Tag: cookbook

Every Minute Counts

Isa Chandra Moskowitz needs no introduction, and yet, I still can’t help but try. Considered by many as the godmother of modern veganism, her cookbooks are often the first tome of any new convert. Countless burgeoning vegans have been raised on her recipes, fed by Isa’s no-nonsense approach to cooking and wry, irreverent voice. Her first book, Vegan with a Vengeance, wrought by The Post Punk Kitchen cooking show in an era when mainstream chefs would turn up their noses at anything meatless, was utterly groundbreaking. 21 years later, she hasn’t stopped churning out the hits.

The 29-Minute Vegan: Real Food, Real Vibes, Anytime is the latest addition to this legacy, feeling both timely and timeless in its delivery. More people are cooking at home than ever, but lengthy, complicated projects are off the table. This clearly has the edge on the more common 30-minute meal deals; “everyone could use an extra minute in their day,” as Isa explains. Since I’m guilty of defaulting to 10-minute meals, I’m clearly well-equipped for this sort of speed run. That’s why I’m honored to have helped develop and test recipes for the project. On every glossy page, however, Isa’s brilliance shines through.

Yuba Chick’n Noodle Soup

For a cookbook that’s easy to love, it’s incredibly difficult to know where to start. Encompassing classic comfort foods like Yuba Chick’n Noodle Soup with genuine soul, Caesar Pasta Salad with Tempeh Croutons that puts a heartier twist on traditional leafy affair, and Stovetop Spinach Artichoke Dip that would be the talk of any party, even picky eaters could crack open the book and instantly find something to love.

Roasted Cauliflower Romesco Steaks

Isa’s distinctive style shines most brightly when she fuses the foreign and familiar, like Roasted Cauliflower Romesco Steaks worthy of a gourmet menu, Curry Cauliflower Tacos with Mango Salsa and Coconut Raita which defy definition by any single cuisine, and Tahini Crispy Rice Treats with Date Caramel that would put other bake sale treats to shame.

Buttery Almond French Toast

What further differentiates The 29-Minute Vegan is Isa’s commitment to using whole, unprocessed ingredients. Sure, it would be a breeze to slap together a sandwich with sliced bread, meatless cold cuts, and dairy-free cheese, but you wouldn’t need a recipe for that, now would you? This approach honors the people that actually want to cook, but simply don’t have the time to waste on convoluted prep and performative aesthetics.

Pad Thai Simply To Die For

Making things easier without dumbing them down is the greatest victory of the whole 250+ page compendium. Why make compromises when you can just make things differently, and ultimately, better? It doesn’t take much effort, or, as the title would imply, time.

Eggplant Parmesan Soup

Though I’d sooner eat the actual book, hard-bound spine and all, than choose a single favorite recipe, I’d eagerly nominate the Eggplant Parmesan Soup as a top pick. Isa says it best: “Eggplant parm is one of the first things I started eating when I went vegetarian, and I’m sure I will be making it until my dying days. But I save the whole production for leisurely moments, because I’ve discovered that this soup can actually get me there without all the breading, frying, and clean-up. Tender eggplant, rich tomatoes, and toasted breadcrumbs swim together in a velvety broth, topped with garlicky rustic sourdough croutons. Cheesy, garlicky, satisfying—all the flavors you love with a fraction of the work. But don’t try to put this in a sandwich, you messy bitch.” Even more graciously, she’s agreed to share this winning recipe below, in case you weren’t already sold.

Black-Eyed Pea Bolognese

Ordinarily, I’d say that The 29-Minute Vegan is a cookbook you should always keep on the kitchen shelf, but that misses the mark. You’ll want to use it so often, it’ll never have a proper resting place.

Continue reading “Every Minute Counts” →

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Cook This Book: The Essential Einkorn Cookbook

Einkorn is still an enigma to many, lingering on the fringes of the modern food world like a half-remembered story; vaguely familiar and intriguing, but rarely invited into the daily routine. The Essential Einkorn Cookbook by Katie Koyle is exactly the lens needed to bring this grain into sharp focus, pulling back the curtain to reveal einkorn’s remarkable versatility in the contemporary kitchen.

Unlike trend-driven cookbooks that position ancient grains as novelties, likely to be forgotten when the next superfood craze rolls around, Koyle’s approach is refreshingly grounded. She treats einkorn not as a curiosity to be decoded, but as a staple to be understood. As a crucial part of the team at Grand Teton Ancient Grains, Koyle has spent years working intimately with this original wheat in all its permutations, and that fluency shows on every page. She knows how einkorn behaves, where it resists, and how to coax out its best qualities without force or fuss.

Though this is not a vegan or vegetarian cookbook, the guidance it offers transcends dietary lines. The foundational information, such as how einkorn absorbs liquid differently, why it prefers gentler handling, and how its golden hue signals richness rather than density, applies to anyone willing to experiment. Even recipes that include animal products are written with a technical clarity that makes them easy to adapt, making this book a valuable resource for adventurous eaters of all kinds.

The baking chapters are where einkorn truly shines, and Koyle wisely leans into that strength. Her focaccia (page 53) is a standout: plush and tender with a crumb that manages to be both airy and satisfying, its flavor deeper and more complex than versions made with conventional white flour. Einkorn’s natural sweetness comes through subtly, pairing beautifully with olive oil and herbs without collapsing into a heavy, overly dense dough. It’s the kind of bread that disappears quickly, torn by hand and eaten warm, with or without embellishment.

The pumpkin muffins (page 99), crowned with a generous crumb topping, are another highlight. Einkorn’s softness lends itself beautifully to quick breads, producing muffins that are moist without being gummy and richly flavored with the barest measure of sugar for balance. I love that it calls for a full can of pumpkin puree, not some trifling half-measure for the sake of color, and you only need to substitute the two eggs with 1/2 cup of applesauce to reap the fully vegan rewards. The crumb topping, when made with dairy-free butter, adds a certain decadence that straddles the line between nourishment and indulgence, equally suited to breakfast, afternoon coffee, or a late night snack.

Outside of the oven, einkorn proves its adaptability. Chicken and dumplings (page 125) offers a reminder that ancient grains are not confined to rustic loaves and pastries. The dumplings, tender and flavorful, hold together with grace, absorbing the broth while maintaining their structure. It’s a snap to swap in your favorite meatless protein and vegetable stock to make it effortlessly plant-based.

What makes The Essential Einkorn Cookbook especially successful is its humility and pragmatism. Koyle never oversells einkorn, nor does she shy away from its quirks. Instead, she offers practical wisdom, gentle reassurance, and recipes that work as an invitation rather than a challenge. It should also be said that the photography, shot by Koyle herself, is truly stunning, emphasizing texture, color, and process over polish. It’s equally inspirational and aspirational, especially to anyone that’s more of a visual learner.

For anyone curious about baking beyond conventional wheat, or simply looking to deepen their relationship with the ingredients they already love, this book is both a guide and a companion. Einkorn may be ancient, but in Koyle’s experienced hands, it feels entirely alive, ready to earn its place at the table, one loaf, muffin, and dumpling at a time.

This post was made possible as a collaboration with Grand Teton Ancient Grains. My opinions can not be bought and all content is original. This page may contain affiliate links; thank you for supporting my blog!

Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

The Joy of Food

Food should be a thing of joy. It should be a catalyst of joy; an acknowledgement and celebration of joy; the embodiment of joy that can be felt, seen, and fully experienced. Food Joy: Over 100 Vegan Recipes that Delight the Senses, Nourish the Body, and Uplift the Spirit by Tess Challis pays homage to exactly that, sharing the recipes and principles behind creating unconditional happiness, every step of the way.

As a plant-based cookbook first and foremost, you’ll find the usual range of snacks, soups, salads, entrees, breakfasts, and sweets, all made with whole foods. From this holistic approach, health and wellness are critical components of fostering joy, not tiresome obligations that come at the expense of it. Simple techniques are leveraged to yield quietly spectacular results, meeting cooks of all skill levels where they are.

I had the privilege of photographing and designing the book, watching the journey unfold as Tess worked her magic. It’s her ninth publication, but the first with contributions from her daughter, Alethea, balancing family favorites with fresh inspiration. That means miso soup with a bold citrus infusion, personal pizzas made with flourless, air fried crusts, and creamy mac and cheese boasting more protein than your average filet.

Every page radiates warmth, from the heartfelt anecdotes to the vivid, inviting imagery that captures each dish in its most irresistible moment. There’s a soulfulness to Food Joy that transcends the recipes themselves. Each one feels like a love letter to comfort, creativity, and connection. Whether you’re drawn in by the golden glow of air-fried turmeric cauliflower or the playful elegance of a layered chia pudding parfait, there’s a genuine sense that you’re being welcomed into something special, something deeply personal.

Tess encourages readers to embrace the process, to savor the chopping and stirring as much as the final bite. With Alethea’s voice sprinkled throughout, there’s a multi-generational dialogue that reminds us joy can be passed down, shared, and reinvented. Food Joy is nourishment in every sense of the word: physical, emotional, and yes, even spiritual.

Hannah (BitterSweet)9 Comments

Upsetting The Balance

One of my favorite cookbooks is super upsetting. Prospective readers are warned of that fact right up front. A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Chef Tyler Kord makes good on that threat right away, combining sweet and savory with such reckless creativity that it’s a marvel it all fits between two slices of bread. Though the book is hardly new, having been on shelves since its initial release in 2016, I still find myself thinking about it regularly, randomly, to this day. It’s the kind of cookbook that you actually want to read, cover to cover, before turning out the lights for bed, rather than doom scrolling through the darkness. It’s captivating, curious, confounding, infuriating, and shocking in all the right proportions. Oh yes, and from what I’ve tested and tasted, quite delicious.

I don’t subscribe to the idea of guilty pleasures, because all forms of joy should be embraced, but this is the closest I might come to that definition. I’ve kept this fixation to myself for years, despite it bubbling back up to the surface, demanding to be shared. The fact of the matter is, the recipes are almost besides the point. The stories are captivating, written in biting, self-aware, sarcastic and yet smart prose, like a stream of consciousness spontaneously composed at 2am after some regrettable decisions on the town. There is no fourth wall—there never has been—as you’re invited into the conversations between Mr. Kord and his editor, as if you’re there reviewing the raw manuscript with them.


Cookbook Photos by Noah Fecks

Sadly, No. 7 Sub, the sandwich shops in Midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn where it all started, is no more. Its memory lives on in these pages, left to home cooks to recreate, or further bend to their whims. Most famous perhaps is the Broccoli Classic, noteworthy for its inclusion of pickled lychees and crispy fried shallots. The Zucchini Parm is a bit more tame, making the obvious vegetable swap, but also adding BBQ potato chips, “just because I wanted them,” the author explains. Mr. Kord does marvelous things with meatless protein as well, as evidenced by the General Tso’s Tofu Sub, exemplifying fusion cuisine done right. Though not a vegan book or former restaurant by any means, it’s not hard to translate with the convenience of modern substitutions these days.

From my personal experience, The #2 Best New Sandwich In America In 2012 According To The Huffington Post, AKA Terrible and Unhealthy Cauliflower Sandwiches, are a brilliant combination, showcasing Mr. Kord’s understanding of flavor and textural contrasts, pushing the boundaries of classically accepted pairings into a new, wholly successful culinary realm. Roasted cauliflower is the centerpiece, supported by a raisin and scallion relish, smoked French dressing, and crushed potato chips. Because I’m a similar kind of crazy, I tweaked my assembly to use less oil in the dressing, turning it into more of a spread, and swapping the golden raisins for lightly sweetened cranberries. Sorry, not sorry for using store-bought chips; the merits of this combination still stand up to scrutiny.

If you want to be mildly disturbed by some authentically off-kilter, unconventionally intelligent ideas in food, you’ve come to the right place. I have yet to find a contemporary cookbook with nearly such reckless creativity, fearlessly self-aware of how marvelously upsetting it could be.

Hannah (BitterSweet)2 Comments

Sweet Indulgence

You deserve a dessert. How do I know? Because everyone does.

A little bite of something sweet is guaranteed to boost your mood, at least for a little bit, redeeming a tough day or further amplifying a joyous occasion. Treating yourself is synonymous with self care, so why is it a gift so often denied? Sugar, gluten, eggs, butter; name your dietary nemesis, and conventional desserts have it in spades. It doesn’t have to be that way though. Sweet Indulgence by Chef AJ puts dessert back on the table for each and every eater out there, without sacrificing health or taste.

It was my distinct honor to photograph all 150+ recipes in this groundbreaking cookbook, which truly runs the gamut to accommodate all palates. Ranked by sweetness, it’s easy to find treats that are more or less decadent, from austere oat muffins to decadent cheesecakes. However, what’s most remarkable is that throughout the book, there is zero refined sugar to be found. Dates, bananas, and sweet potatoes may not sound particularly luxurious… until you’ve seen what Chef AJ can do with them.

For the naysayers who don’t believe a healthy dessert can also be delicious, I challenge you to find fault in AJ’s Mint Chocolate Mousse Torte, a completely raw slice of cool, creamy heaven for any chocoholic. As one of my personal favorites, it still floors me how rich each bite is for essentially employing just nuts, fruits, and cocoa.

On the lighter side, Mango Mousse Parfaits with raspberry coulis are a remarkably elegant layered delight that can be made in mere minutes. As one of those recipes that only looks time-consuming, it’s both aspirational and accessible. Chef AJ has generously shared that recipe, which you’ll find below.

To recap, this entire collection of recipes is:

  • Vegan
  • Sugar-free
  • Oil-free
  • Salt-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Kosher

…With many soy-free and raw options in the mix.

I don’t subscribe to the idea of “guilty” pleasures because there should be no shame in eating things that make you happy. While not everyone can eat with such abandon, there’s still room for sweet treats in any diet. No matter how voracious your sweet tooth, Sweet Indulgence has you covered.

Sweet Indulgence officially launches on August 27th, which means you still have 1 week left to pre-order and take advantage of the big bonus bundle. Including videos of ALL the recipes, the audio book of Unprocessed, access to the Make it Raw cooking courses, and more, to the tune of a $1000 value. Considering the minuscule cost of the book itself, it’s a mind-blogging deal. Even without the extras, it’s more than worth the price of admission!

Hannah (BitterSweet)2 Comments

All Y’alls Cookbook

“Flavor First” is the philosophy that guides my approach to cooking. It needs a punch of acid, smoldering heat, and sultry umami; an arresting taste experience that commands the center stage. To call something bland is the worst insult in my kitchen. That’s why it was such a joy to cook with All Y’alls Foods, creating this cookbook from the ground up with a rich palate of global tastes to spark inspiration. In case you thought of jerky as just a snack, allow me to flip the script.

What makes It’s Jerky Y’all and It’s Big Crunchy Bacony Bits Y’all so special is that they do more than try to translate dried meats directly into vegan terms. Each pouch offers the immediate gratification of a ready-to-eat snack, but with some creativity and fresh ingredients, you have an incredibly versatile, adaptable meal starter in your hands. Think of it as shelf-stable protein, just like you would lentils or chickpeas, but with more of a meaty bite than basic beans could ever dream of.

Let the rich flavors inspire your cooking, leaning into the building blocks of global cuisine by employing simple pantry staples. Chinese stir-fries or Mexican tortas are within easy reach, without a trip to a specialty grocery store or years of experience.

That said, don’t let me tell you what to do. Take this collection of recipes and make it your own. I’m thrilled to give away three copies to celebrate the printing and release, at long last! To enter, leave a comment about your favorite flavor of plant-based jerky, and don’t forget to log that on the form below.

It’s All Y’alls Cookbook

If you just can’t wait, you can snag a copy on the official All Y’alls Foods website.

I couldn’t be more proud to partner with founder and CEO Brett Christoffel in not only creating the recipes, text, and photos for this book, but also designing it from scratch, for the first time in my career. Since completing this project over a year ago, All Y’alls Foods has already released a new flavor, so you can expect a reprint with more sweet ideas featuring the inimitable Cinnamon Churro jerky. There’s always room for improvisation and even greater culinary exploration.

Hannah (BitterSweet)19 Comments