Book Description:

The creator of the acclaimed Vegan Divas product line and the chef and owner of New York’s Vegan Divas Bakery shares her award-winning recipes for creating decadent, flavorful treats adored by vegans and carnivores alike

For Fernanda Capobianco, eating vegan doesn’t mean sacrificing divine taste. A vegan since she was seventeen, the native Brazilian chef and wife of acclaimed French Chef François Payard founded Vegan Divas, a New York City dessert company specializing in utterly decadent yet supremely healthy, vegan desserts. Her cruelty-free fare has been featured everywhere from Vogue to New York Magazine’s “Grub Street,” and her much buzzed-about low-cal, mini-desserts have been included in events for institutions like Martha Stewart, the New York Times, and Soul Cycle. In her first book, she shares more than 75 recipes for both sweet and savory dishes that are high in protein and fiber but low in fat and calories. Filled with dozens of four-color photos, The Vegan Divas Cookbook includes:

• Delectable treats like Mango-Pineapple Cake, Espresso-Lemon Panna Cotta, Spicy Carrot Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Spelt Brownies, and Gingersnap Cookies
• Brunch favorites like Peanut Butter and Jelly Scones, Eggless Scrambled Eggs, Sweet Potato Pancakes, and Detox Granola
• Hearty breads (some gluten-free) like Jalapeño Corn Bread, Spiced Pumpkin Bread, Eggless Whole Wheat Challah, and Tomato-Basil Country Bread
• Light lunches such as Smoky Tomato-Bean Soup, Walnut Paté Apple Sandwich, Roasted Pumpkin with Peanut Sauce, and Blue Potato Kale Salad

The Vegan Divas Cookbook also offers tips for creating a vegan kitchen, such as pantry essentials; basic recipes like for pie crust, whipped topping, and icing; and easy swaps for healthier cooking and baking, including how to replace animal-based oils and fats, chocolate, and thickening agents, for healthier and lower-calorie versions. Fernanda also provides entertaining and decorating tips for creating perfect plates and beautiful baked goods the Vegan Diva way.

My Thoughts:

As you have probably figured out, I can’t resist a chance to try out new vegan cookbooks.  So, here’s another one.  

I found the recipes to be very creative and fun to make.  I tried the peanut butter and jelly scones, Jalapeno corn bread, the Chilled Sweet Corn with Red Pepper Coulis and Croutons, and other recipes.

The Chilled Sweet Corn soup (pictured above) was the most labor intensive.  It is not a recipe for a beginner cook.  Luckly, I have been cooking for many years.  You need to use fresh corn for this so it requres you to cut the corn off of many ears of corn.  Was the work worth it?  Yes and no.  It was a nice change of pace and good on a hot summer’s day.  However, I actually preferred it warm which, is how we ate the left overs.  Would I make it again?  Probably not.  Though it was good, I usually only make outstanding recipes again, when they are that labor intensive.

That said, I do recommend this cookbook for the other recipes.  Most of them are much easier to make than the soup and good.

4/5

I received the ebook for review from Edelweiss for my honest opinion.
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