Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes (Perfect Paperback)

by Robin Robertson (Author)
Key Phrases: salsa fresca, vegan yogurt, reserved tempeh, Vegetable Broth, Garam Masala, The Middle East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Hands down, the most flavorful vegan cookbook in print. Vegan Fire & Spice brings together authentic, wonderfully spiced dishes from every continent. If you re tired of making vegan recipes that don t bring the thunder, you need this cookbook in your kitchen. --Erik Marcus, publisher of Vegan.com

Want a hot, spicy trip around the world? Save the money on airfare and instead splurge on Robin Robertson s latest work, Vegan Fire and Spice. Already a prolific cookbook author, Robertson tackles some fairly uncharted territory for us vegans, culinarily speaking. Even though there s a lengthy and lustrous history of ethnic vegetarian cuisine, Robertson s book gets more in depth as her recipes are often as authentic, and authentically spicy, as they can be. Separated into regions the Americas, Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East and Africa, India, and Asia the book features appetizers, soups and sides, main courses, and sauces for each locale. From classic dishes like Spicy Rotini Primavera to the truly exotic Vietnamese fish Sauce, the heat index can be adjusted to personal taste. Robertson arms her readers with the right way to cool down after one chile too many, and encourages us to try a little more heat than we may usually attempt. Forget the armchair; stovetop travelling is far spicier. --Elizabeth Castoria, VegNews Magazine, March/April 2008

Whether you like your food mildly seasoned or boldly spiced, Vegan Fire & Spice is the go-to book for great-tasting and healthful global vegan recipes. --Neal Barnard, M.D., president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Product Description
This book is your culinary passport to the world's spicy cuisines. It lets you take a trip around the world with delicious, mouth-watering, meatless, dairy-free, and egg-free recipes, ranging from mildly spiced to nearly incendiary. Explore the spicy cuisines of the U.S., South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia with: Red-Hot White Bean Chili, Tunisian Couscous, Vindaloo Vegetables, Vegetable Tagine wth Seitan, Szechuan Noodle Salad, Turkish Bulgur Pilaf, Jambalaya, Thai Coconut Soup, Penne Arrabbiata, Satays with Ginger Peanut Sauce, and many more.
Organized by global regions, this book gives you 200 inventive and delicious 100% vegan recipes for traditional international dishes, using readily available ingredients. Best of all, you can adjust the heat yourself and enjoy these recipes hot - or not. (Note: This is a 100% vegan, revised and updated version of Robin's 1998, out-of-print vegetarian book, Some Like It Hot, and contains new recipes and important new content.)

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Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Vegan Heritage Press (January 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980013100
• ISBN-13: 978-0980013108
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,723 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious - can't wait to try more!, May 5, 2008

By	Kenneth Simon (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've hesitated to review cookbooks because I'm never sure when I've tried enough of one to warrant a review. After all, I can only comment on the bits and pieces with which I have experience. Still, the good cookbooks are worth mentioning, and this is one of the good ones.

As I flip through Vegan Fire & Spice, I'm finding that just about every recipe screams "Try me!" The recipes are organized broadly into large swaths of the globe (The Americas, Mediterranean Europe, The Middle East and Africa, India and Asia), and each section is further broken down into more specific regions. The recipes are -- you guessed it -- spicy, though of course this is adjustable to taste by varying the amount of spice or the quantity of chilis.

Anshu's Red Lentil Sambar sounded immensely appealing, although it required a trip to the local Indian grocery to purchase Garam Masala and a Sambar spice mixture. This is a good weekend recipe, as preparation and cooking takes some time. And there's a small criticism: I wish this cookbook included estimated prep times, because although some steps in this recipe gave approximate times, others did not and so it was hard in advance to get a sense of how long I'd be in the kitchen. I started making this at 6:45 and the meal wasn't ready until 9:00. Now that I understand the recipe, I'm sure that I could cut that time way down -- but it was worth even the long prep time.

The sambar is a delicious, hearty dish, full of chunks of vegetables and rich simmered lentils. It is more like a stew than the thin sambar soup you normally get in restaurants. Spiced to perfection -- and even better when I brought some with me for lunch the next day.

On a side note: I purchased this and another vegetarian cookbook from Amazon, and in a lovely gesture, they tucked in a coupon for a McDonald's chicken sandwich with my order. How thoughtful. At least I got a laugh in about it!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another delicious and useful book from Robin Robertson, January 25, 2008

By	John P. Plummer (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am always thrilled to see a new Robin Robertson book, and this one is no exception. It is a flavorful and exciting tour of world cuisines. Cooks who do not have easy access to local ethnic markets will appreciate the fact that Robertson has designed her recipes to be supermarket friendly and has provided good substitions for esoteric ingredients. Not only vegans, but people of all eating choices will enjoy this fine book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robin Robertson rocks!, June 30, 2008

By	patty gann "patty" (charlottesville, va) - See all my reviews

I always know that if Ms. Robertson is the author, the recipes will be wonderful. Vegan Planet is my most used cookbook but Fire and Spice is certainly competing for number one. All of the recipes I have made to date are easy and taste delicious. The quinoa stuffed avocados is a perfect recipe to serve to guests. it is both easy and colorful. I just made the Garlic Soup yesterday and it is absolutely delicious!

Thanks so much, Ms. Roberston; keep them coming!