Bad Manners

So I don't normally review cookbooks on Goodreads (maybe I should?) but I love, love, love this recipe book. This book is a Tex-Mex comfort food cookbook for vegetarians and vegans. It would be super easy to add meat to a lot of these recipes, but you don't have to, the food really fills you up and make great leftovers. Once I had a steady repertoire of faithful recipes, I started experimenting and finding more and more recipes that I liked.

The swearing is a little too edgy at times but the show more recipes are delicious, the flavours are excellently balanced and I've cooked some of these dishes multiple times. The tofu marinade recipes, at one point, I was making 3-4 times a week.

Some of the recipes I love off the top of my head are the pineapple guacamole, apple baked beans, grilled peach burritos, okra and baked potato hash, crunchy peanut slaw, blueberry and lavender scones, watermelon hibiscus coolers, stovetop herbed popcorn... and on and on it goes.

If you like Tex-Mex comfort food that's vegetarian-friendly and really like, hot, spicy, well-balanced food, you'll love this cookbook. c: show less

Well, this one was different. There is extreme profanity throughout; it’s part of the book’s concept, weaving its way through the entire text. It’s going to fill a niche market, I suppose, reaching people who might not otherwise reach for a vegan cookbook, or certain vegans who think the presentation is the best thing ever. Unfortunately, it’s going to completely turn off some cookbook readers/users, and that’s a shame because the recipes are really good and worth reading, making show more and eating. I knew what to expect and I was amused, and I found it somewhat entertaining for while but then, for me, all the swearing got tiresome and I was just trying to read the recipes and the extra helpful information that’s included. I was expecting many obscenities but I guess I wasn’t truly prepared for their volume. However, the recipes are excellent, and I welcome many kinds of vegan cookbooks so as to appeal to the widest range of cookbook readers who are vegan or vegan interested or simply looking for some good recipes.

There are many recipes that appealed to me. I really appreciate that most recipes seem easy to make, that many times whole grains are used, and I also loved the pages with ideas for putting together dishes such as how to build a salad and how to build a bowl and how to roast garlic, etc. There are some good photos of the food (though not for every recipe) and other photos too.

From the breakfast section I’m especially interested in: quinoa oatmeal; mixed veggie and tofu chilaquiles; basic maple granola with add in ideas; tofu scramble tacos; brown rice bowl with edamame and tamari scallion sauce; whole wheat banana pancakes; oat flour griddle cakes with blueberry sauce; baked okra and potato hash.

From the salads, sammies, and mini meals section these looked particularly good: roasted broccoli and millet pilaf; braised winter cabbage and potatoes; sweet corn and green chilis baked flautas; smoky black-eyed peas with roasted sweet potatoes and collards; baked Spanish rice; and some of the baked tofu marinades.

From the soups and stews section, these recipes: vegetable noodle soup with ginger miso broth; pozole rojo; corn and basil chowder; potato leek soup; pumpkin chili (Yes!, #1 on my list! Though perhaps I could say the same about a dozen other recipes in this book. There are so many appealing ones!); tortilla soup; chickpeas and dumplings; wedding soup with white bean balls and kale.

From the salsas, sips, and the snack life section: cumin-spiked pinto bean dip; creamy black bean and cilantro dip; mid-summer salsa; salsa verde; and peach-mint sun tea.

From the burritos, bowls, and other bomb-ass meals, these looked best to me: (these first two vying for recipe #1 with the soup recipe in that section!!): creamy ravioli with house marinara; mixed mushroom and spinach lasagna; and also sweet potat0, squash, and black bean enchiladas; cauliflower cream pasta with fresh herbs; roasted chickpea and broccoli burritos; white bean and red lentil burgers; and root veggie fries.

And from the baked goods and mother fucking desserts section: chocolate fudge pops; crispy millet and peanut butter buckeyes; maple-oat banana bread; carrot cake cookies; and chocolate chip and almond butter cookies all looked delicious.

The above recipes don’t necessarily represent the scope of all the recipe variety in the book; they’re simply the ones that personally most appealed to me.

I recommend the book going in knowing what to expect, for the excellent mostly healthy, reasonably easy to make, and delicious looking recipes. show less

Although I was really thrown off at first by the plethora of swear words in this cookbook, try not to let them dissuade you from this clean-eating, plant-based cookbook. I have Post-It Notes in the double digits for recipes I want to try, and the message this cookbook wants its readers to know is one I 100% believe in: Eat like you mean it. Animal products and massive amounts of sugar should not be eaten in the doses most people do, and this cookbook is a great resource to get you in the show more right direction. If you think the swearing will bother you, don't hesitate to request one of the other amazing vegan cookbooks the library has to offer; they are a fantastic resource to get you to start eating healthier!

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

show less

I received a copy of this book through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

I entered this giveaway because I loved the first Thug Kitchen book (or rather loved all the delicious meals my boyfriend made from it). I have not had a chance to try any of the recipes yet, but they look amazing. I can't wait to try the curry hand pies and loaded nachos.

The thing I love about Thug Kitchen is that the recipes are relatively easy, relatively cheap, and put a fun spin on vegan dishes. As a show more vegetarian, it used to be really hard for me to add variety to my diet, but the Thug Kitchen books make it so easy.

This book is geared for party food, but also includes some other food pairings to make the dish part of a meal. I love the flexibility of the recipes. The authors give cheap alternatives to some more expensive or difficult to find items, and also note if a certain ingredient isn't completely necessary.

The book also includes some party tips and helpful information about ingredients such as where you can find them in a basic grocery store. It also includes a WTF is That? section for lesser known ingredients like mooch and tempeh. There are also suggested menus throughout the book for dishes that pair well together (all of which are listed in the index under Menus).

The Quick and Dirty section in the back includes basic information from the first book like how to cook beans, but also includes additional information like how to make pie crust or pizza dough and how to knead.

The index is helpful and is organized by common dishes or ingredients such as waffles, lentils, vodka, chickpeas.

Expect the same amount of humor (and swearing) as the first book and a lot of motivational snippets to raise your confidence in cooking and throwing a party.

A really good resource for vegan cooking with a great variety of recipes for food and drinks. show less