book Review – Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul by Jenné Claiborne

Book Review – Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul by Jenné Claiborne

New York: Harmony Books, 2018. 223pp. Hello my Booksmart friends! It’s been a minute due to increased demands of real life away from the kitchen. But no matter how busy we get, we gotta eat! And so I must insist that you obtain for yourselves a copy of Sweet Potato Soul forthwith.  This slim paperback is bursting with flavor, creativity, and positivity. As its name implies, it is heavily focused on sweet potatoes, which in addition to being healthy are…

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Book Review – Vegan Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Reduce Inflammation, and Live Longer – the 16:8 Way by Petra Bracht, MD and Mira Flatt

Book Review – Vegan Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Reduce Inflammation, and Live Longer – the 16:8 Way by Petra Bracht, MD and Mira Flatt

It seems like vegans are often left out of the various weight-loss crazes du jour, which is obviously no fair, so I was pleased to pick up this substantial paperback, Vegan Intermittent Fasting. Before launching in, I think it’s worth taking a moment here to engage with the “plant-based” v. “vegan” issue for those of you who are newer to this. Although people debate this all time, the consensus is (and Booksmart’s position is) veganism is not a diet. Veganism…

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Book Review – The Little Pine Cookbook: Modern Plant-Based Comfort by Moby

Book Review – The Little Pine Cookbook: Modern Plant-Based Comfort by Moby

Little Pine is the second restaurant launched by Moby, arguably the OG celebrity vegan. For some reason, I passed over this book of recipes from the eatery several times before I picked it up. I’m glad I finally did. It’s an attractive, nicely sized hardcover with clear, readable print and enticing photos. The book is broken down into seven chapters: Little Pine Staples, Brunch, Soups and Salads, Small Plates and Sides, Hearty Mains and Large Plates, Desserts and Drinks. This…

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Product Review: Follow Your Heart Bleu Cheese Dairy-Free Crumbles

Product Review: Follow Your Heart Bleu Cheese Dairy-Free Crumbles

OMG, you guys you guys you guys. Did you like bleu cheese before you went vegan? Are you resisting becoming vegan because you can’t find bleu cheese? If you have been hoping in vein (see what I did there?) for a vegan bleu cheese option, your prayers have been answered by these crumbles from Follow Your Heart, the guys who brought you the original Vegenaise. These crumbles are closer to the taste and texture of dairy cheese than any vegan…

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Product Review: Kite Hill Queso

Product Review: Kite Hill Queso

Many of us who grew up in the Northwest D.C. area in the 80s agree that the chili con queso dip at the Tucson Cantina was a formative experience. Although the Cantina has long since passed into the annals of history, the quest to replace that dip has never waned. And now it is over. I have found it. AND. IT’S. VEGAN. This almond-based dip from Kite Hill is solid in the container, but when heated develops an absolutely perfect…

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Book Review – Bad Manners: The Official Cookbook

Book Review – Bad Manners: The Official Cookbook

New York: Rodale, 2014, 2021. 212pp. Bad Manners: The Official Cookbook doesn’t feature a named author, but it is spinoff the blog and related podcast of the same name. (Check out both at badmanners.com). The, uh, unique approach of this book is to season the recipes it offers with a generous sprinkling of four letter words and general attitude. It so happens I season my everyday life similarly, so I find it hilarious most of the time. But, if you…

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Book Review – Vegan Buddha Bowls: Easy Healthy Recipes to Feel Great from the Inside Out by Cara Carin Cifelli

Book Review – Vegan Buddha Bowls: Easy Healthy Recipes to Feel Great from the Inside Out by Cara Carin Cifelli

Salem, MA: Page Street Publishing, 2020. 160pp. Vegan Buddha Bowls by Cara Carlin Cifelli is a slim paperback volume you will definitely want to add to your collection for meals that are fresh and straightforward but also include many creative twists. Like any cookbook, not every recipe is a winner, but the ones that are will make you want to keep it around, and the ones that aren’t don’t break the bank with money and time, so you won’t be…

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Product Reviews: Miyoko’s Revolutionary Liquid Pizza Mozzarella and Miyoko’s Farmhouse Cheddar

Product Reviews: Miyoko’s Revolutionary Liquid Pizza Mozzarella and Miyoko’s Farmhouse Cheddar

A two-fer product review today for a couple of new things from Miyoko’s, one of the standouts in the vegan “cheese” world. The first, Miyoko’s Roadhouse Cheddar in the Classic Sharp flavor, is smooth and spreadable, tasty and tangy, and perfectly satisfying on a cracker when you need a little before-dinner snack. (Very reminiscent of the little tub of cheese that my parents often had around at cocktail hour in the 70s.) The second, Miyoko’s Revolutionary Liquid Pizza Mozzarella, is…

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Book Review – Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry

Book Review – Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry

New York: Ten Speed Press, 2020. 249pp. There are a lot of things to like about Bryant Terry’s Vegetable Kingdom. The first is how much the author’s personality comes through. I find that cookbooks can often give you a sense of a person in a way many other things can’t. And my conclusion about Bryant Terry is, man, I love this guy! I adore how he vibes with his kids about cooking and food — his daughter suggested the unorthodox…

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Product Review: Bitchin’ Sauce (Chipotle Flavor)

Product Review: Bitchin’ Sauce (Chipotle Flavor)

You are welcome. Why? Because I have just changed your life by telling you about Bitchin’ Sauce. This creamy, almond-based saucy thing has a perfect texture and just the right amount of heat to spice up any thing you want to put it on. I now make burritos just to have something to slather it on. You can mix it with salsa to make a yummy dip or stir it into a corn chowder to really make it sing. If…

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