Myra Goodman - Straight from the Earth: Irresistible Vegan Recipes for Everyone

This book is dedicated to our family.
With gratitude to the generations that came before us and love for generations to come.

Text copyright 2014 by Myra Goodman and Marea Goodman.
Photographs copyright 2014 by Sara Remington.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4521-3025-5 (ebook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Goodman, Myra.
Straight from the earth : irresistible vegan recipes for everyone /
by Myra Goodman and Marea Goodman ; photographs by Sara Remington.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4521-1269-5 (print edition)

1. Vegan cooking. 2. Cooking (Natural foods) 3. Cooking (Vegetables)
4. Earthbound Farm (Firm) I. Goodman, Marea. II. Title.

TX837.G655 2014
641.5'636dc23
2013026597

Designed by Brooke Johnson
Prop styling by Sarah Cave
Food styling by Constance Pikulas
Food preparation by Chelsey Bawot
Camera assistance by Kassandra Medeiros
Typesetting by David Van Ness

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

MYRA

What a revelation its been to write this cookbook. I am thrilled to have assembled so many tasty and tempting purely plant-based recipes, and to have done so in collaboration with my beloved daughter, Marea. Although I havent become a vegan or given up foods Ive always loved, Ive learned that vegan food can offer tremendous abundance and variety to meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans alike. With the introduction of these new recipes into my life, I feel better nourished, extra energized, and more joyful about food than ever before.

Although I grew up eating mostly processed foods and very little fresh produce, my diet has been very healthy for the past twenty years. Living on our original two-and-a-half-acre organic farm (where we launched Earthbound Farm), I have had constant access to fresh organic produce. Because I eat a lot of salads, whole grains, and lean meats, I thought I couldnt do much better, so I was surprised by the riches and variety a plant-based diet had to offer.

When Marea and I decided to write a vegan cookbook, we began creating delicious and satisfying meals without a chicken breast or piece of steak at the center of the plate. Vegan means no animal products at allno meat, fish, dairy, or eggs; not even honey (because it comes from bees). This project meant learning to utilize the vast selection of plant foods that come straight from the earth: fresh vegetables pulled from the soil or picked off the vine; sweet bush and tree fruit; the many tastes and colors of beans, peas, lentils, grains, and rice; and a huge variety of nuts and seeds.

Being so focused on personal and environmental health, I eat organic whenever possible. Ive always known that I should eat fewer animal products, but until recently, I could never have imagined writing a vegan cookbook. I love meat and dairy, and was convinced that I needed to eat them in substantial quantities to feel satisfied. But then I started to notice that a lot of my favorite meals just happened to be vegan. The huge salad topped with roasted beets, beans, and pumpkin seeds from our farm stand; our delicious curry split pea soup; my pasta with heirloom tomato saucewhich my son refuses to sprinkle with Parmesan because he doesnt want to alter its perfect taste; the hummus and tomato sandwiches I rely on. It became clear to me that I was eatingand enjoyinga purely plant-based diet far more than I realized.

At the same time, Marea was in college at UC Berkeley, living in a co-op where many of the residents were vegan (Marea wasnt one of them). To make sure everyone could partake, none of the communal meals could contain any animal products whatsoever. Marea has always been a naturally confident and creative cook, but she didnt cook very often while living at home. Nonetheless, for her work shift she signed up with a friend to cook dinner every Sundayfor sixty people! Without too much planning, and using mostly ingredients regularly stocked in the co-ops fridge and pantry, they conjured up delicious multi-course meals every week. I was fascinated by the way Marea applied her creative mind and natural resourcefulness to come up with a whole array of wonderful new recipes.

I called Marea every Saturday, inevitably when she was busy and didnt have time to talk. But I just had to ask, What are you making for dinner tomorrow? And then Monday I had to check in: How did it turn out?

Most of their meals had an ethnic theme. One of Mareas favorites was a Thai dinner, complete with fresh spring rolls and delicious Thai coconut soup. Another night, their Vietnamese dinner earned them a standing ovation. I immediately begged her to come home and make that identical dinner for us. Not only was I proud, I was inspired.

Writing this cookbook together has highlighted the lifelong bonds we share and made us closer. Although Marea and I are alike in many ways, in other ways we are polar opposites. A clear example is our hair. Ive had the same long hair my whole life with a length that has only varied by a few inches. Marea had long hair until she turned nineteen, when she cut it all off to see what short hair felt like. Next she experimented with a Mohawk, then shaved her head, and is now back to short hair. Shes brave and confident enough to shake things up. And that goes for her cooking style as well, which is imaginative and bold, unencumbered by convention.

Initially, I worried that Mareas cooking style might be too unconventional for a cookbook. When she mentioned the ingredients in her Caesar salad dressing, my first reaction was You cant put curry in a Caesar and still call it a Caesar! Thats me, the traditionalist. But then our family tried it for dinner, and we all agreed that it tasted fabulous. So we compromised: I could go with it if we could find an adjective to qualify Caesar. After a lot of ideas that didnt quite capture its essence, Marea came up with the word eccentric. Perfectjust like her salad. So there it is, Mareas Eccentric Caesar Salad, right on of this book.

Most of Mareas recipes have a unique twist, and she applies that same imagination to my recipes. Marea loosens me up and inspires me to be more brave and adventurous.

She insisted on orange zest in my Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Bittersweet Chocolate .

Many of the recipes in this book are true mother-daughter collaborations. Creating these recipes together pushed us both to new heights of enthusiasm and creativity. Coming up with new vegan recipes sparked my culinary imagination like never before. Fish tacos are a regular dinner at our house, so for this book I wanted to create a vegan version that would satisfy us. If I hadnt been looking for a fish alternative, I would never have come up with Plantain Tacos with Pureed Black Beans and Mango-Lime Salsa extra special.