Simple Recipes for Joy

The review department here always seems to be backed up (slackers, I should fire the whole lot of them – me, myself and I). But I suppose that’s a good thing what with all of the vegan cookbooks out nowadays.

A long while ago, I received from the publisher for review, Simple Recipes for Joy by Sharon Gannon, founder of Jivamukti Yoga and the Jivamuktea Café in New York City. Now, I’m not at all familiar with yoga or the cafe so I can’t comment on those parts but I did enjoy trying out some of the the recipes.

Want a new and interesting way to eat popcorn? Pictured above, Popcorn Salad (page 127), the first recipe I had to try out. Simple and easy. I got everything fresh from the farmer’s market except the popcorn. I could have popped it myself but went with Skinny Pop Popcorn.

The popcorn is kinda like croutons in the salad. Normally I skip the bread kind of croutons but popcorn is a great option, especially if you’re trying to be gluten-free. I used the plain version but I bet it’ll be good too with say Earth Balance Aged White Cheddar popcorn.

Having grown up in an Asian-American household, I’m no stranger to saifun noodles, I’ve certainly eaten my share. But with the unusual, decidedly non-Asian ingredients in Dressed-Up Glass Noodles (page 112), it was a recipe to try. Who knew apples, sun-dried tomatoes, vegan sausage and kale parties well with saifun? In true Chinese fashion though, I did not cut the noodles as called for in the recipe. Noodles symbolize long life, so there’s no cutting of the noodles.

From the raw soups section, “Cranberry Sauce” Soup (page 95). Not as sweet as a smoothie, but still quite good. The color is very much like cranberry sauce, but not the taste, as there’s no actual cranberries in there. Though it does have a nice gingery taste.

For dessert, I made the Raw, Soy-Free Chocolate Pudding (page 268). While it was indeed simple and easy to make, I thought it was a tad too simple and one-dimensional compared to other such recipes that have more ingredients. I shaved on a bit of extra chocolate in an attempt to add more chocolate taste.

Overall, I liked the recipes I tried. Other recipes were a little too simple for me, like how to cook rice. But I figured some people could be beginners and would find those recipes helpful. Lastly, in the time that it’s taken me to review the hardcover book, a paperback version is now available.

Disclosure: I received the book free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the book expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

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