Cooking with Dino

I remember when I first started discovering all these great vegan sites on the web and I started lurking in the Vegan Freak forums. There was a guy over there named Dino who would rail against poorly-prepared vegan food and post his own great imaginative recipes. Since then I've enjoyed checking in on the forums from time to time to see what Dino's cooking, and also listening to his segments on the Vegan Freak podcast. Now he's sharing his passion for food in his new cookbook, Alternative Vegan. This is more of a cookbook that you sit down and read, rather than just a collection of recipes. Though it's a great collection of recipes too, many of them Indian-inspired, from basic soups and one pot meals to more elaborate concoctions. Oh, and if you're not familiar with Dino, he eschews all so-called "omni-subs" (meat & dairy substitutes), even things like tofu, tempeh or soymilk. Personally I don't have a problem with these things but I like that there's a cookbook out there that tries to get you out of that box.

It's pretty simple, but the first recipe I tried was the Basic Kale Soup. Sounded good-for-you I guess, but it was quite yummy too. The thing about this book is that Dino really wants you to use his recipes as a guide and then go your own way with them. Many recipes have a lengthy list of suggested variations at the end, from which you can pick and choose. And if you go for something that's not on the list, so much the better. For this soup I generally followed the basic recipe (cumin seeds, onion, garlic, salt & pepper, water, kale, parsley), and I added a couple of the suggested variations (kidney beans and potatoes), along with a couple of my own variations (beet greens and tomatoes). The result was a hearty, tasty and good-for-you soup.

Next up was something from the "More Complex" section - Split Pea Croquettes. Although these turned out to be super-easy to make (and super-delicious to eat!). The story preceding the recipe tells you that these are sort of Dino's variation on falafel. All you do is soak a cup of split peas in water overnight, drain the water, then grind 'em up in a food processor. Add salt and a small amount of minced vegetables (cabbage, carrots, onions and garlic), form into patties and fry in oil. The whole idea sounded intriguing but I was a little unsure about how it would come out. I tasted a bit of the batter for seasoning and it wasn't very appetizing but after frying the patties in peanut oil until they were nice and brown it was a whole different story. Crispy on the outside and soft but not mushy-soft on the inside - perfect! Especially when served with some kicked-up ketchup (that would be ketchup and hot sauce). Oh, and more kale and some carrot sticks on the side.

Alternative Vegan is not your average everyday cookbook but I'm glad we've added it to our collection.