"the china study family cookbook" + giveaway

Ever since I earned my certificate in Whole Foods Plant Based nutrition, I've been excited about about WFPB cookbooks, and so when BenBella books approached me to review the new China Study Family cookbook, I couldn't resist. 

Del Sroufe has written his fair share of WFPB cookbooks, but I think this one is by far the best of the bunch. To make sure this book had recipes that were indeed family-friendly, I cooked up a few things:

First, I dug into the healthy portion of the book: salad. I made the Cobb Salad, and since it is so easy to customize it, this definitely falls into the family category. On top of being kid-friendly, it is cook-friendly, too. It was an easy recipe to put together. 

However, it is a Cobb Salad - meaning that it has multiple components - so I had to make the Mushroom "Bacon," which was actually easy,  and the "Buttermilk" Dressing, which had a reasonable amount of ingredients that are simply blended together. 

I added extra work for myself by seasoning and roasting the chickpeas alongside the mushrooms and roasting the corn in a dry pan (no oil needed) to bring out some of its sweet flavor. Extra work, yes, but I was in the kitchen anyway.

Then I decided to make one of the two frittatas in the book: Chilaquiles Frittata. 

This was another successful dish, one that the family really loved. The filling was easy, there is no crust (another easy) and the Queso Sauce and Corn Chips needed for the recipe were easy, too. I served it with salsa and extra garnishes.

A comment on the chips: they are great but I didn't use an entire recipe (of 12 tortillas made into chips) for this one dish, as the recipe indicates. I just filled up the pie pan with the crushed chips before mixing it with the filling. 

Then I made the Johnny Marzetti casserole, an Ohio favorite.

  

The Marzetti needed Cheese Sauce and Spicy Breakfast Patties. I really love the cheese sauce in this book and, in fact, have made both versions a few times now. 

The Spicy Breakfast Patties are made with millet and they worked beautifully and tasted great, too.

My verdict is that this book is one of the better WFPB books on the market; it is easy, relatively quick (it always take some time to cook from scratch) and everything I tried worked as it promised and tasted great. 

Because I loved the Cheese Sauce, I asked the publisher to be able to share that recipe with you and let you decide what you think. The recipe is below!

In addition, I am hosting a giveaway for the book! This one is open to US and Canada residents. Thank you BenBella! 

To enter for your chance to win just leave a comment and make sure I have a way to contact you. Contest ends July 31 and I will announce the winner in the post after the the 31st. Good luck!! 

Cheese Sauce

This healthy cheese sauce is perfect for both kids and grown-ups, alike. This is perfect for Nachos, Grilled Cheese or Mac and Cheese. (From The China Study Family Cookbook copyright © 2017 by Del Sroufe. Used by permission from BenBella Books, Inc.)

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups finely diced russet potatoes (about 1 medium potato)
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons raw cashews
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

1.      Combine the potato, bell pepper, onion, and cashews in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking water.
2.      Combine the potato mixture, reserved cooking water, tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, arrowroot powder, and sea salt in a blender. Process on high until everything is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

vegan fish cake num pang

There's banh mi and then there's Cambodia's version of the perfect sandwich: num pang.

They both have a lot in common, but there are a few subtle differences, as the owner of New York's Num Pang describes in his interview HERE, including the subtle differences in bread, ingredients (fresh vs. leftover) and toppings.

I wanted to try making it for myself and I chose to make a vegan fish cake for the bulk of this sandwich.

I was inspired by the Jazzy Vegetarian's (Laura Theodore) Not So Crabby Cakes recipe, which I took for a test run last year and simply adored!

For this version of fish cakes I used tofu, bread slices, hearts of palm and dulse.

The toppings are homemade chili mayo, pickled carrots, cilantro and cucumber slices.

If I could have made homemade bread using my Refrigerator Dough aquafaba recipe, this sandwich would have been even better, but as it was, it was pretty fantastic.

You can air fry these babies or pan-fry them, as you wish, but don't skip on the toppings - they really do make this sandwich authentic and amazing.

And now for the winner of the Vegan Air Fryer cookbook, by JL Fields: it is the comment made by....

Natalie Cartledge! Congratulations! Contact me at zsu at zsusveganpantry dot com.

Vegan Fish Cakes Num Pang
Makes 4 sandwiches

Pickled Carrots:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup grated carrot

Fish Cakes:
3 slices bread
3/4 container of firm tofu, pressed 10 minutes
1 (14-ounce) can hearts of palm
1/2 cup parsley
2 scallions
2 teaspoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed oil
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dulse
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Zest of 1 lime
Panko crumbs, as needed

Chili May:
1/2 cup firm tofu
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce (or sambal oelek)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Other:
4 crusty burger buns, toasted
Sliced cucumbers
Cilantro

1. Carrots: Combine the sugar, vinegars, water and salt in a mason jar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves. Add the carrot and set aside for at least 20 minutes.
2. Cakes: Add the bread to a food processor. Pulse until ground. Remove and set aside in a large bowl. Add the tofu, hearts of palm, parsley, scallion, ginger, oil, coriander, dulse, cornstarch and zest to the food processor. Pulse into a coarse grind. Add to the bowl with the bread and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside to firm up for 20 minutes. 
3. Sauce: Combine the tofu, water, garlic chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small blender. Blend until very smooth, adding a little water if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat or preheat the air-fryer. Divide the fish cakes mixture into 4 portions and press into a patty. Dredge the cake in panko crumbs and fry in oil or air-fry until crisp.  
3. Assemble the burgers: bottom bun, sauce, cilantro, cucumber, cake, carrot and top bun. Serve immediately. 


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