Customer Reviews

Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a cook and food lover with a heart, my choice not to eat animals is the reason I became vegan. "Vegan Soul Kitchen" by Bryant Terry caught my eye for a couple reasons, the main one being that after moving to the South about 3 months ago, I decided that I'd learn to cook southern food. I was raised in Asia, and had absolutely no exposure to either Southern Food nor "soul food", however I loved the vegan soul food that I've had in Seattle over the past year. I was therefore, thrilled to see a recipe for "Open Faced BBQ Tempeh Sandwich with carrot-cayenne coleslaw" on page 12. The ingredients were readily available even here in the South (at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's) and the BBQ tempeh sandwich was absolutely delicious! The only thing that I did differently was to bake my own Focaccia bread, instead of buying it already prepared. The "Minimalist Survival Snack Mix" on page 44 is a great snack when you don't have time for a sit down breakfast, or as an alternative to "not so healthful" snacks sold at the grocery store. My favorite recipe so far is the "Sweet Cornmeal Coconut Butter Drop Biscuits" on page 158. And yes, the recipe is vegan and no "real butter" is used. It's still delicious though!! I can't wait to try the rest of the recipes in this amazing book.

Terry doesn't appear to be vegan anymore but he does know what he's talking about as he was vegan in college and knows all about the health benefits as well as compassionate reasons for being vegan, and this guy can cook! If not for the Gumbo poem on page 92 about sea creatures in a meal "... a mound of sea creatures, a crab leg reached over the lip ...", I'd have given this book 5 stars. I just thought it was an inappropriate poem for a vegan cookbook. You wouldn't throw in a poem about pork in a Muslim or Jewish cookbook now, would you ? Vegans and vegetarians, don't let that poem stop you from buying this book though. It's still a great cookbook for anyone who loves soul food, or anyone like me who now calls the south their home.

I have had this book for just three days but I jumped at the chance to try it out yesterday and what a find! I made the black eyed peas fritters with the recommended hot sauce, the succotash soup with garlicky cornbread croutons, and molasses ice cream with candied walnuts. While, admittedly, it took all night since each ingredient requires from-scratch making (I cheated with canned black-eyed peas), it was well worth it. Everything was just perfect. I would like to clarify something in case others have some confusion regarding the succotash soup, I didn't see the step where you drain the bean mixture after cooking and before pureeing but I am sure that is what is meant. I think most people would notice that 10 cups of water would make for a very liquid-y soup, but some wouldn't know this until it was too late and I would hate for that to happen! Also, I only used a couple of tablespoons of coconut "oil" because it was so expensive ($9 for a small jar), and make my fritters in the shape of small medallions so that I could flip them in the shallow oil and it worked just fine. This is a collection I'd recommend to vegans and non-vegans alike.

I bought this book because of his previous work Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, which is a groundbreaking green 'lifestyle' book for city dwellers. Vegan Soul Kitchen could just as easily be called Yummy Soul Kitchen- I'm not a vegan but the way the author shows how to build flavors I think will be a benefit to any cook. I highly recommend VSK to anyone who likes southern food, strives to be healthy, and wants to incorporate a spirit of sharing, joy, and community in their cooking. Includes several features (music, book, art recommendations) that make his book stand out from the typical cookbook.

I checked this book out from the library to see how I liked it before buying it. I've tried nine recipes, with mixed (but mostly positive) results.

The first three recipes were outstanding. I made a meal out of the collard greens, mashed potatoes with cumin and caramelized onions, and rosemary tofu cubes. They were all very straightforward, easy-to-follow recipes (in a world in which vegan cookbooks seem to be taking a turn toward the futzy). I especially liked the collard greens -- the raisins were a nice addition, but I'm not sure the orange juice added anything. Nevertheless, it's my new favorite way to enjoy collard greens. The tofu was great, and really simple to make after the initial investment of dealing with fresh rosemary. The mashed potatoes were delicious (especially with the tofu), although next time I might try throwing a bunch of garlic in there.

The next meal I made was quinoa cornbread and succotash soup. I made the cornbread with whole-wheat pastry flour instead of the expensive quinoa flour that was called for, and it came out nice, although I definitely prefer maple-sweetened cornbread as opposed to agave-sweetened. The recipe was adapted from the amaranth cornbread recipe in The Voluptuous Vegan, and the original recipe will remain my go-to cornbread recipe. However, I did like Terry's idea to include toasted quinoa in the batter, and I think my future cornbread will benefit from this addition as it's the first time I had an enjoyable experience eating quinoa. I made the succotash soup to go with the bread (instead of making the cornbread croutons that the soup recipe called for). It was delicious but next time I'll only puree half of it, as I like a chunkier texture to my soup.

I was disappointed that the banana-corn-pecan mini-muffins didn't include instructions for those of us who neither own nor desire mini-muffin pans. I was able to make 15 regular-sized muffins with the recipe, which I cooked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. The result was a very dense but tasty muffin. While it didn't turn out to be my personal favorite banana-nut muffin recipe, the person I share my food with thought this was the superior muffin.

The penultimate recipe I prepared was the citrus broccoli salad, which tasted like steamed broccoli with orange juice poured on top, plus a hit of basil. I had mixed feelings about it -- it wasn't exactly bad, but it did seem like way too much effort considering the end product. Then again, I liked steamed broccoli just fine on its own.

The last recipe I tried was the chocolate pecan pie. It was a huge disappointment, as the 1/2 cup of coconut oil in the filling caused an overpowering and extremely unpleasant aftertaste that rendered the entire pie inedible. I have since discovered that the recipe suffered from a typo -- in future print runs, the recipe will call for 1/4 cup coconut oil. I might try it again, taking into account this new information, but I am still a little gunshy.

I think there were enough good recipes in here to redeem the cookbook as a whole. I would like to find an errata for it, though, but couldn't locate one on the publisher's website. There are still recipes I'd like to try (potato salad, Jamaican vegetable patties, and the sweet-potato fries), but after the pie experience I'm concerned that there might be other food-ruining typos. I think I will eventually buy this, but I'll wait until the next print run when any other typos might have been corrected.

these recipes are incredible! i've been a meat eater most of my life, interspersed with periods of vegetarianism and raw food. right now i eat mostly veggie and seafood. while i've lived with an incredible vegan cook before, i've always thought of veganism as intimidating and hard to do well. the food in vegan soul kitchen is delicious, simple to make, and...well, delicious (again). while i'm not going to switch my diet to vegan, i'll definitely be eating vegan more often. some of my favorites include cajun-creole spiced tempeh with grits, double watermelon strawberry slushee, cold and creamy cucumber watermelon soup (great for hot days and raw eating), and crispy okra strips with lime-thyme sauce. just writing that makes me salivate....

Yes, Vegan Soul Kitchen is technically a vegan cookbook, but there is much to admire for anyone who enjoys good, old-fashioned soul food. I was born and raised in Memphis, so I'm sure that I'm a harsher critic than most, but Terry quickly earned his southern credentials with insider dishes such as Gumbo Z and Rainbow Chow Chow. With that settled, the first thing to note is that VSK is no anemic tome of just salads and sides. Terry provides a veritable compendium of offerings including beverages, desserts, condiments & breads in addition to a wide variety of tasty entrees. While the recipes are inventive, they are respectful to the spirit of the traditional dishes. Terry's commentary mimics the kitchen conversation that occurs when a recipe is handed down. Soundtracks and book suggestions encourage and inspire lively dinner talk. The recipes are divine, but perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Vegan Soul Kitchen is that Terry has managed to capture the essence of Southern hospitality in a cookbook. Although I have no plans to give up fried chicken or pork shoulder sandwiches from A&R, Terry's healthier versions of the food I love will now make up the core of my welcome table.

The amount of thought that went into this cookbook is simply amazing. Many authors attempt to jazz up their recipes by throwing in a booklet of random colorful pictures, but Vegan Soul Kitchen gains its vibrancy from words alone. Bryant pairs each recipe with a chosen soundtrack and thoughtful introduction utilizing a personal story, advice, or a few words of wisdom about the ingredients. I admit, I come from a family with virtually no rhythm, and am often not cool enough to understand Bryant's laid back lingo ... but I still gained extreme enjoyment from the casual flow of the book, and of course, from the recipes.

Even the chapters are somewhat unorthodox. He starts with "Top Six Good Eats: You Gotta Rewind Me" These first recipes do scream Southern cooking by nature of the ingredients, yet his flavor pairings and preparations are quite unique. Next up, "It's All Good: Zero Waste Watermelon." As you may have guessed, this chapter focuses on six lovely recipes utilizing watermelon (one even using up the rind!). This is where I made my first entrance into the book. I took his Double Watermelon Strawberry Slushee, and made a few tweaks for my own personalized version. It was so delicious - incredibly sweet and refreshing! I ended up making these at least three or four times thanks to a boisterous watermelon season.

Next, I skipped ahead in the book, and made the Power Porridge from the "Bring the Grain: Rice, Oats, Ancient Grains, Grits" chapter. It was a delicious blend of quinoa and amaranth, sweetened with banana chips, cinnamon, raisins, and a dash of agave, and spiked with a few other healthy add-ins. Unlike the prior recipe, I followed this one to the T, merely reducing the banana chips a bit based on what I had on hand. The recipe itself was spot on; when followed as written, the result is perfectly cooked.

The textural variety of the Power Porridge was wonderful: creamy quinoa, the occasional bite of amaranth, chewy banana chips, a dash of rich coconut oil, and soft bursts of sweetness from the raisins. We enjoyed big bowls of this rich blend without any milk alternative, but you could add some for more of a hot cereal experience.

Since I shy away from soy protein and vegan meat alternatives, some of the recipes aren't quite as useful for me, but luckily, Vegan Soul Kitchen offers ample whole food recipes focusing on produce and grains. Just a few that I have ear-marked include the People's Punch, Cumin-Cayenne Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions, Double Maple Coated Pecans, and the Garlicky Baby Lima Bean Spread.

Obviously, I have just scratched the surface on trialing the recipes, but Vegan Soul Kitchen has provided me with ample inspiration for coming up with my own simple menus ... which I believe is one of the purposes of this book ... to relax, loosen up, and enjoy the process. I love how Bryant focuses on sustainable eating practices and on the quality of the ingredients rather than trying to create complicated dishes. This makes his recipes very doable for new cooks, yet artfully mastered for seasoned cooks.

If you are seeking a starter vegan cookbook or a one-stop shop vegan cookbook, I suggest you hold off on this one. But if you are looking for an inspirational cookbook, with creative recipes, excellent flavors, a good dose of nutrition, and some new-to-you concepts, then get yourself a copy. I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed.

VSK isn't just a 'cookbook'. In his preface, Terry lets the reader know that it's about reclaiming the healthy roots of African American soul food. It's reminding brown and black folk, kind of what we already know in terms of 'eating better' and 'eating from the land'; reminding us that this philosophy of healthy good eating isn't "new"; that it existed before the big shift in the USA to highly processed foods that have infiltrated and become an 'every day' staple in many communities of color/low income communities.

Just picture a book that is about rejuvenating the soul through some hella good tasting food, not based on fake or mock meats, but rather fresh tasty delights.

And imagine a book that, when you open the pages and begin reading, is inspired by USA soul culture and music. Terry literally has a soulful 'soundtrack' to this book. With his recipes, he will advise you what song will vibe the best while cooking and eating his recipes.

I firmly believe that, unlike many recent alternative cook books that have come out, Terry's book is literally about a food justice that centers on the physical and emotional needs of many folk-- particularly the black and brown communities in the USA who are at the highest risk for nutritional-related diseases-- yet is still accessible and useful for ANYONE who just wants some good food. He doesn't preach or proselytize. He comes from a place of love and non-judgment. He has witnessed our brown and black communities suffering, simply because of how we eat and what we are unable to have access to (usually due to race and class issues). This is a man who simply wants us to know that yes, you can have your corn bread, collard greens, and yams AND decrease your chances for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, etc- and it tastes fantastic!

To support Terry's book is to support a part of the the alternative food movement in the USA that is generally ignored by the status quo. Basically, within the mainstream, it is assumed that everyone is middle class and has the transportation, financial, and educational means to access healthier and tastier foods. The mainstream food movement generally doesn't have to think about these social justice issues...

Terry thinks about it. Terry's heart is entrenched in making his soul food philosophy available to, and a reality for, those that the middle class alternative food movement doesn't necessarily speak to. Mr. Terry will certainly break open new ground with this book.

I bought this book to help me cook for my boyfriend who is vegan. I'm not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I LOVE this book. Everything in it is tasty and doesn't make you feel sick, the way an entire soul food meal can. I love the citrus broccoli salad, the Jamaican veggie patties, the GRANOLA, drop biscuits, and am looking forward to trying pretty much everything else in the book (especially the desserts). Vegan or not, I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to get that homey comfort food fix, just a little healthier.

After Bryant Terry's book Grub and a few recipes at the back I was looking forward to a full book dedicated to recipes. I have been between vegetarian and vegan, almost caught between the two after Omnivore's Dilemna and the Defense of Food. I have had to go it alone in a household of meat eaters and was awaiting for more recipes to win them over.

The introduction to this book set the mark high, a biography, a soundtrack, a cook book, with a whole lot of other things mixed in ... This book allows us to learn who Bryant Terry is as well as get lots of good eats. I was floored by the section on watermelon, one because it encompasses beverages to snacks, but also because he found ways to use every part of the fruit. He not only has a wide variety of recipes but incorporates ways to be more eco-friendly.

This will definitely be amongst my top books for now and a long time to come.