Donna Klein

Toss the takeout menus and get cooking!

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review at the publisher's behest.

I've taken to reviewing cookbooks lately because I like the challenge. I can be rather lazy when it comes to cooking, and tend to procrastinate to the point where my only choices for dinner are last night's leftovers - or a pita bread pizza. Making unfamiliar dishes, on the other hand, requires planning and flexibility - my culinary arch nemeses! Enter: the show more cookbook review. Since publisher-provided review copies usually come with a deadline (albeit self-imposed, but then I'm always my own biggest critic), they provide just the right amount of motivation to keep me on track.

So when Penguin USA offered me a free copy of The Chinese Vegan Kitchen: More Than More Than 225 Meat-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free Dishes from the Culinary Regions of China (Donna Klein, 2012) for review, I jumped at the chance. Though I love (some) "Chinese food," my experiences up until now have been limited to the occasional takeout and prepackaged vegan egg rolls found at the local supermarket's "meals to go" cooler. Before last month, I'd never so much as made my own lo mein - let alone assembled egg rolls from scratch!

The same time I was working my way through the recipes in The Chinese Vegan Kitchen, Salon featured an interview with English Fuchsia Dunlop in which she "explain[ed] Western misperceptions about one of our favorite culinary imports": There is no "Chinese cuisine". In a country as large and diverse as China - more the size of a continent than a nation - to speak of one common culinary style amounts to an "over-simplification." Chinese food, says Dunlop, is at once "varied and multi-faceted," yes shares certain cultural elements.

Luckily, chef and food writer Donna Klein - whose library includes several previous regional cookbooks (Vegan Italiano, The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, The Tropical Vegan Kitchen) - seems to know her stuff. Having lived in China for a year, Klein begins The Chinese Vegan Kitchen with a brief explanation of China's regional cuisines. The recipes which follow are reflective of China's diversity, with dishes from Hunan, Sichuan, Hainan, Shanghai, Yunnan, Tibet, and Northwestern China, to name just a few.

Prior to writing this review, I made about a dozen different recipes:
Velvet Corn Soup (page 35)
Roasted Carrots with Sesame and Ginger (page 155)
Stir-Fried Bok Choy & Shiitake Mushrooms (page 152)
Baked Vegetable Eggless Egg Rolls (page 12) with the Basic Dipping Sauce (page 9)
Roasted Sesame Green Beans (page 160)
Hunan-Style Baked Sweet Potato “French Fries” with Chili Sauce (page 161)
Pantry Lo Mein (page 98)
Microwaved Sichuan Green Beans (page 160)
Instant Ramen Noodle Soup with Vegetables (page 45)
Country-Style Vegetable Stew with Tofu Puffs (page 43)
Chinese Corn Flour Flatbread (page 6)
Sichuan-Style Lo Mein with Sesame and Garlic (page 100)
Sesame-Mustard Vinaigrette (page 60)

I would have liked to have tried a more diverse selection - including at least one seitan and several more rice dishes - before publishing this review, but I also wanted to get it up in time for the holiday shopping season. If you're still shopping, look no further: The Chinese Vegan Kitchen would make an excellent gift for the Chinese food afficionado/aspiring chef in your life - vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike!

Nearly all of the recipes I tried were winners. (Photos and individual reviews can be found on my blog!) Among the standouts are the Baked Sweet Potato Fries (which we enjoyed as part of our Thanksgiving dinner); the Instant Ramen Noodle Soup (with a very high taste-to-effort ratio); the Velvet Corn Soup (different!); and the Roasted Carrots with Sesame and Ginger and Roasted Sesame Green Beans (which I bet would taste amazing together!).

Though I had some trouble here and there, most of it concerned obtaining the right ingredients for the job. For example, I was unable to find vegan egg rolls, so I had to swap them out for spring rolls when making Baked Vegetable Eggless Egg Rolls. Since the filling is rather saucy - and the spring roll wrappers, thinner than their egg roll counterparts - this resulted in not a little leakage during baking. Still, the rolls were super-delicious and I've no doubt that my results will only improve once I'm able to get my hands on some proper egg rolls.

This isn't to imply that all - or even most - of the recipes in The Chinese Vegan Kitchen include hard-to-find items. Most of the necessary ingredients are available in Asian markets, if not the Asian section in your local grocery.

With few exceptions, the recipes are simple and easy to follow, though the degree of difficulty varies. The egg rolls, for instance, proved a little tedious and time consuming. The result was delicious, though probably this is one food that I'll mostly enjoy as takeout in the foreseeable future. On the other end of the spectrum, I was pleasantly surprised to find how effortless a dish lo mein can be. Why pay a premium when you can make it at home?

Many of the dishes are a little (okay, a lot) on the spicy side, with fiery ingredients like five-spice powder, Chinese hot oil, jalapeno peppers, and chili paste. Luckily, it's easy to take it down a notch by reducing or eliminating some of the hotter spices.

For the most part, Klein's directions are clear and concise - though I'd appreciate a little more visual instruction in some areas. The foods which require folding, for example - the Scallion Pancakes and Eggless Egg Rolls come to mind - left me scratching my head. Since I'm not a very visual thinker, a sketch or diagram would have come in handy. As it just so happens, though, the egg (spring) rolls did include drawings on the packaging - and the husband swears that he understands the directions for the scallion pancakes - so at the end of the day, no harm, no foul.

If you like a ton of pretty photos and glossy pages in your cookbook, you might be disappointed by The Chinese Vegan Kitchen - save for the cover, there's not a photo to be found. Personally, I don't mind the lack of photos, since it helps keep costs down. The convenience of the internet also helps render pricey, full-color cookbooks unnecessary (or less so, anyway), when you can oftentimes find photos from both the author and fellow readers online. Start a flickr group for your own favorite vegan cookbook and get sharing!

For the newbies like me, Klein includes a glossary of ingredients that, while helpful, isn't quite as complete as I'd like. During my first foray to the Chinatown Food Market, I quickly discovered that a number of the ingredients (particularly tofu items) have different names. Tofu Puffs, for instance, also go by the more descriptive term "Fried Tofu." Essentially, this is precisely what Tofu Puffs are - chunks of fried tofu - but beginners, of course, aren't apt to know this!

Likewise, I found the index similarly frustrating to use. Returning again to tofu, the dishes containing tofu (some of them, anyway) are listed under a single heading ("tofu dishes"), with additional entries for individual tofu recipes appearing throughout the index (organized alphabetically by title). Entries for the more unusual tofu products - "tofu skin" and "tofu bamboo" - simply direct the reader to the glossary. Considering the variety of tofu items - "regular" tofu, silken tofu, fried tofu/tofu puffs, tofu skin, etc. - more specific entries would be most helpful.

True story: once I purchased the tofu puffs, I had trouble figuring out which recipe I'd bought them for! I only happened to stumble upon the Country-Style Vegetable Stew with Tofu Puffs while flipping through the cookbook. (In the index, this dish is listed under "C" for "Country," but doesn't make an appearance under "tofu dishes." Go figure!)

All in all, I'm happy that I agreed to review The Chinese Vegan Kitchen. I learned how to make some of my favorite Chinese dishes and, better still, discovered a number of new favorites too. A few minor complaints aside, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes "Chinese food." Though it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that you can toss all your takeout menus - we all need some fast comfort food from time to time - The Chinese Vegan Kitchen will give you the knowledge and inspiration to make many of these foods yourself, in the comfort of your own home and tailored to your own specific tastes. All-vegan, too, without the unpleasantness of grilling the waitstaff!

A strong 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 where necessary. (Amazon, why no half stars?)

http://www.easyvegan.info/2012/12/17/the-chinese-vegan-kitchen-by-donna-klein/

http://www.easyvegan.info/tag/the-chinese-vegan-kitchen/ show less

Why hello, never ending vegan pasta bowl!

I received a copy of Donna Klein's Vegan Italiano for Christmas - and in the few short months that I've owned it, I've managed to tear through nearly three dozen recipes. This is unprecedented for me, cookbook hoarder and master procrastinator that I am. But I also love, love, LOVE pasta, and since the dishes all sound so incredible, my biggest challenge was choosing just one to start.

(As it turns out, the inaugural recipe was Frying-Pan Pizza, and show more it was a game changer. Hearty, doughy pizza! In less than 20 minutes! MAGIC!)

Among the recipes I tried:

* Italian-Style Butter Bean Dip (page 4)
* Sicilian-Style Tomato Spread (page 13)
* Cauliflower Soup with Parsley (page 16)
* Baked Vegetable Soup (page 21)
* Tomato and Bread Stew with Pasta (page 27)
* Olive Croutons (page 34)
* Farfalle with Sundried Tomato-Mint Pesto and a side of Fresh Broccoli Marinara (pages 53 and 99)
* Farfalle with Zucchini, Mint, and Almonds (page 54)
* Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Marsala and a side of Roasted Carrots with Rosemary and Sage (pages 55 and 101)
* Fusilli with Caramelized Onions and Walnuts with a side of Green Beans with Walnut Sauce (pages 56 and 103)
* Linguine with Breadcrumbs and Lemon (page 58)
* Linguine with Broccoli Sauce and Garlic (page 59)
* Linguine with Caper and Green Olive Marinara Sauce (page 60)
* Linguine with Potatoes, Green Beans, and Spinach-Walnut Pesto (page 62)
* Linguine with Roasted Pepper, Tomato, and Garlic Sauce (page 64)
* Potato Gnocchi with Sundried Tomato-Almond Pesto (page 73)
* Sicilian Skillet Pasta Pie (page 76)
* Spaghetti with Red Wine and Rosemary Marinara Sauce and Skillet Garlic Bread (pages 78 and 138)
* Baked Herbed Rice (page 83)
* Lemon-Pine Nut Rice (page 84)
* Microwave Risotto with Saffron (page 86)
* Risotto with Zucchini and Sundried Tomatoes (page 89)
* Baked Mixed Vegetable Casserole (page 125)
* Pesto Pizza with a Semolina Crust (pages 132 and 130)
* Frying-Pan Pizza (page 134)
* Baked Garlic Bread (page 138)
* Spinach Pesto Pasta with a side of Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic (pages 144 and 102)
* Lemon-Basil Pesto Sauce (page 145; paired with angel hair and sweet corn)

I blogged each dish as I went, so I won't bother rehashing each one here - but you can click through the recipe titles to see photos and read more about any given recipe.

As was expected (did I mention my carb addiction?), there were very few dishes that I didn't absolutely love. Growing up my mom made pasta on a weekly basis, but my experiences were mostly limited to spaghetti and meat sauce. Klein introduced me to a number of new vegan favorites: the 'Linguine with Roasted Pepper, Tomato, and Garlic Sauce' is out of this world, as is the 'Sicilian Skillet Pasta Pie' - and the 'Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Marsala' and 'Farfalle with Zucchini, Mint, and Almonds' aren't too shabby either. And the 'Linguine with Breadcrumbs and Lemon'? AH-MAY-ZING. I never would have thought to mix breadcrumbs with pasta, but now I'm putting them on all the things.

(Adding quotes because the recipe titles seem to bleed together otherwise.)

The vegetable sides are nothing to scoff at, either. The 'Fresh Broccoli Marinara' and 'Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic' are both melt-in-your mouth good, and I can't wait to try the walnut sauce from the 'Green Beans with Walnut Sauce' on foods other than beans (not that the beans aren't delicious): pasta, pizza, baked potatoes.

Lest you think the majority of the book involves pasta, Klein divvies it up pretty evenly between appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, rice, vegetables and beans, pizzas and sandwiches, and desserts. All in all, the chapter on pasta weighs in at just over 40 pages.

Klein sticks to authentic Italian ingredients, eschewing vegan meat and cheese alternatives such as tofu, seitan, soy meat, and soy- and nut-based cheeses. While many reviewers count this as a positive, I'm torn: I'm not always thrilled when cookbook authors rely too heavily on name-brand, prepackaged vegan meats and cheese, but in avoiding meat-and dairy-heavy dishes altogether, Klein's cookbook seems incomplete.

For example, there's not an Alfredo sauce to be found, even though this cheesy sauce can easily be replicated through the use of tofu or even cashews. (Pro tip: Lane Gold's Vegan Junk Food, The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe by Mark Reinfeld, and Tami Noyes's American Vegan Kitchen all contain some pretty awesome versions.) Also, while I love the 'Skillet Pasta Pie,' it's not nearly as good as the 'Spaghetti Pie' from American Vegan Kitchen, which includes a cheesy tofu ricotta (-ish) layer. Vegan parmesan is ridiculously easy to make at home, with just a few simple ingredients (almonds or walnuts, nutritional yeast, salt, and olive oil - nothing weird about that!).

While I found the lack of cheesy dishes disappointing, it's incredibly simple to introduce vegan meats into some of the recipes, if you're so inclined. A half a package of Yves ground round took the 'Spaghetti with Red Wine and Rosemary Marinara Sauce' to the next level, and it's easy enough to toss some vegan pepperoni on top of the 'Frying-Pan Pizza.' If you don't have ready access to the store-bought stuff, search around online for some do it yourself recipes. (American Vegan Kitchen and Vegan Brunch both contain some excellent vegan meat recipes.)

If you prefer veganized versions of your favorite meat- and dairy-based Italian dishes, check out Nonna's Italian Kitchen by Bryanna Clark Grogan. I recently purchased a copy and, while I haven't yet had a chance to experiment with any of the recipes, a quick perusal reveals that the author doesn't shy away from "fake" meats and cheeses.

Another complaint I've seen is that many of the recipes aren't recipes at all; for example, jarred marinara sauce is a common "ingredient." While it's true that there aren't nearly as many recipes for pasta sauce as I expected, most of the dishes do involve original recipes. (Happily, there are a number of variations on pesto!) I'm a little bummed that there isn't at least one recipe for basic Italian bread, but on the plus side, there are instructions for making foccacia dough from scratch.

Aside from the cover, there aren't any photos to be found in Vegan Italiano. I know that some people prefer lots of glossy food photography in their cookbooks, but a lack of photos doesn't really bother me. At least for main dishes, I tend to rely on the recipe vs. pictures when choosing which dishes to try. (Desserts are another matter!)

If nutrition is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Klein includes nutritional info for each recipe: calories, fat, sodium, etc. On my review of her 2012 release, The Chinese Vegan Kitchen, one reader inquired about her use of oil (moderate). Here I'd say that it's kept to a reasonable minimum and mostly consists of olive oil used to saute veggies - the garlic bread being one notable exception (but so deliciously worth it!).

All in all, a strong 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on Amazon.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2013/04/22/vegan-italiano-by-donna-klein/

http://www.easyvegan.info/tag/vegan-italiano/ show less

This is my all time favorite cookbook. The recipes are vegan, but you won't find any mock foods or anything trying to be something it isn't. Mind you, there is a place for those recipes too, but these recipes are all fantastic on their own merits, not trying to imitate something else. The Tunisian Chickpea soup is my favorite, but every single recipe has been a winner.

Vegan Italiano is deliciously different from other vegan cookbooks - the recipes are not traditional recipes, "veganized". Rather, Donna Klein uses already vegan recipes and original variations to create an array of dishes that simply happen to be vegan. The only drawback is that there are no recipes for creating your own gnocchi or pasta - the recipes all call for dried pasta, which means that you really only make the sauce, not the entire meal, from scratch.