Around the end of August, I was contacted regarding doing a review of the recipe book, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day. I agreed to do it but not until the second week of October. It’s a little past that but not much. In the resulting emails, I received a wealth of information about the book as well as the author. When the book came, I leafed through it and found that it would be a good fit for my readers. Even the carnivores need to have a Meatless Monday once in awhile. The hardcore vegans will find recipe after recipe that can be used to their advantage. The publicist sent me a long list of raw recipes that reinforced the idea that raw foodists can benefit, too.
Note: I heard from the publicist Monday, 10/17, and now I have TWO books to give away! Your chances of winning have doubled!!
First, a little about the author, Ellen Jaffe Jones:
Ellen Jaffe Jones, an award-winning reporter and journalist and former financial consultant at Smith Barney, teaches cooking classes affiliated with The Cancer Project, part of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, coaches adult running groups, and is certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America as a personal trainer. Visit Ellen’s website at www.vegcoach.com.
(She is aka the “Broccoli Rep”.)
There was a time when Ellen wasn’t following a healthy lifestyle and it showed. She was still a very attractive lady. However, surgery was in her future and her favorite sport, running, was jeopardized by a diagnosis of osteopenia.
She took her health in her own hands and decided to get in shape. What happened was, she no longer needed surgery and her bones became stronger. She ate her way to wellness. The conclusion is, “We are what we eat.”
Food won’t help us if it doesn’t taste good, no matter how nutritious it is. People object to vegan cooking with the argument that it is more expensive (and less tasty) than other regimens. I’ll have to admit that it can be. That’s where Ellen’s book comes into play. She has the experience to back up her claim that you can eat vegan (deliciously) on $4 a day.
For the raw foodists among us, the following either are already raw or can be adapted to raw.
Note from me: Bulghur wheat is not raw—substitute?
Note from me: Miso is cooked though some say it’s a living food because of the fermentation process.
Note from me: There’s a recipe for raw hummus here.
Note from me: Omit oats which shouldn’t be eaten raw.
Note from me: I have a simpler recipe here.
With some tweaking, I believe there are other recipes that could be raw, too.
You know I’m not a recipe book person. I’m not one to sit down and study something to eat. I’m more the “a lot of this, a little bit of that, mix it up, smell it then eat it.” More often than not, my creations turn out to be pretty good if not excellent. Well, today, I sat down with $4 a Day and decided I would reverse that trend—for one day, at least. Going through the pages, I’d think, “Nope, not that one. Don’t have all the ingredients.” That happened time after time until I got to—RATATOUILLE! (I love that movie!) My neighbor had given me two eggplant yesterday and I had all the other ingredients, to a point. I believed I could substitute what I didn’t have (like not enough tomatoes and garlic cloves) with something else (like dehydrated tomatoes and garlic granules).
I got to work. I did my mise en place, not quite to the standard of a professional chef but close. The eggplant was soaking in the salt water, I sauteed the onion, celery and garlic granules in water. I went as much by the recipe as my limited ingredients allowed. Except for one thing. I’m not into black pepper. I have some to try to keep the ant invasion at bay but it’s not something I routinely put into my body. The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon. Now, that seems excessive to me. I hesitantly sprinkled some in and tasted the broth. It was quite good. I put the other ingredients in, following the prescribed order.
At the end of the cooking time, the mushrooms weren’t even close to being done. I cooked and stirred and stirred and cooked until everything else was just about mush. I’d cooked some quinoa (pronounce that KEEN-wa) to go with it. I loaded up my plate and it didn’t look very appetizing. I canceled the idea of taking a picture. Tasting it, it was plain that the yummy flavor it had had before had been cooked away. I picked up the black pepper and doused it well to give myself something to taste.
Moral of the story is, don’t try to make something unless you have all the ingredients. I don’t think it was the fault of the recipe. It cries out for fresh garlic cloves. One thing I think I would do differently, I’d either slice the mushrooms more thinly or put them in sooner.
And now for the details of the giveaway. Beginning tonight and running through October 30 at midnight EDT, a comment telling how you save on buying food will earn you an entry. Only one entry per person! To get things rolling, I’ll start. I’m not one to skimp on my grocery budget but I’m not allergic to good deals, either. Amazon has a program that is right up my alley—Subscribe and Save. For instance, I get organic raisins for 15% less than the regular price with subscribe and save. PLUS, the subscriptions come with free shipping. Right now, I have 26 items on subscribe and save. The ordering is flexible. If I need something soon, I can click on Extra Delivery and it will be on its way. If something comes due and I don’t need it, I can skip the order. Or, if I’ve tried it and don’t want any more, I can cancel. It’s totally flexible.
Now, give me YOUR idea!
Remember to fill in a VALID email address. If your name is drawn on random.org and I can’t get in touch with you, the book will go to an alternate winner. The winners will be announced on Monday, October 31.
