Makini Howell - Plum: Gratifying Vegan Dishes from Seattles Plum Bistro

Copyright 2013 by Makini Howell
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Sasquatch Books

Editor: Susan Roxborough
Project editor: Michelle Hope Anderson
Copy editor: Diane Sepanski
Photographs: Charity Burggraaf
Design: Anna Goldstein
Food styling: Julie Hopper

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data is available.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-57061-837-6
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-57061-791-0

Sasquatch Books
1904 Third Avenue, Suite 710
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 467-4300
www.sasquatchbooks.com

v3.1

( GF )=Gluten Free, ( SF )=Soy Free

F OODS CAN BE MAGICAL , not just tasty, satisfying, and deliciousall the things we associate with a hearty meal. Foods can be so much more. They can transform your life.

At the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, we have seen this in our research studies. People join our studies hoping to trim down, improve their health, or get off their medications. They learn to make healthier meals and are delighted to find that a menu change really does help them accomplish all these things. But when foods also boost their energy, dissolve long-standing aches and pains, and make them feel years younger, thats what many people have never had the chance to experience.

Magic can happen at a restaurant too. You come in from a busy Seattle street, looking for a bite to eat. With a friendly greeting, youre escorted to a table. As dinner is served, you discover this is no ordinary meal. The food is so delightfully prepared; so attractive, aromatic, and flavorfulfamiliar ingredients transformed into something youve never quite tasted before. And you understand exactly why Plum Bistro is so popular.

In this book, Makini Howell loans you her magic wand. She shows you the secrets she uses at Plum. Whether you are preparing a simple, quick meal or an elaborate dinner, these wonderful recipes are exactly what you are looking for.

As a doctor, I am always glad when patients improve their diets. The most important guarantee of their success is using ingredients and recipes that are appealing and tasty, so that they want to stick to their healthy resolve. The dishes at Plum go much, much further. They are so delightful, youll want to come back again and again. And when dinner is this delightful, who would ever want to miss out on the magic?

NEAL BARNARD, M.D.
President, Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine, W ASHINGTON , DC

I LOVE THE ART OF FOOD : the colors, the spices, and the creativity. In 2005 I left a high-pressure job as a graphic designer and mens denim designer in New York City, returning to my hometown of Seattle with a vision of Plum Bistro in my head: a warm, inviting, beautiful space with delicious food. My hope was to create a place that tells a story of entrepreneurialism, family, food, culture, and sustainability; a place that shares my excitement about incorporating veganism into your diet.

The Plum cookbook came about through popular demand. So many of our customers ask how we do it, and oftentimes theyre asking for more than just our recipes. Plum Bistro is about giving veganism a new definition, incorporating my generations work ethics, beliefs, and style into what we do. We want our love of a plant-based diet to embody the change were all going to meet in the coming years with regard to how we harvest food and how we treat our host planet.

Plums food is honest and straightforward, yet remarkably forward thinking. Its honest because its personal. It tells my story as a lifelong vegan, and its made and served by a group of people who love the space theyre in. They love preparing our food, as well as being a part of a small but influential community.

My intention with this book is to create a complete culinary experience. When I was in New York, even living in Brooklyn I was frustrated by the lack of vegan options. Eating out almost always meant having a salad. Although we do offer salads, at Plum there are no limits on being vegan. Instead, we like to think of what we do as an expansionfor me, vegan food is about flavor first. My recipes are shaped by traditions such as butter sauces, chimichurri dressing, and handmade pastas. I also use classic grilling techniques for everything from pizzas to vegetables, and I dont rely heavily on tofu. Im really not trying to replace anything because I dont feeland Ive never feltlike Im missing anything. Im just using other sources of protein. What youll find in these pages is a vegan reinterpretation of modern, smart, thoughtful food. You can cook our recipes easily at home, and we have a wide enough variety that you can revel in our dishes at every meal.

Our bistro reflects this same idea. When you step into Plum, whether youre a vegan or not, you wont miss a thing. Our food covers every meal and mood: we have a brunch menu, featuring . Weve worked hard to expand the definition of what makes for a gratifying, innovative meal. Besides offering gluten- and nut-free dishes, we also have something called a transitional raw section on our menu. We want to be able to feed almost anyone. Theres not one person on staff right now (except for me) whos completely vegan, but everyone loves eating what we cook.

This idea of changing the way you taste pushes us to experiment and recraft, to look at our dishes from outside the box and try to make them even tastier, more indulgent, and more vibrant. We unapologetically incorporate bold colors and spices to speak loudly to your culinary experience. One of our great passions is to draw on the simple traditions of American food to stir your palate and emotions. We are bright, daring, and sophisticated, and through our promise to do no harm to our animal neighbors, we peacefully extend to you all the bounty and beauty of the earth.

Our focus is to support local small and family-owned farms by using 90 percent regionally grown foods. Sometimes we use bananas, sure, and they dont grow in the Northwest, but we try to be conscious of when were using foods from outside our region and why. Were also a 100 percent organic company.