Jessica Prescott - Vegan Goodness Feasts: Plant-Based Meals for Big & Little Gatherings

Contents

Dedication
To Berlin, and all the people who made our half-decade there so special.

There is nothing quite like sitting down to a meal with people you love...

For me, food has always been a way of connecting with people and nurturing my relationships. Growing up, no matter the state of our familial affairs, dinner was eaten around the kitchen table. The TV would be turned off and my dad would put on a record and we would eat, sometimes chatting, sometimes feuding, but always together.

My mum is an incredible cook and has worked in the bustling Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, food industry her entire life. She is renowned for putting on the best spreads and is always happy to cook whatever our hearts desire at Christmas time, instead of the usual Christmas fare. She embraced her role of cooking for a vegetarian teenager when I still lived at home and these days, we talk almost daily, swapping food stories, tips and ideas. As for her baking, its the stuff of legend I tell you.

Sharing meals with loved ones is a ritual that followed me into adulthood, and now into parenthood, with my husband Andy and son, Louie, who was almost two at the time of writing this. Theres something special about slowing down, sharing, and connecting with friends and family over food and conversation. Usually we come together for no reason other than to just be together, other times theres a celebration or commiseration at hand, but food my most loyal and faithful friend is always there.

Now that I am a mother and a member of an ever-growing extended family, I want to pass on the ritual of coming together over wholesome food to the little ones in my life. Louie and I already spend a lot of time in the kitchen together, and I hope that it will be as happy a place for the next generation as it is for me; that they will always find comfort and nourishment in my pantry and at my table; and that my nieces, nephews and fairy godchildren will always cherish the memories of the epic birthday cakes I made for them.

Kiwis are known for their insatiable wanderlust and I am no exception. In 2012, I moved to Berlin with my then-boyfriend and now-husband, Andy. What was supposed to be a year-long working holiday ended up being a five-year love affair with the cold, rude, dirty, but wonderful, city of Berlin.

Once upon a time, during our early Berlin years, dinner parties were rowdy, all-night affairs the kind where every guest brings a bottle of wine and every drop gets drunk. After becoming parents, dinners became more intimate and often took place before friends ventured off into the Berlin night. I loved that even though we were constantly growing and changing, we still had dinner... we will always have dinner.

My little family lives in Melbourne now, but our Berlin apartment had a special kind of magic. Even in its most chaotic state, it was a place of connection and creativity. My son, my first book, Vegan Goodness, and most of this book you now hold in your hands were all born there. As an ode to its magic, and as a way of remembering what was, I wanted to share some of the creations that have made it from my Berlin kitchen to the bellies of my loved ones, as well as some of the creations that have made it from their kitchens to mine, over the past five years.

Theres a feeling about feasting and food preparation that I just love. Ive said it before and Ill probably say it a thousand times more over the course of my life, but my kitchen really is my happy place. Sometimes I dont have the capacity for more than a smoothie and a piece of toast, but when occasion calls nothing beats spending all day and night cooking, with Louie asleep or playing happily alongside me, and Andy on hand to help with the inevitable mountain of dishes.

I also find there is something incredibly romantic about cooking together. Perhaps its because it only happens on special occasions holidays spent with family, weekends away with your best friends but, to me, sitting around a large wooden table with a bottle of wine and a bunch of loved ones, chatting while we peel and chop and prep the ingredients for a meal we are going to enjoy together, is quite unbeatable.

Ive written this book so that you can follow the recipes Ive suggested, or pluck out components that you like the sound of, to create your own feast. Whether youre in a cooking mood and want to spend a day in the kitchen, or going to a potluck with a bunch of friends and a medley of assorted dishes. Or perhaps you just want a simple feast, to share with your housemates, your lover or your child. No matter your situation, there is something in this book for you. New things. Naughty things. Delicious things. Vegan things.

About the portion sizes

In these recipes a range is given, such as Serves 48: meaning it will feed 4 if served as a main dish, 8 if served with an array of other things, such as in a potluck, buffet or multi-course meal. Its always difficult to give exact numbers, as it depends on personal preference (my friends are enthusiastic eaters), and whether or not there are toddlers or teenagers involved, so use this as a guide and remember: this book is about feasting and leftovers are the best.

Since making the decision to be as vegan as possible at the beginning of 2013, my passion for sharing food has deepened, because I am endlessly inspired and excited by vegan creations. The things you can do with vegetables really is endless.

These days, almost everyone has a friend or family member who chooses not to eat animal products. Ever since the World Health Organisation declared processed meat products to be carcinogenic, I get almost daily messages sometimes from an old school friend, other times from a complete stranger telling me they are going vegan, that their formerly meat-loving families are requesting vegan and vegetarian meals, or that they are feeling the desire to eat more plant-based meals. This is born both out of curiosity and out of mindfulness, and coming with it is the realisation that vegan food isnt just for vegans. The new wave of TV series and films and documentaries such as What the Health, Dominion, Food Matters and Okja have also played a significant role in helping people redefine what healthy, ethical and environmentally friendly eating really is.

Im not here to try and convince you to go vegan, youll figure out what works best for you in your own time, and thats likely to be fluid and ever-changing. All I want is to inspire a shift, that sees meals without meat and dairy just as commonplace as (if not more common than) meals with them. This is the change I wish to see, a change that is vital for the wellbeing of our beautiful planet and everyone who is lucky enough to inhabit her.

My first book, Vegan Goodness, was almost a vegan cooking 101. Simple, inexpensive recipes, most of them a vegan-ised version of things that people were already familiar with. This book is a little more complex. The recipes are still very achievable for a confident and passionate home cook, but some of them might be a bit overwhelming for beginner cooks, who might not have as many of the ingredients on hand as someone who likes to cook frequently and with wholefoods. The good thing is that even a beginner cook can make a salad or smash some potatoes, so I hope that no matter what stage you are at in your cooking journey, you will find recipes in here that will inspire and excite you.