Redwood new burgers June 3, 2009

I have always been a fan of the Redwood food company. They make a full range of products suitable for vegans, including a choice of sausages, sandwich fillers, fishfingers and cheeses. (The mozarella is even recommended by the mighty Isa Chandra Moskowitz as an omelette filling in her new book, Vegan Brunch).

It always seemd odd to me though that they didn’t produce a vegan burger.  Several years ago I wrote to them and suggested it. They replied that there already seemed to be plenty of vegan burgers available. Not round here, said I. So I was delighted when I saw an advert recently for their new vegan burgers, and, being the shy retiring type that I am, e-mailed them to tell them what a good idea I’d had and would they like to send me some free samples as a thankyou! The very next day 2 packets arrived on my doorstep!

Now many of you know that since I tested for Joni’s 101 Burgers (I need to check when that is coming out), I no longer need to ever buy a vegan burger again. I’ve got recipes for beautiful burgers for all occasions and a freezer well stocked with leftovers. But if you’re having an emergency BBQ, or invited to one and not sure if there’ll be anything there for you, I’d certainly recommend grabbing a packet of these. They’re definitely meaty – not one for those who don’t like fake meat. As they were under the grill I was almost giving them suspicious prods to check they weren’t meat! They’re a decent size too – they were sticking right out of the buns, and as I’d piled on lettuce, tomato, Plamil mayo, mustard and pickles, it made for a rather sloppy eating experience.

If this warm weather lasts, and you’re vegan or have vegetarians visiting for a BBQ, I’d certainly recommend giving them a try!

September book review September 30, 2007

Voluptuous Vegan by Myra Kornfeld

I have to admit I haven’t made everything from this book. Some of the ingredients aren’t so readily available in the UK. But what I have made has worked well and been impressive. There is a chapter on soup and a chapter on desserts, but other than that the whole book is set out as whole meal suggestions. In one way that’s great as it saves worrying about accompaniments, but it can be a bit intimidating. The secret is to not worry about the whole meal and just pick out the parts you want to cook. And, like so many vegan cookbooks, the lack of photos is frustrating.

But I’m glad I’ve got the book and it’s a good place to look when you want to cook something impressive. I’ve made ravioli from it which took a bit of work but was wonderful. The curried chickpea tart is a revelation – it’s so creamy and luscious and the zingy coconut chutney that goes with it is a must. The chilli and cornbiscuit casserole with guacasalsa is a firm favourite and the tofu and leek tart with pinenut crust is a very impressive centrepiece.

I’ll definitely be trying more dishes from this book, so I’d be delighted to get any recommendations. If you like spending time in the kitchen making impressive dishes, then this one’s for you!

August book review August 12, 2007

I’m going to try and do a cookbook review every month. Remind me if I forget!

The first one I’m going to review is Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

I love everything about this book. I love the style of writing, the recipes, the creativity, and the wide variety of ethnic influences. Obviously in any cookbook there will be some recipes that you don’t fancy trying, mostly because they use ingredients you don’t like or can’t get. I’m lucky enough to like everything but I haven’t got much of a sweet tooth. So I haven’t tried many of the sweet recipes, but I know that they all have millions of fans, so they must work too.

Probably my favourite section is the breakfast chapter. Here in England it’s nigh on impossible to get decent vegan breakfasts so I’m always keen to make my own. Add to that the fact that Americans are so much better at breakfasts than we are, and this makes for an excellent chapter. The very first thing I tried from the book was the “Fronch Toast”, because I was a great fan of eggy bread in my non vegan days. As long as you don’t ignore the instruction to toast the bread first, it works perfectly and looks just like the real thing. As do all the recipes in the book!

I’ve made probably more from this book than any single other cookbook and I’ve only had one disappointment -the chilli. But I’ve found out since that I probably used the wrong type of molasses, so I’ll try it again as I’m sure that accounted for the bitter taste that I didn’t like. Even ingredients I’m a bit suspicious of, such as quinoa, transform into miraculously tasty food when turned into Black Eye Bean and Quinoa Croquettes with Mushroom Sauce.

I’m trying to pin down my absolute favourite dish from the book and I just can’t do it. They’re all brilliant for different reasons – I learnt that I could in fact make vegan crepes, that hijiki isn’t as scary as it looks, that millet is nicer than polenta, that risotto can work without parmesan, that pine nuts make a tasty alfredo sauce, that watercress is good for breakfast, and many many other essential vegan facts of life.

Add to this the wonderfully helpful message boards over at Post Punk Kitchen and the useful collection of photos of finished recipes at Flickr, and you’ve got a complete package.

If you’ve read this far and you don’t own this book, what on earth are you waiting for? And the even better news is that there’s a new book coming out in November!

NB to UK readers. There is a UK version of the book, which I guess uses proper weights and measures rather than cups. I’ve got rather attached to my measuring cups so I use the US version. I’m also supposing that the new book will come out first as a US version, and I know I won’t be able to wait for the UK version. But if you don’t like the vagueness of cups and tablespoons, then buy the UK version and let me know how it is!