Cookbook Review: Veggie Outlaws by Linda Purcell
Thanks to the author for a gifted copy of the book.
***
It’s summer harvest time for my garden, a few raised veggie beds that I cultivate in my urban front yard. Each year brings different successes and challenges, but this year the cabbage, greens and tomatoes are thriving. What better season to explore a plant-based cookbook that promises some good eating and interesting recipes, all presented with a unique spin on spreading the vegan message? That’s what Vancouver author and recipe developer Linda Purcell has given us in her first cookbook, Veggie Outlaws: Most Wanted Vegan Recipes.
I had the pleasure of meeting Linda at the Planted Expo event in Vancouver this spring, and I was taken with her passion for healthy eating and her determination to write a cookbook to get her vegan message out. She was kind enough to gift me a copy of Veggie Outlaws so that I could read it and test some recipes.
I love the way that she has presented a vegan lifestyle with her unique slant: the Veggie Outlaws are characters with personality that lend a great story to vegan eating, and to the recipes. “The Veggie OUTLAWS are a crew of renegade veggies on an epic culinary adventure to create the most wanted vegan recipes…Armed with intriguing ideas about the benefits of eating plant-based foods and loaded with flavourful fixings like delicious sauces, spices, and fillings, they’ve got what a body needs. They’re quick on the draw with vegan recipes made with a tasty twist and heaped full of healthy ingredients.”
Here’s the lineup and my take on them:
***
It’s summer harvest time for my garden, a few raised veggie beds that I cultivate in my urban front yard. Each year brings different successes and challenges, but this year the cabbage, greens and tomatoes are thriving. What better season to explore a plant-based cookbook that promises some good eating and interesting recipes, all presented with a unique spin on spreading the vegan message? That’s what Vancouver author and recipe developer Linda Purcell has given us in her first cookbook, Veggie Outlaws: Most Wanted Vegan Recipes.
I had the pleasure of meeting Linda at the Planted Expo event in Vancouver this spring, and I was taken with her passion for healthy eating and her determination to write a cookbook to get her vegan message out. She was kind enough to gift me a copy of Veggie Outlaws so that I could read it and test some recipes.
I love the way that she has presented a vegan lifestyle with her unique slant: the Veggie Outlaws are characters with personality that lend a great story to vegan eating, and to the recipes. “The Veggie OUTLAWS are a crew of renegade veggies on an epic culinary adventure to create the most wanted vegan recipes…Armed with intriguing ideas about the benefits of eating plant-based foods and loaded with flavourful fixings like delicious sauces, spices, and fillings, they’ve got what a body needs. They’re quick on the draw with vegan recipes made with a tasty twist and heaped full of healthy ingredients.”
Here’s the lineup and my take on them:
 |
| Cashew Sue: Welcoming vegan and non-vegan alike, with a message of tolerance. |
 |
| Strawberry Sal: The myth-busting vegan |
 |
| Carrot Rick: the academic, giving us the science! |
 |
| Potato Pat: The peacemaker. |
 |
| Saucy Peanut: The vegetable wrangler! |
And finally, the Broccoli Bandit is missing in action, in hiding from the sheriff.
There’s simple, effective art throughout, with the illustrations by Venera Smilenova and Zapryanka Vasileva. The Outlaws make frequent appearances and feature in the recipe headnotes. It’s a great way to bring story into the recipes! One of the most fantastic strengths of this cookbook is the way that it will appeal to families and kids. I can totally imagine parents of enthusiastic and reluctant veggie eaters alike using the stories of the Outlaws to involve kids in choosing and cooking these healthy, plant-based recipes. Your child may be way more likely to eat Broccoli Fritters when, “Even Broccoli Bandit sidles on up when he smells these tasty patties on the grill.”
Linda’s message is one of inclusiveness and welcoming, encouraging a plant-based approach to eating that’s open to everyone, omnivore and vegan alike. The book boasts a logical, informative structure with easily identifiable prep and cook times; complexity ratings; allergen information; and basic nutritional information. The index is comprehensive, and I love that the sauces and accompaniments are listed separately for easy reference under “Tasty Additions.”
You bet I was ready to test out some of these recipes, and I was thrilled that I could use some of my garden veggies.
The Recipes:
There’s simple, effective art throughout, with the illustrations by Venera Smilenova and Zapryanka Vasileva. The Outlaws make frequent appearances and feature in the recipe headnotes. It’s a great way to bring story into the recipes! One of the most fantastic strengths of this cookbook is the way that it will appeal to families and kids. I can totally imagine parents of enthusiastic and reluctant veggie eaters alike using the stories of the Outlaws to involve kids in choosing and cooking these healthy, plant-based recipes. Your child may be way more likely to eat Broccoli Fritters when, “Even Broccoli Bandit sidles on up when he smells these tasty patties on the grill.”
Linda’s message is one of inclusiveness and welcoming, encouraging a plant-based approach to eating that’s open to everyone, omnivore and vegan alike. The book boasts a logical, informative structure with easily identifiable prep and cook times; complexity ratings; allergen information; and basic nutritional information. The index is comprehensive, and I love that the sauces and accompaniments are listed separately for easy reference under “Tasty Additions.”
You bet I was ready to test out some of these recipes, and I was thrilled that I could use some of my garden veggies.
The Recipes:
Crunchy Lettuce Wraps
Lettuce wraps are delicious, but since I’ve been a pescetarian for the last 10 years, it’s been a challenge to find a good lettuce wrap, so I decided to make them for dinner on a warm summer day. Included in the “Meals” section, this lettuce wrap feast boasts two sauces and the chickpea filling, as well as the lettuce and other veggie toppings. It's kind of like three recipes in one meal, but trust me, once you’re done and put it out on the table, it's a complete dinner that’ll leave you completely satisfied.
The Veggie Outlaws Hoisin Sauce was easy to make in my trusty Vitamix. You’d never guess that sweet potatoes are the thickener! The sauce seemed thin at first, but I made it a few hours before dinner and as it sat it thickened nicely. It tasted so much like store-bought Hoisin Sauce that it was almost uncanny.
And that Garlic-Ginger Dipping Sauce! It is a flavour bomb with an unexpected lemon hit and a perfect spice burn from sriracha, and so easy to make.
Finally, the Crunchy Asian-Style Chickpeas were a snap to prepare and included the Hoisin Sauce I’d just made. With water chestnuts for crunch, they were perfect.
We sat down to this feast and…feasted! This was so delicious, a perfect summer evening meal as we sat on the deck. Putting the chickpeas, sauces, and crisp veg into the lettuce allowed the flavours to meld beautifully. Everything worked, and together they were a bit of vegan magic.
(I’d suggest doubling the sauces, as they’ll get eaten up on everything from leftover wraps, to salads and stir fries.)
Lettuce wraps are delicious, but since I’ve been a pescetarian for the last 10 years, it’s been a challenge to find a good lettuce wrap, so I decided to make them for dinner on a warm summer day. Included in the “Meals” section, this lettuce wrap feast boasts two sauces and the chickpea filling, as well as the lettuce and other veggie toppings. It's kind of like three recipes in one meal, but trust me, once you’re done and put it out on the table, it's a complete dinner that’ll leave you completely satisfied.
The Veggie Outlaws Hoisin Sauce was easy to make in my trusty Vitamix. You’d never guess that sweet potatoes are the thickener! The sauce seemed thin at first, but I made it a few hours before dinner and as it sat it thickened nicely. It tasted so much like store-bought Hoisin Sauce that it was almost uncanny.
And that Garlic-Ginger Dipping Sauce! It is a flavour bomb with an unexpected lemon hit and a perfect spice burn from sriracha, and so easy to make.
Finally, the Crunchy Asian-Style Chickpeas were a snap to prepare and included the Hoisin Sauce I’d just made. With water chestnuts for crunch, they were perfect.
We sat down to this feast and…feasted! This was so delicious, a perfect summer evening meal as we sat on the deck. Putting the chickpeas, sauces, and crisp veg into the lettuce allowed the flavours to meld beautifully. Everything worked, and together they were a bit of vegan magic.
(I’d suggest doubling the sauces, as they’ll get eaten up on everything from leftover wraps, to salads and stir fries.)
Roasted Tofu with Snappy Peanut Sauce
Perfect for a quick dinner, one selling point of this recipe is its utter simplicity and quick prep time, as long as you have the ingredients on hand. And I did! I whipped up a quick marinade and sliced the tofu into thin rectangles, waited 20 minutes for the flavours to soak in, and popped the tofu morsels into the oven. While they marinated and baked, I decided to try Linda’s suggestion to pair the tofu with Snappy Peanut Sauce for dipping.
These tofu chips were satisfying. The ones that baked near the edge of the pan had a chewy texture, and the others were tender and moist. The garlic shone here, and I’ll add more basil next time. But adding the Snappy Peanut Sauce? This amped the dish up to amazing. I had a hard time stopping myself from eating all the tofu. The citrus flavour added an interesting dimension to the sauce, a bit unusual and very welcome.
Perfect for a quick dinner, one selling point of this recipe is its utter simplicity and quick prep time, as long as you have the ingredients on hand. And I did! I whipped up a quick marinade and sliced the tofu into thin rectangles, waited 20 minutes for the flavours to soak in, and popped the tofu morsels into the oven. While they marinated and baked, I decided to try Linda’s suggestion to pair the tofu with Snappy Peanut Sauce for dipping.
These tofu chips were satisfying. The ones that baked near the edge of the pan had a chewy texture, and the others were tender and moist. The garlic shone here, and I’ll add more basil next time. But adding the Snappy Peanut Sauce? This amped the dish up to amazing. I had a hard time stopping myself from eating all the tofu. The citrus flavour added an interesting dimension to the sauce, a bit unusual and very welcome.
 |
| I picked this cabbage, made the slaw and took the picture! |
Salad with Sliced Cabbage, Apple, Vinegar, and Caraway
Briefly and to the point: Linda says this is “easy to make, easy to eat, and tasted great.” And I agree. I walked out to my garden, harvested a cabbage, shredded it and added very simple ingredients. In minutes I had this wonderful, fresh salad. It’s basically a vinegar-based coleslaw, and it would lend itself to whatever add-ins you have on hand. I used raisins instead of cranberries. It is certainly vinegar-forward, and quite sharp, so if you like your salad a little mellower, I imagine one could add a couple of teaspoons of a sweetener.
Briefly and to the point: Linda says this is “easy to make, easy to eat, and tasted great.” And I agree. I walked out to my garden, harvested a cabbage, shredded it and added very simple ingredients. In minutes I had this wonderful, fresh salad. It’s basically a vinegar-based coleslaw, and it would lend itself to whatever add-ins you have on hand. I used raisins instead of cranberries. It is certainly vinegar-forward, and quite sharp, so if you like your salad a little mellower, I imagine one could add a couple of teaspoons of a sweetener.
Carrot-Ginger-Orange Cupcakes with Cashew-Date Icing
I wanted to make a dessert, and found myself drawn to these carrot cupcakes, but decided to make it as a cake. And when the batter fills two pans, what’s a baker to do besides make a spectacular layer cake? My advice here: put aside a whole morning to make this cake and icing, and read the recipe in advance. The ingredients are largely straightforward, but you’ll need to do some pre-soaking of ingredients, and there’s a fair amount of chopping and measuring involved. The ingredient list is long, but if you take your time, the cake comes together beautifully. The iced cake was moist and reminded me more of a fruit cake than a straight-up carrot cake, in a good way. I loved the icing! Linda notes the recipe is, “full of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre.” Indeed, this feels like a cake that tastes rich and indulgent but is actually health food…at least a bit. It freezes really well. My sister tried it and said she could eat a piece of it every day for the rest of her life.
***
What a fun cookbook! Preparing the well thought out recipes that Linda has developed was a real treat. My advice is to read the recipes fully before starting because there is some prep involved; and not to be intimidated by longer ingredient lists, because the cooking itself is pretty straightforward. The way that the ingredients come together elevates the food, with fantastic flavour combinations. Veggie Outlaws has a great concept that welcomes all sorts of eaters and will appeal to kids and families too. I look forward to trying more recipes. I’ve got my eye on the Crunchy Nut Roast with Roasted Carrots for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!
Comments
Post a Comment