Book Review and Giveaway:Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas

I am wild about greens. Seriously. Greens are good. No—greens are glorious! They're nutritional powerhouses that come neatly packaged in brightly colored leaves and crunchy stalks. What's not to love?

If you're not already a fan of green leafy vegetables, you will be after tasting the delectable recipes in Nava Atlas's new book, Wild About Greens.

You will love the layout! Right up front, Nava introduces you to nature's bounty of leafy greens in alphabetical order. After learning a little about each one, you're treated to a listing of all of the recipes that feature them. So, if you want to make a salad with arugula, a soup with kale, and an entree with turnip greens, it couldn't be any easier to search through the recipes grouped under each vegetable.

Wild About Greens completely dispels the myth that the foundation of any salad need be lettuce. Not only are there much more delicious options, but you can really give your salads a nutritional boost by choosing a dark, leafy green instead. Here you'll find tasty salads made with every leafy green from watercress to kale to beet greens. I zoned in on this bright, citrusy, Mizuna (or Tatsoi) & Bok Choy Salad. As I wasn't making a trip to the Asian market that day, I substituted baby spinach for the Asian greens and jicama for the daikon radish, which were suggested variations. By storing the zesty Sesame-Ginger Dressing in a separate jar, I enjoyed this flavorful dish with dinner that evening and also for lunch over the next two days.

 Mizuna & Bok Choy Salad

Since pictures speak infinitely louder than words, I'll let the following photos tempt you further. Suffice it to say, every recipe was a winner. I plan to enjoy every one of the 125 recipes in this wonderful book before the end of the year. Feast your eyes on ...

Italian Style Potato and Escarole Soup
(all I can say about this one is "Mama mia!")

  Persian Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas
(I love a really good sabzi, and this is the best I've tasted in a long time!)

Hoisin-Glazed Collard Greens and Sweet Potatoes
(I'm adore sweet potatoes, onions, and collards. I was in heaven!)

Hoisin-Glazed Bok Choy with Tofu and Soba Noodles

(Once I got on the hoisin track, it was hard to get off. This was a spectacular summer dinner!)

Roasted Beet and Fennel Salad with Beet Greens and Oranges

(If you're a fool for beets like I am, do not detour. Dive directly into this recipe!)

Stir-Fried Sesame Kale and Red Cabbage 

(Colorful to the eyes and to the taste buds—if you can imagine that. 

Recipe below.)

 

Are you wild about greens? Then this book is for you. If you're not, you most certainly will be after perusing, preparing, and partaking in the recipes in Wild About Greens. And if you've been searching for creatively delicious ways to get more greens into your family's diet, don't wait another second to get your hands on a copy!

This spectacularly colorful and delicious Stir-Fried Sesame Kale and Red Cabbage recipe is just a taste of what you'll find within its pages. Reprinted with permission of the author and Sterling New York. ©Nava Atlas 2012. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8-12 oz kale, any variety

1/2 small or medium head red cabbage

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil (I used less)

1 medium red onion, quartered and thinly sliced

2 tsp grated fresh or jarred ginger (I always use fresh)

1 Tbsp dark sesame oil 

1-2 Tbsp sesame seeds (preferably unhulled)

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Strip the kale leaves from the stems. Stack a few leaves and cut them into narrow strips. If desired, slice the stems thinly to use in the stir-fry; otherwise, discard.

Cut the red cabbage into thin slices about 2 inches long.

Heat the olive oil in a stir-fry pan or large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden and soft.

Add the ginger, kale and cabbage. Turn the heat up to high and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until both are brightly colored and tender-crisp.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the dark sesame oil and sesame seeds. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Variation: You can add a small amount of another vegetable or two. I chose red bell pepper, cut into long narrow strips.

Update: The giveaway has now ended. Congratulations to Dawn (@VeganFazool)! The random number goddess shined down upon her this morning, and she won a copy of Wild About Greens! Thanks so much to everyone for participating! Please stay tuned for more great giveaways and delicious recipes to come. Dawn, please send me an email with your postal address so we can get your book right out to you!

Now for the giveaway: if you would you like to win a copy of Wild About Greens, here's all you need to do: Simply leave a comment below telling me what your favorite dark leafy green vegetable is and how you most enjoy preparing or eating it. Or tell me which dark leafy green you'd love to find new ways of preparing and enjoying!

To earn additional entries, you can do one or all of the following, and please leave a comment for each one you complete:

1. Like VegKitchen.com on Facebook.
2. Follow @navaatlas2 on Twitter.
3. Follow this blog by clicking the "follow" link in the upper left-hand corner of this page, subscribing via email, or through Networked Blogs.
4. Follow @Vegiegail on Twitter.
5. Tweet the following message: Win a copy of @navaatlas2's fab new book Wild About Greens & get your green on deliciously! http://bit.ly/OaXWhf #vegan #recipe #giveaway

Vegan Holiday KitchenBook Review and Giveaway!

I have an addiction—an insatiable appetite and one true weakness. I admit it. I am obsessed with vegan recipe books. Maybe it's because when I first became vegan there were so few really great vegan cookbooks available. I was out there stumbling around, hungry for delicious recipes to delight my newly vegan taste buds, and there were very few inspiring options. Now there's a seemingly unending stream of fabulous vegan books to choose from. It seems as though every time I am just getting into a fantabulous new book, there's another one right around the corner! I'm making it my mission to own, review, and share them all. Today's post is about a book I am mad-crazy in love with: Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas. The recipes are superb, and Susan Voisin's photographs are gorgeous. And best of all, the heavy, hardbound edition means the book lays flat when open to any page! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to not have to prop a jar or small plate on a page and get it all dirty with sticky fingers, just not to lose my place in the middle of trying to follow a recipe. Well, I don't have to tell you, my lovely readers. You know exactly what I'm talking about!

You think I'm kidding when I say the pictures are gorgeous? Even with my crummy snapshots of the book's spectacular photos, you can see just how eye-poppingly beautiful they are! 

My mouth was watering just thumbing through the pages! Without a doubt, I am making this scrumptious-looking Strawberry Snack Cake for Valentine's Day!

Inside the pages of Vegan Holiday Kitchen, you'll find delectable recipes for holidays, potlucks, and special occasions. But you don't have to (nor will you want to) wait for a special occasion to dive into the recipes. Each and every one will make every day a celebration!

I dove right in to Nava's recipe for Baba Ghanouj, because I go ga-ga for this classic Middle Eastern dip. There used to be a little Lebanese restaurant down the street from where I live that made great baba ghanouj. But they closed their doors a few years ago, and there hasn't been any decent baba ghanouj around since then. The problem with baba ghanouj is that if it's too garlicky or doesn't have enough garlic or has too much or too little tahini, it can be rather uninspired. But the recipe in Vegan Holiday Kitchen turned out the most delicious baba ghanouj I have ever tasted! Who knew it was so easy to make this at home? All this time I have been missing the joy of eating great baba ghanouj, and little did I know, I could create it right here in my own kitchen! If like me, you are in love with baba ghanouj, don't wait another minute. Get your hands on a copy of this book! (You can even get lucky and win yourself a copy. Find out how at the end of this post!) 

While in a trippy-dippy mood, I decided to try the recipe for Mock Chopped Chicken Liver.  Growing up in New York, one of my fondest childhood culinary memories is of the Sunday meals our family enjoyed at the once-famous Jewish-Romanian-style restaurant, Seymour Kaye's in Forest Hills, Queens. Picture crisp, white linen tablecloths and napkins, smiling servers in black vests and bowties, a gay African American piano player belting out Yiddish tunes, and a Puerto Rican chef turning out the most incredible Yiddish cuisine. That was Seymour Kaye's. Seymour's larger-than-life personality, (he'd make loud "kissy" noises when he wanted to get the attention of one of the servers!), the impromptu designer clothing store "hidden" behind a wall of curtains, the upbeat, boisterous, family-friendly atmosphere, and the incredible Yiddish cuisine made the restaurant a cultural landmark that attracted customers from Manhattan to LA. Celebrities like Walter Matthau loved the place, and I even tended bar there for a short time!

A favorite appetizer at Seymour Kaye's was the chopped chicken liver. My father used to slather it in schmaltz and grebbenes—liquid chicken fat and fried chicken fat and onion cracklings. (Sounds gross, I know, and talk about a recipe for a heart attack!) But I cannot help associating many fond memories with the flavor of this dish, and Nava's cruelty-free recipe for this Yiddish pâté, made with cashew, onion, and mushrooms is a deliciously heart-healthy counterpart to Seymour's dish. Whether or not you've ever tasted chopped liver, you will love this yummy spread! 

And while we're talking about great Jewish cuisine, I went nuts over Nava's recipe for Moroccan-Style Vegetable Soup with Matzo Balls! Matzo ball soup is usually enjoyed during Passover, and vegan matzo balls are typically made with tofu. But that's a problem for many religious Jews, because beans and bean products (like tofu) are forbidden foods during the week of Passover. What a brilliant idea to substitute quinoa flakes! Let me tell you, the matzo balls tasted fabulous and held together beautifully (even after reheating), and the soup was hearty, flavorful, and filling!

Vegan Holiday Kitchen is filled with fabulous soup recipes. And when it's cold outside, soup is a staple at our house. Being the coconut fool that I am, the recipe for Coconut Butternut Squash Soup looked too tasty not to try. With a hint of curry and ginger, and the delightful additions of red onion, apple, and kale, this hearty soup was a tantalizingly delicious departure from corn chowder, miso, and tomato soup.

I was lucky enough to receive my copy of Vegan Holiday Kitchen in time for the winter holidays. I couldn't resist including several of the delectable dishes from within its pages at our holiday dinner table. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, and just say this: each and every one of these dishes was beyond scrumptious! 

Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie ...

Sweet Potato Biscuits ...

Walnut Apple Stuffing (to which I added a few dried cranberries) ....

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Hint of Chocolate (lusciousness!)...

Ruggelach (sweet cinnamony-chocolate cookies) ...

I hope your mouth is watering at this point, because I know you, too will fall crazy in love with the 200+ festive recipes you'll find in Vegan Holiday Kitchen! And I hope you'll get yourself a copy of this book right away, and start making each day your very own happy little vegan holiday!

Update: Congratulations to Emily Soleil! The wonderful, handy-dandy random number generator selected her number, and Emily has won a copy of Vegan Holiday Kitchen! Emily, please send me an email with your postal address so we can send you your book! Thank you to everyone who made this giveaway such a huge success! Stay tuned for more great giveaways in 2012!

Want to win a copy?* Okay, here's your chance: All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me which one of the recipes in Vegan Holiday Kitchen you'd most like to try. It can be one of the recipes above, or you can view the complete recipe index here on amazon.com. (Please make sure I have your email address so I can contact you when you win!) If you'd like to earn additional entries, please do any or all of the following, and leave a comment for each item you complete:

1. Follow this blog by clicking the "follow" link in the upper left-hand corner of this page, subscribing via email, or through NetworkedBlogs.

2. Tweet the following message: Win a copy of Vegan Holiday Kitchen via @Vegiegail & make each day your very own vegan holiday! http://bit.ly/yivhee #cook #vegan #giveaway
3. Like VegKitchen on Facebook!
4. Follow @Vegiegail on Twitter!
5. Follow @navaatlas2 on Twitter!

6. Follow @susanffvk on Twitter!

*Sorry international friends. Giveaway is only open to readers with a valid US postal address.