The Spicy Plant-Based Cookbook
Adams Media
January 19, 2021
Adams Media
Blurb: Take your recipes from bland to bold with these 200 easy, plant-based recipes that are full of flavor for every meal of the day.
Just because your diet is plant-based doesn’t mean that you have to give up on all of your favorite flavors. There are so many meals bursting with spicy flavor that you can enjoy all day long!
The Spicy Plant-Based Cookbook has 200 delicious, mouth-watering recipes that pack a punch with every bite…and keep you feeling healthy and strong. From breakfast to dinner, to desserts and drinks, you’ll find the perfect plant-based recipes that you’ll love to make over and over again. With recipes like jalapeno hash browns to a mango chili sorbet, these spicy dishes are sure to make every spice-enthusiast satisfied.
Complete with easy, step-by-step instructions and plenty of preparation tips, this book has everything you need to add a little extra heat to your favorite healthy, plant-based recipes.
Purchase Links:
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Back in the late 1990s I did not eat a plant-based diet but I was a member of the wonderful chile-heads listserv that taught me all about eating the heat. I learned a lot from that group, tried a lot of adventurous recipes, and still buy my chile plants from their recommended source: chileplants.com. And, most definitely, if you love different types of chilies, this site can’t be outdone for its variety–if, however, you know of another site, please let me know, although I doubt my loyalties will change. 😉
So, I have a background in heat before coming to The Spicy Plant-Based Cookbook. Some of the recipes are heat-worthy, some not so much, but that’s coming from a heat veteran. Newbies will have a different experience.
For anyone considering shifting to a plant-based diet, the authors provide a very good background including the wide range of health aspects. I can very much attest to the changes in your health when you go plant-based.
The recipes are all plant-based, meaning that they use egg and dairy substitutes. I am not vegan so I can’t speak as to how these flavors incorporate into the recipes. My recent research suggests that vegan mayonnaise is not so different from regular mayonnaise but sour cream? Cream cheese? No idea.
One of the things I loved about this book was the use tempeh and seitan, which are not as processed as some of the other “meats” they recommend like Morningstar. I would really like to use more tempeh and seitan but never find many recipes for them. Well, here they are and I am very eager to try them out, especially in dishes like barbecue; the ones here utilizes a North Carolina barbecue.
The recipes that I found myself attracted to were of Asia origin because they seemed to involve more whole foods . Also, in my daily cooking I use Cajun spice mixes, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce so I don’t really consider these as making things spicy. Putting Thai peppers into dishes? Oh, yes! In fact, I was rather disappointed to discover that one of the Jamaican stews did not include Scotch Bonnet peppers. I cook a variation of this stew and cannot imagine not incorporating the flavorful Scotch Bonnet. While the Scotch Bonnet is not a beginner pepper, it has a very fruity flavor that immensely enhances a dish. Something to work up to.
For those of you who don’t do heat, it might be odd to imagine that there is an entire section dedicated to spicy desserts. But these are the ones I want to try. A chocolate cake with chile? Oh, yes! Mexican hot chocolate? Uh-huh! Spiced fruit? Mmmm.
I am a jaded spicy cook so you must take my review as such. If you’re a newbie, this is definitely the stepping stone for you. There are so many delicious recipes that will set your taste buds afire. Enjoy the adventure!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
5 out of 5 butterflies
Spice hides a lot of sins, that is, gives flavor so you don’t really notice what’s missing. Not a problem for me since I’ve been an ovo-vegan for years now and spice improves everything. I use a vegan mayo from Hellmans and cannot tell the difference. The eggs in mayo are really only a binder not a flavor, and the rest is spice. So I recommend Hellman’s vegan spread. Here’s where I give my usual shoutout to Beyond Meat. It comes in regular crumble, spicy crumbles, burgers, and sausage. All made from peas and it is the closest thing to meat since meat. If you must have meat, this is the closest I’ve found and I make a burger with all the trimmings about once or twice a month and I’m good to go. Once again, thanks for being the voice of kinder gentler eats.
Thanks, Maggie. I’ll check out the Hellman’s vegan spread.