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Interior and Designer: Lindsey Dekker
Art Producer: Hannah Dickerson
Editor: Rachel Feldman
Production Manager: Michael Kay
Production Editor: Melissa Edeburn
Photography 2020 Tara Donne. Food styling by Cyd McDowell. Illustrations Statement Goods/Creative Market, interior pattern; BlackBird Foundry/Creative Market, p. courtesy of Allison Moix.
ISBN: Print 978-1-64739-917-7 | eBook 978-1-64739-918-4
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CONTENTS
PLANTS DO IT BETTER
UMAMI BOMBS
SALT ALTERNATIVES
For the early part of my adult life, it never occurred to me to eat a vegetarian diet. A devoted meat-and-potatoes gal from the Midwest, I was living healthfully and happily with my status quo.
In my late thirties, I found myself in a small village in Kenya for a pretty cool work assignment that concluded with a gorgeous celebration of song and dance and the slaughter of a goat, which was then served for dinner. As a child, growing up on the Mississippi River and straddling Illinois and Iowa, I knew all about meat and how it landed on our plates. But something felt different. I looked that goat in the eye, and I became a vegetarian that night. Over the course of eight years, I slowly inched toward fully plant-based eating and vegan living, which Ive been doing for more than 10 years.
Some longtime followers of my vegan culinary work and cookbooks may be scratching your heads (and a few may be picking yourselves up from the floor). Ive always been very clear that I identify as vegan, not plant-based. But lets be clear: vegan is a noun, and so am I. Plant-based is an adjective that describes a way of eating that just happens to be the way I tend to cook. Confused? Dont worry, Ill explain these distinctions soon enough. The trend toward plant-based eating continues to grow, and I want to make it easy and less confusing to adopt a plant-based diet.
If you picked up this book, youre probably not sure where to start. And I get that. As much as Im a vegan culinary enthusiast now, I struggled when I first started eating plant-based. Wheres my protein? Just what am I supposed to do with kale? Nutritional yeast, what is that? I also wondered: Do I have to shop at specialty grocery stores? Have I just signed up for the worlds most expensive way of eating? Will I ever be able to dine out with friends again?
It didnt take long to discover that beans and legumes (and lots of veggies and grains) have protein, as well as plenty of vitamins and nutrients. I learned that beans, grains, vegetables, and fruit are absolutely affordable. And that anything plant-based I want to find is at my local grocery store, Walmart, Target, or even Costco.
When I started eating plant-based, I lived with a non-veg husband. I learned to create meals that he enjoyed as much as I did (spoiler alert: after a few years, he went vegan, too). I took cooking classes in New York and Philadelphia and learned the art and craft of making vegan cheese and meat and how to cook with the seasons.
What does that mean for you? This book is for everyone . Throw those labels aside. If you eat food, you eat vegetables. And Ive got some tasty ones for you. If you recently watched a documentary about the health benefits of a plant-based diet or your physician suggested you eat more plants, Ive got the goods right here. This is a plant-exclusive cookbook that will help you eat healthy foodlayered with flavors for your pleasure palateevery day.
From an introduction to plant-based eating to pragmatic tips for making this way of eating sustainable to culinary tricks that will leave you feeling like a chef, plus a 21-day meal plan to help make things easy and 115 easy recipes that will appeal to you and to those you cook for, this book has everything you need.
I want you to fall in love with leafy greens, fragrant fruit, protein-packed legumes, nutrient-rich grains, and all the nuts and seeds that fall in between. I want you to have fun in the kitchen and to feel like a culinary rock star (with as little effort as possible).
And I think you will.
Okay, are you ready to get excited about plants? You should be. Its a whole new world. When I was a child growing up in rural Illinois, we had a big garden and grew lots of our own food. We even canned the tomatoes we harvested and froze corn to eat during the winter. But we never really focused on the beauty of the plant. It was always on the side of the plate, an afterthought to the meaty center. When I went vegan, it was like meeting these veggies for the first time. As you cook your way through this book, I want you to experience the pure joy of making bountiful produce shine.
