Forest Joseph - Cooking Vegan

VESANTO MELINA, MS, RD, and JOSEPH FOREST, Professional Chef

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Melina, Vesanto, 1942

Cooking vegan / Vesanto Melina, Joseph Forest.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-57067-267-5 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-57067-943-8 (ebook)

1. Vegan cooking. I. Forest, Joseph. II. Title.

TX837.M518 2012

641.5'636dc23

2011049761

Pictured on the front cover: Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Chickpea Topping,
Pictured on the back cover: Vegetable Kabobs,

Cover and interior design: John Wincek

Cover photo: Warren Jefferson

Printed on recycled paper

Book Publishing Co. is a member of Green Press Initiative. We chose to print this title on paper with postconsumer recycled content, processed without chlorine, which saved the following natural resources:

53 trees

1,540 pounds of solid waste

24,287 gallons of wastewater

5,386 pounds of greenhouse gases

21 million BTU of total energy

For more information, visit greenpressinitiative.org.

Paper calculations from Environmental Defense Paper Calculator, edf.org/papercalculator.

2012 Vesanto Melina and Joseph Forest

Photos 2012 Book Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States

Book Publishing Company

P.O. Box 99

Summertown, TN 38483

888-260-8458

bookpubco.com

ISBN 13: 978-1-57067-267-5

18 17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

VESANTO:

To the inspirational leader Thich Nhat Hanh.
Thank you for the compassionate and mindful example you set.

JOSEPH:

To my mother, Louise Forest. Thank you for your
nourishing and unconditional Spirit of Love.

Sincere gratitude to those who made this book possible: Bob Holzapfel, our publisher; Cynthia Holzapfel and Jo Stepaniak, our meticulous editors; and all the wonderful staff at Book Publishing Company.

We appreciate the careful recipe testing by Misuzu Noguchi and Dan Malloy. Thank you to our taste testers: Vesantos wonderful neighbors at WindSong Co-housing Community, including Alan Carpenter, Chandra Carlson, Evan McFee, Gillian Allan, Howard Staples, Kayla Vierling, Jacob Wolfheart, Jessica Bustard, Leslie Wood, Linda Duarte, Michael Mogardo, Mina Mogardo, Miriam Evers, Oliver Bustard, Susan Collerman, Susan McFee, Trevor Erikson, Tricia Carpenter, Valerie McIntyre, and the Thursday Veggie Meal Club. Thanks also go to Tobias Leenaert and Melanie Jaecques of the Ethical Vegetarian Alternative in Gent, Belgium; Josephs niece, Gillian Boehme; and friends Larissa Drozenko and Siripon Pittayakornpisuth.

Special thanks to Angelina Rogon for kitchen assistance, Cam Dor for computer assistance and inspiration, Cristina Viviani for manuscript review, Lars Warje for his baking expertise, and Maureen Butler for insightful editing help.

Love and gratitude to our families and dear ones who encouraged us throughout this project and understood when we went into hibernation to complete the manuscript: Vesantos partner, Cam Dor, son, Chris Crawford, and daughter, Kavyo Crawford; Josephs mother, Louise, brothers, Ray and Forest, and sisters, Donna and Nicole; teachers Jeffrey Armstrong, Sandi Graham and Sarah Webster; friends Lee Gross, Sandra Milena Arismendy, Savey Mattu, Sunrise Ranch, and Edenvale Retreat and Conference Center.

We would like to acknowledge the companies that provided us with their outstanding products: Asian Family Specialty Foods, Daiya Foods, Gardein, Grainworks, LeSaffre Human Care, Manitoba Harvest, Natures Path Organic, Omega Nutrition, and Sunrise Soya Foods.

Many thanks to the chefs and recipe innovators who generously allowed us to use or adapt their recipes for this book:

BC Blueberry Board: Blueberry Mince Tart and Pie Filling ()

Jennifer Cornbleet: Mango-Strawberry Pie (), inspired by recipes from Raw Food Made Easy

Brenda Davis: Coconut Macaroons ()

Valerie McIntyre: Pesto the Besto ()

David McKay: Garden of Plenty Salad ()

Cherie Soria: Green Giant Juice (), from The Raw Food Revolution Diet by Cherie Soria, Brenda Davis, and Vesanto Melina

Jo Stepaniak: Gooda Cheez (), from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Welcome! This precious book is the creation of two people in food-related professions who have different areas of expertise: dietitian and chef. My collaboration with chef Joseph Forest began in 1991, when we met at a presentation by vegan writer and inspirational speaker John Robbins. Joseph and I soon became cohosts of a series of cooking classes that drew enthusiastic crowds and national media attention. Out of that grew our popular cookbook, Cooking Vegetarian, which is the forerunner to this volume.

As a dietitian, I was aware of the nutritional features of food but lacked the skills of a talented chef, who can present dishes that make peoples eyes light up and cause everyone to lick their lips in anticipation. Josephs gift of creating foods that appeal to the senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch drew me to new adventures in the world of food. I was intrigued when he shared with me experiences he had during his chefs training. For example, he recalled that in his apprentice cooking lab, ten budding chefs at ten separate workstations followed a set of identical recipes each day. At the end of every class, all of the prepared food was brought forward for the students to evaluate. Surprisingly, the food each student made tasted unique, even though they had all used the same recipes. Josephs insights have helped me to understand that although we use the same culinary map, we may each arrive at different destinations. Preparing food, even when from a recipe, is truly a creative act that expresses the love and care we put into it. My cooking skills, along with my sensory appreciation of food, have flourished through years of association with my esteemed and capable coauthor.

My diet evolved from a North American pattern that was centered on meat, dairy products, and baked goods. My mother introduced me to the joy of cooking, both alone and with others. She emphasized good nutrition, as she understood it, and also physical fitness. My father was a physiology professor and did graduate work at the University of Toronto with the diabetes researchers who discovered insulin, Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best. My parents example led me to value the two main facets of food: the appetizing (making food look and taste good) and the academic (understanding the nutritional components of food).