WELL-READ WEDNESDAY: COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY OF "FRESH AND FAST VEGAN"

Can a person have too many cookbooks?  Since I can count at least 500 of them sitting on my office shelves and stashed away in laundry baskets, I think I have enough to spare.

So I am instituting “Well-Read Wednesday,” where I’ll be giving a cookbook away every week. I will post a brief summary of the book and one of the recipes. Anyone who comments on my blog throughout the week will be entered in a drawing for the book. If you announce this contest on Facebook, leave a comment letting me know, and that’s another way to enter the drawing. You don’t have to give your full name or e-mail address if you prefer not to; you can just comment in the “anonymous” category.  But you need to leave a first name, nickname or some type of identity.

I’ll announce the winner in this blog the following Wednesday.  At that point, you can e-mail me your full name and mailing address, and I’ll put the book in the mail to you.  No, I won’t be making it into some type of mailing list or using it for any other purposes (Trust me, I’m not that organized!)

Today’s featured book: “Fresh and Fast Vegan,” by a United Kingdom food editor, Amanda Grant. It offers creative recipes for devoted vegans. A lot of people have a hard time giving up animal products, because they don’t know what else they can eat that is filling and satisfying.

First released when the vegan lifestyle was just beginning to get popular, the book has been revamped as a handbook for vegan cooks. There are 140 recipes, and guides to nutrition and stocking your kitchen.
Some of the dishes featured: Spicy Gazpacho Soup with Paprika Croutons, Baby Mediterranean Tarts with Fresh Basil Puree, Hot and Spicy Popcorn, Stir-fried Black Beans with Lime and Chili, Potato Cakes with Peach and Lemon Grass Chutney, Pacific Rim Coconut Curry, Pecan and butternut Squash Tart, Poached Fruit in Lavender-Infused Syrup, Orange and Passion Fruit Sorbet, and Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Cake.

The book was released Oct. 2010. (LIfelong Books, $15.95)

Here’s one of the recipes:

Warm Lemon and Olive Oil Beans on Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Zest of 1/2 lemon
4 cups (1 pound, 12 ounces) canned boriotti beans or cannellini beans, drained
Juice of 1 lemon
Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup (1 ounce) bunch of watercress, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan. Add the rosemary and garlic, and heat gently for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow it to infuse while you prepare the mashed potatoes.

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the potato chunks, and simmer about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain, and return the saucepan to the heat. Dry the potatoes over very low heat, shaking the pan gently.

Remove the rosemary sprigs and garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the oil and lemon zest to the potatoes, and mash until they are smooth and creamy. Keep warm.  Serves 4.