#donna klein

My Favorite Cookbook: Vegan Italiano

Yes indeed, I have read and owned a lot of cookbooks over five decades. I started with Mollie Katzen’s “Moosewood Cookbook,” “Sunset Magazine’s Oriental Cooking,” and Frances Moore Lappe’s “Diet for a Small Planet.” A virtual tsunami of vegetarian and vegan tomes passed through my kitchen, too many to mention and frankly, most of them were worthless. You know what I am talking about, right? The…

Actually, I know very little about The Mediterranean Diet.  Other than what's on that wiki link, and what Jeff Novick has to say about it.  I don't know if I care, I get stuck on the word Mediterranean and think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  

It's all Greek to me.

The book:  The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein

Why do you have it?  Another non-Kindle book!  It was a gift, and as the last time, it was picked from my wishlist.  I like Mediterranean food.  

Well, why hadn't you cooked from it yet?  As before, nothing really stood out at me. 

Did you have difficulty deciding on a recipe?  No.  After all of these years, I discovered what an index is for.  Since my previous experience with these books did not go well, I thought I'd leave it to chance by looking up recipes that would get something that I needed used used quickly.  In this case, Kale.

What did you make?  Cannellini Beans with Sauteed Kale.  Uses Kale, and I happen to like Cannelini beans.

How did the cook go?  Perusing the recipe... I found that this would be a lightly, lightly spiced recipe.  Given my previous experience, I was afraid I'd get a similar result.

Did you modify?  Because we know you can't help yourself.  I did not have enough beans nor kale to do a full recipe, so I did halve the recipe.  I also doubled the spices called for and upped the garlic a little as I was afraid this wouldn't hold much flavor past the kale.  Oil was omitted.

How did the eat go?  I have to say that I did enjoy this meal more than the one from the Italian cookbook.  That being said, the spice was lost under the weight of the kale flavor.  Don't get me wrong, I love kale.  I just wish I got a little more of the other spice coming in.  I wound up doing what I do with beans and greens... I hot-sauced it.

And The Husband?  I think he liked it, but I think he got caught up on the side dish I made for this, just some bulgur and parsley.  Turns out he hates parsley... so I don't truly know how he felt about the main event dish.

Will you cook from this book again?  It has potential, but I fear it may be some time before I consult it again.