Three New -To-Me Cookbooks

Just got three more vegan cookbooks the other day ( of the 3,603 "vegan " titles listed at Amazon ! ) and can't wait to get started sampling some recipes.   Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Color Me Vegan is the newest and looks especially promising with it's refreshingly creative layout and emphasis on nutrition and flavor from the whole rainbow of  plant-based foods.  Each color gets an essay on the unique nutrition it brings to the table, handy prep tips and recipes from Starters and Salads  to Desserts. From the "Orange" chapter :  Roasted Orange Beets with Tangerines,Peanut Pumpkin Soup and General Custard's Cream Pie with Almond Oat Crust...just 3 of the 18 recipes in that chapter alone !   Read some of the 30+  reader reviews on this latest of Colleen's cookbooks  on Amazon here.
When not writing cookbooks, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau produces very helpful podcasts and is behind an amazing website that offers forums, recipes and much more.  See it all here, at CompassionateCooks.com

Vegan On The Cheap , by Robin Robertson  , is welcome addition to her long list ( 6 ! ) of cookbooks, and would be a good choice to go along with her essential Vegan Planet, since this new book has some great recipes for meat alternatives that were missing in it, including a recipe for "Big Stick Pepperoni" and "Smoky Tempeh Bits" ( a tasty stand-in for bacon bits ).   She proves that eating vegan does not have to be expensive, and lists the costs per serving of each dish.   I have my eyes on the "Corned Seitan and Cabbage" recipe for St. Patty's day :)

And last but not least is The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook, by Joanne Stepaniak.   All the recipes in this slim book ( 143 pages ) use Red Star brand Vegetarian Support Formula Flakes nutritional yeast. This particular brand is vegan, some are not...they may have added whey.   And I know...what a sad, utilitarian name...there ought to be a campaign to find a more inviting name for this incredible food !  I got this book to gain a better understanding of nutritional yeast (NY ) in a vegan diet, and to check out the recipes.  There is a short chapter on how it's grown, harvested and dried in preparation to be sold as a finished product, and a nice chart listing its amazing nutritional profile ( just 1.5 tablespoons has 8.34 grams of protein, 8mcg of vitamin b12, 3.9 grams of fiber...and loads of other nutrients ), followed by lots of recipes from breakfast items to desserts.    There's Classic Quiche with Cheddary Crust,  Creamy Kale and Potato Chowder, and Apple Babka.  NY really is a chameleon...I've used it myself to enrich baked goods ( 1-2 tablespoons, sprinkled on popcorn,  added to sauces and gravies and it's a must for making "cheezy" sauces !   I love the stuff, altho it took me  awhile to get over it's name and apparent obscurity ( I'd never been aware of it before going vegan ).  All recipes in this book are vegan :)     This same author wrote The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, which pretty much covers the same ground as this book, and then builds on it.   Buy The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook.