"vegan sandwiches save the day!" blog tour

Welcome to a stop in the Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! Blog Tour.

Tami Noyes and Celine Steen, the authors of said book, have given me the privilege of being part of this blog extravaganza. 

Tami blogs at Vegan Appetite and Celine blogs at Have Cake, Will Travel. Check them out!

As some of you may know, I was a tester for this cookbook last summer, and have been screaming from the top of my blog the accolades of it. 

No joke; great book. 

This post contains a list of why this book is so great, an interview with the authors and a contest for a giveaway of a copy of Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! 

This should be one exciting post!

PART ONE:

The Reasons

This is a fantabulous cookbook to have because:

• It is written by two excellent chefs. 
• It contains sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.
• It has all the recipes you need to make anything in the book, including sauces, breads, etc.
• It has quick sandwiches, travel-friendly sandwiches, potentially gluten-free sandwiches.
• The sandwiches are made with a variety of fillings: quinoa, bulgar, fruits, veggies, tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, mushrooms.
• The sandwiches are made with a variety of containers: tortilla, puff pastry, bread, pita, chapati, English muffin, rice paper, lettuce, soy wrap, bagel, fried bread, etc.
• There are specialty bread recipes: Green Monster Bread, Brioche, Cinnamon Swirl Bread
• There are traditional sandwiches, unlike you've had before: Reuben, Po' Boy, Falafel, Rachel, Bierocks, BLT, Hummus, Dagwood, Pan Bagnat, etc.
• There are unique sandwiches, unlike you've had before: Inside-Out Rice-Adilla, Mac-Shroom, Protein-Happy Quinoa Wraps, etc.
• The pictures are frequent and amazing.
• The sandwiches are delicious and there are over 100 recipes.
• The recipes are well written, easy to execute and are visually appealing.
• The book itself is beautiful. Full color, binding is strong, the pages are thick, the type is clear, the recipes are concise and make sense.

PART TWO:
The Interview

Thank you ladies for taking the time to reply to my questions.
 Let's get the ball rolling: 


Give us a little background about yourselves:  

How long have you been veg? 

Where do you live?

Tami: Jim and I have been vegetarian since 1980. We didn't become committed vegans until 2004, although much of the time since 1980 we ate vegan or macrobiotic. 2004 was when we really drew the line. We live in Northeast Ohio, which isn't known for it’s vegan-osity, but I’m very happy to say that things are improving.

Celine: I've been vegan since 2005, and had been an on & off vegetarian for over 10 years before that. I never liked eating meat, eggs, and most dairy, but I stayed for the cheese and thankfully got over that too. I actually went vegan only a few years after moving to California, and love how available (and somewhat affordable) veg-friendly products are here.

How did Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! come about?

Tami: Celine and I have been online friends for years. After coming up with the theme, Celine and I were emailing and I hinted at her as a co-author. Celine jumped on-board immediately and I was thrilled!

Succinctly, sum up the types of recipes in VSSD?

We’ve got traditional sandwiches, crazy sandwiches, and base recipes to make them happen. How's that for succinct?

Which is your favorite recipe or sandwich in VSSD?

Tami: Wow, that’s a tough one. I guess I’d have to go with the One World Reuben. My love of reubens is well-documented.

Celine: I'll hurt the feelings of too many sandwiches if I answer that, so I'll tell you which one is my husband's favorite instead; he constantly asks me to make the Carnitas sandwich.

Which is your favorite recipe authored (or one begun) by your co-author?

Tami: Navajo Tacos.

Navajo Tacos

Celine: Tami's From Russia With Love. There are so many great and well-paired up flavors packed in there, I make this one more often than any other.

From Russia with Love

How did you come up with the names of your seitan dishes? (Moo-Free, No Cluck)

Tami: That takes more thought than you’d think! Some people find the usual animal terms, such as “beefy” or “chickeny” put off-ish. So we wanted something that hints at how to use them, but in a far more friendly way.

Do you feel there is a balance between seitan, tofu and tempeh-based recipes and vegetable-based recipes?

Tami: As a fluke, Celine and I did the exact same number of recipes for the book! When we first started brain-storming, we discussed approaches. Celine’s approach is more bean/vegetable/fruit based, where I lean more toward the tempeh/tofu/seitan fillings. So the balance just kind of happened.

What is your favorite thing about your co-author?

Tami: So many things! If I had to say just one thing, I guess it would be that Celine is honest and forthright. When my ideas suck, she gently tells me. And she’s right.

Celine: Her open-mindedness to ideas and suggestions, and her easy-going attitude. That's two favorite things, oops.

What are the differences in your cooking styles?

Tami: I think our cooking styles are actually similar, although Celine is more of a baker than I am. We do have different skills that we bring to a project. Besides the photography (obviously), Celine brings a lot of insight into the look of the book. She’s also a better proof-reader than I am. I feel that coming up with ideas is one of my strengths, like the idea for the book.

Celine, how did you get into photography and what background or training do you have?

     Celine: I only picked up an old camera donated by my dad when I started writing a food blog once I went vegan,so that's about 7 years ago? I switched to a better DSLR a few years after that since I enjoyed photography so much, and have been teaching myself ever since. 

Tami, there is a recipe in VSSD named after your husband, Jim. How did the “Jimwich” come about? What was Jim’s inspiration?

Tami: When we start brainstorming for a book, I become very fixated. I carry a little notebook with me everywhere I go so I can jot down ideas when they come. Some are keepers, and some aren’t. We were riding in the car and I had my little notebook out and just popped the question. Jim knew he wanted barbecue sauce and pickles, then he took both to the next level: barbecued onions and fried pickles. The bbq onions are a natural fit with the seitan. Jim is also convinced every sandwich needs lettuce and tomato.

How did you get into cooking, how long have you been at it and what background do you have?

Tami: The only cooking training I had was in macrobiotics. Back in the 80s, I assisted in macrobiotics classes. I’ve left all that far behind now. I also did some baking for a local vegan café, and loved it. I did some cooking there, too. Otherwise, I worked as a server in omni restaurants.

Celine: I used to bake and cook with my mom, starting when I was a kid. I've accumulated a few skills from reading cookbooks and food magazines pretty much nonstop, and even watching food shows on TV. Just like photography, I have no formal training; whatever skills I have are mostly self-taught and also intuitive.

Do you have any pet peeves regarding sandwiches or sandwich making? Are there any tips or hints you can offer your readers?

Tami (and Celine!): Avoid soggy bread at all costs. Pack the parts independently and put it together only when you’re ready to eat.

Do you have a favorite recipe that didn’t make it into the book? Would you share it?

Tami: One of my recipes didn’t make it because of the length, but it’s a crazy good sandwich. It’s the Jibarito and it’s on my blog. 

Jibarito Recipe Link  

Do you have any companion animals? Would you share a pic?

Tami: We have two rescue love kitties: Sadie and Cleo. We’re always on the bubble about adopting kitty number 3.

Sadie

Cleo

Celine: Two rescue cats for us too, Willow and Buffy. 

Buffy and Willow

That concludes the interview! 
Thank you, Celine and Tami, for sharing!





PART THREE:
The Giveaway

Last, but not least, the publisher wants to send someone a copy of Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! They will ship to US and Canada.

All you need to do is comment and check back next Friday, November 2, to see if you've won. If you have won (as selected by Random.org), you will have 24 hours to claim your prize!

Good luck!

VSSD, PPK cookbook challenge

Jimwich

As everyone knows,  Vegan Sandwiches Saves the Day! is up for this week in the PPK's Cookbook Challenge. So, if you have the book (and if you don't, get over to Celine's or Tami's blog to check out some of the recipes.) head over to PPK and post your review.

Since I have the book, I definitely needed to make something. Since it is David's birthday this week, he got to pick the recipes, and because he chose to honor another husband, he  picked the Jimwich (Tami's husband, for whom the sandwich is named) AND because he chose the sandwich named after our feline companion, here is my first gratuitous photo of Jimmy, taken by Kate, the youngest, and a budding photographer:

Jimmy

A string of coincidences led from a great sandwich to a cute kittie, although in the pic above he seems to have world domination on his mind.

David has had the sandwich before, so he knew what he was doing when he asked for it. As he was finishing up the Jimwich, wiping his mug and hands profusely, while deeply sighing contentedly, he whispered, 

"The best sandwiches are the messiest ones."

Not that the sandwich is that particularly messy, he just happens to be particularly persnickety.

Thanks, ladies!

Oh! And check back here next week, as Vegan Sandwiches Saves Day! Blog Tour comes to Weekly Vegan Menu. ... and you know what that means! If not, be back to find out.