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Title: Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes
ISBN: 0980013100
Author:
Robin Robertson
Publicate Date: 2008-01-02
Publish: 2008-01-02
List Price: $18.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Perfect Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $12.76
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $13.35
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.89
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| Customer Review: |
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1: You will enjoy cooking
The recipes are simple to follow but complex in the flavors. There are many one-pot suppers that we love; in fact most of the dishes I've done so far involve minimal clean up. You do not need to live near a specialty grocery store, either. The chile ratings are calibrated to an American's taste, so don't worry about the recipes all being "too hot" (but you can also increase the heat easily). I'm not vegan, but I bought this cookbook to learn some more interesting ways to incorporate more vegetables and veg. protein into my diet. I love it.
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2: Flavor Galore! - You Decide the Heat
Just looking through the chapters I was in awe at the far reaching extent of Vegan Fire & Spice ... Close to Callalou, Nigerian Peanut Soup, Majorcan Baked Vegetables, Turkish Eggplant, Moroccan Spiced Carrots, Vegetable Samosas, Vindaloo Vegetables, Fusian Asian Noodles, Hunan Fried Rice, Indonesian Coconut Rice ... I could easily go on as this cookbook has around 200 savory recipes. Yes, savory. I have to admit, as much as I love dessert, I find the baked goods and sweets recipes often overwhelm vegan cookbooks. Robin gets right to the point, offering tons of recipes for everyday meals. And I do mean everyday. While the flavors may be exotic, the ingredients are surprisingly accessible. Most of the recipes can be whipped up using ingredients I readily stock in my pantry. Somehow Robin has fused dozens of international flavors with American staples, no easy task I am sure!
As for the layout, the cookbook is divided by region, The Americas, Mediterranean Europe, The Middle East & Africa, India, and Asia, with a recipe guide at the beginning of each regional section. The recipes are listed as appetizers, soups and stews, salads and sides, main courses, or dressings, sauces, and condiments. With a well-stocked spice rack and pantry (rice, lentils, canned tomatoes, canned beans, peanut butter, etc.), and a week's worth of basic perishables (bell peppers, potatoes, eggplant, onions, carrots, etc.), most of the recipes are just minutes away. Some of the recipes do call for tofu, tempeh, or seitan, which are pretty easy to find, even at traditional grocers, and common staples in many vegetarian diets. Since I don't typically purchase these ingredients, I opted to stick with the all-vegetable recipes (of which there were many), but you can also substitute another protein (I know, it's a vegan cookbook, but it's still versatile!).
In our earlier years my husband and I loved to challenge one another with douses of hot sauce, but these days we prefer our meals filled with flavor, not heat. Luckily, it really was easy to adjust the heat in these recipes, using just a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes when a ?? teaspoon was called for, for example. Also, Robin uses little chili peppers at the top of each recipe to denote the natural heat (when unadjusted) of each recipe, ranging from one to three chili peppers.
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3: One of the top books in my collection
This book has become on of my favorites in my collection of about 30 vegan cookbooks. (My husband can't believe there are that many vegan cookbooks in print!) We love spicy food around here and let's face it, many vegan recipes could use a little more spice. There are several things I like about this cookbook. One is that it's divided up into sections: American, Mediterranean & Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and India, so wherever you're taste buds are taking you that day, there's a section that will probably suit your fancy.
The recipes I've tried so far (a lot!) have all been good and are pretty easy to make. You can also vary the heat by ramping up or cutting down on the spice amounts. The author is somewhat conservation by my tastes on the amount of spiciness overall. Most are even better after a day or two in the frig so I usually double or triple the recipes. So far my family has liked everything I've made from this book and I've even served a couple of the dishes to guests who were mainly meat and potatoes people and have gotten rave reviews.
If you want to add a little spice to your life and want something a little different than your average vegan cookbook, I highly recommend this one. Two thumbs up!
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4: highly recommended
After a three week culinary trip around the world I still can`t wait to sample another of these tasty dishes. So far, none has proven disappointing.
Some are pretty close to recipes in "Vegan Planet", the other cookbook written by Robin Robertson I own, but, as I love hot and spicy food, those additonal recipes make it worthwhile buying this collection.By the way, the vegetable broth in "Vegan Fire and Spice" is much better than the one in the above mentioned book.
Cook with this book and you won`t miss animal products at all.
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5: Robin Robertson rocks!
I always know that if Ms. Robertson is the author, the recipes will be wonderful. Vegan Planet is my most used cookbook but Fire and Spice is certainly competing for number one. All of the recipes I have made to date are easy and taste delicious. The quinoa stuffed avocados is a perfect recipe to serve to guests. it is both easy and colorful. I just made the Garlic Soup yesterday and it is absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much, Ms. Roberston; keep them coming!
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