Pure & Beautiful Vegan Cooking—Cookbook Review + Giveaway

I’m stealing a minute here while David is at camp and Jonathan is napping to write a quick post!  This week has been a taste of the upcoming school yearend I have to tell you that I’m a little bit excited to have some time in the afternoon to work on things like this blog, cooking, laundry, Facebook…..our district’s move to full day kindergarten has some perks!  Today I want to share a new cookbook with you—Pure & Beautiful Vegan Cooking by Kathleen Henry.  You might be already familiar with Katie (Kathleen) from her blog Produce On Parade.  Katie and her husband, along with their dogs, live in rural Alaska.  When offered to be sent a copy to review I jumped on it!  I’m a big fan of the idea that veganism is accessible to most people, not only those that live in walking distance to a Whole Foods.  This book sets out to prove that point, and share simple recipes full of easy to find ingredients, many that you’ll already have in your own pantry!

Living up to it’s name, the book features gorgeous photos taken by Katie herself.  They are all warm and inviting—with sun streaking down onto plates of yummy food!  I’m especially taken with the few glimpses of Alaskan scenery—for more check out her instagram feed because they are beautiful—I think they speak to the Pacific Northwestern girl in me.  Her quick anecdotes of life in rural Alaska drawn you in—so easy to relate to!

Last week I made Katie’s Summer Macaroni Salad.  There are so many great recipes in this book, but the pasta salad just seemed like the right dish to serve the boys in the middle of a warm week.  I think that it can really be customized to whatever veggies you have on hand.  Make the dressing and then be your own chef and clean out your produce drawers!  I used broccoli, tomatoes, and kidney beans (much to David’s dismay).

^^^ “Mom, do you want a smile for this picture?”  Sure buddy.

Go ahead and try the recipe and let me know what you think.  Take a picture and share it on social media—tag @produceonparade and @frieddandelions when you do!  And, if one recipe just isn’t enough, enter to win your own copy!

Print Recipe

Summer Macaroni Salad

I didn’t grow up eating casseroles, chili with Fritos, macaroni salad or even that green bean dish with the Funyuns on top; the foods that I think of as quintessentially American. It could just be an Alaskan anomaly, as we’re separated from most of the United States by an entire, vast nation (hint, it’s Canada). Are we just too removed to adopt such cultural food oddities? Perhaps it was simply my upbringing, but I suspect it’s a native Alaskan thing as none of my friends shared these dishes with their families either.

Yet, this doesn’t explain my inexplicable and utterly spontaneous cravings for macaroni salad. I’d only had the stuff a few times at random work functions or slopped as a side dish at some late-night restaurant before I had ever actually made it myself. Commercially prepared macaroni salad is absolutely dreadful, for sure, so I can’t even imagine the origin of my hankerings.

My macaroni salad has just the right amount of sweet and tang to it. Not too much dressing, but definitely full of crunchy summer vegetables. It whips up in a breeze and will stand out from the sad and drowning macaroni salads of your nightmares, found at summer BBQs across the nation. The best part is that no one will guess it could possibly be vegan.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: pasta salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 -8

Author: Kathleen Henry

Ingredients

Pasta

• 1 pound (454 g) elbow pasta, dry
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

Dressing

• 1 cup (237 g) vegan mayonnaise
• Juice from 1 lemon about 1/4 cup (60 ml)
• 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon (22 g) mustard (I like stone-ground)
• 1/2 Tablespoon (7 g) vegan granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Veggies

• 2 large (107 g) celery ribs, sliced
• 2 medium (241 g) roma tomatoes, diced small
• 1 medium (101 g) orange bell pepper, diced small
• 1/2 large (170 g) onion, diced small
• 1/4 cup (10 g) fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta about 1 to 2 minutes longer than recommended, about 10 minutes. It should be very tender (but not falling apart). Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Stir the vinegar into the cooked pasta and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
• While the pasta cooks, whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Set aside. Prep the veggies and add them to the cooked pasta. Pour the dressing on top and stir gently to coat.
• Cover and place in the fridge to cool. Serve chilled . . . or warm, if you’re like me and can’t wait!

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I was not compensated for my review of this book.  I did receive a copy of the book at no charge.  All opinions and photographs are my own.