This is the Mask: A Book Blog

This book is not on my Summer Reading List; I started it before Memorial Day weekend, so this is just an extra review for your reading (and eating!) pleasure. I would like to extend a sincere thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegan.

I am not vegan, I still eat eggs and dairy (very sparingly, as I’m lactose intolerant), and my husband is most definitely NOT a vegetarian, but Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegan has so many great recipes, ones I know my meat-eating husband will enjoy as much as I will.

Bittman opens with some food for thought, pointing out that “Since the Industrial Revolution…we have grown further and further from the land, from real farming, from real food.”

He begins with lists of pantry staples and vegan substitutes for common ingredients (very helpful). Bittman then moves into the basics, such as flavored salts (Cocoa Salt? Mocha Salt?!?) and some delicious-sounding variations on homemade vinaigrettes, as well as instructions for making your own oat milk. This will save me some money!

I am trying my hand at gardening this year, and one of the plants I am trying to avoid killing is Chinese String eggplants, perfect for Bittman’s “Single Vegetable Stir-fry.” His “Quickles” (quick pickles, ha!) is a great recipe for the green beans and hot peppers I planted; and the two types of zucchinis I planted will go into his “Vegetable Torte” recipe.

I don’t usually deep fry anything because it terrifies me, but I may have to pluck up my courage to try Bittman’s “Battered and Fries Whatnot” for the aforementioned eggplant as well as sweet potatoes. For the record, all of this is in the first 40% of the book.

The “Smashed Potatoes and Greens” recipe fits the bill for the three varieties of potato, kale, and Japanese Red Mustard currently sprouting on my deck. I do have to admit the “Rootshimi” sounds a little odd, but I’m willing to give it a go, and any cookbook with dumpling recipes is a keeper as far as I’m concerned.

The tofu and bread recipes sound delicious; Bittman even has instructions on making your own chickpea tofu. And don’t get me started on the desserts!

How to Cook Everything Vegan is an excellent resource for all cooks, vegan or otherwise. I’m definitely going to get a print copy of this one.