The 30-Minute Vegan

The authors, Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray, know that I'm not a vegan and probably you should know that, too. Although butter and cheese find their way into my vegetarian cookbooks and my kitchen, quite a few of my recipes are vegan, too, simply because many dishes I love happen to be so. Traditional, largely plant-based food cultures are full of dishes that today could be called "vegan," and they are the dishes I turned to when I opened Greens restaurant in 1979. Like our vegetarian dishes, they were greeted with enthusiasm, not because they were lacking dairy, but because they tasted good and were familiar to our mostly nonvegetarian customers. (Who didn't know pesto?) Looking back to that time, it would have been difficult to imagine a vegan menu, or a book like The 30-Minute Vegan, which often overlooks traditional flavors in favor of a more carefree blend of elements and ingredients. But I'm open to being open, and I'm delighted to have Mark and Jennifer's book in hand. It's introduced me to some new dishes and although I may never be a full-time vegan—I did grow up on a small dairy farm, after all, and cream is in my veins—I can certainly appreciate recipes that sidestep some ingredients we may well benefit from setting aside at least from time to time, while retaining flavor and appeal.

What I especially appreciate in The 30-Minute Vegan is the effort Mark and Jennifer make to woo, albeit gently, the reader away from highly processed convenience foods even if they are vegan, toward foods that are whole, fresh, and minimally processed, which means, one really does need to do some cooking. Although they live and cook in Hawaii, The 30-Minute Vegan is not too Hawaii based, which makes it ultimately practical for the home cook who happens to live on the mainland. Add to these virtues the knowledge that you're not going to be spending all day in the kitchen and you have a very useful book, indeed. Because Mark and Jennifer are so committed to helping you put real food on the table in a half hour or less, they provide various tips and tricks, including encouraging readers to hone their knife skills, which is good advice for anyone, but especially for people who haven't spent much time in the kitchen. They also know that if you aren't linear about how you think of cooking and organize yourself, you can accomplish a lot more quickly—more good advice and the kind that's often lacking in thirty-minute cookbooks.

This practical book is also a friendly one. "Use what you have and what you love," the authors advise if you can't find a particular ingredient—a relief for many, I'm sure. And although vegan food may be different from mainstream food, who says that vegans don't want to have some egg(less) nog during the holidays, a chocolate-covered strawberry now and then, or lemon bars? ... They do, and even if they're not quite like what the rest of us are familiar with, the authors are generous in their offering of vegan approaches to familiar dishes such as corn on the cob, pizzas and pastas, BBQ sauce (for tempeh), polenta, as well as desserts.

For me as a cook, the goal of any cuisine, especially one that omits culturally mainstream ingredients, like animal products, is to come up with food that is delicious and a joy to eat. My favorite comment from customers at Greens was, "Oh, I forgot that there wasn't any meat." You want your eater, even if it's just you, to come away from a meal having forgotten all about those missing ingredients. It's not enough to exclude the shunned ingredient—that's only going partway. The food has to sing, too.

So I especially appreciate that The 30-Minute Vegan emphasizes building blocks for flavor, such as herb-infused oils, and even the uses of herbs, so important and so often ignored. That there's an emphasis on food that's fresh, local, seasonal, and organic speaks, not only to our concerns about the environment, but again to the quality of the foods we cook. If you want to cook simply and well, you'll be best off if you cook with the most flavorful ingredients, which, as it happens, tend to be fresh, seasonal, local, and organic. A useful glossary of foods and tools says that cooking know-how is taken seriously here, and it needs to be if you want to be self-reliant and free of processed foods. And I am forever happy that there are no breakdowns of recipes to keep readers obsessive about things one needn't (and no doubt shouldn't) be obsessing about.

Despite the challenges afoot with embracing a vegan lifestyle—not only the decision to be vegan but to fully enjoy eating this way—Mark and Jennifer offer a calm sense of purpose, unquestionable joy, and warm encouragement to those who want to cook and eat this way—especially those who find time in short supply.

We created 30-Minute Vegan out of a sincere desire to address this issue for anyone willing to devote just a little bit of their precious time. This book is a bounty of quick and easy, delectable vegan cuisine for busy people. We are a husband and wife team living in Hawaii. We enjoy spending time in the kitchen together and we never tire of bossing each other around. We aspire to impart some of our culinary enthusiasm to you.

We've selected recipes that illustrate the diversity yet simplicity and ease of vegan food preparation. Here you will find healthful recipes for every occasion—from romantic dinners for two to slumber parties for your children. You'll find lots of suggestions for recipe modifications; you can be adventurous and still be time savvy. If you're a novice in the kitchen, playing with these recipes will help you become more comfortable with cooking. Seasoned chefs can delight in some of our time-saving techniques while discovering new tastes by being inventive with the variations.

Organic food is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, many of which have not been fully tested for their effects on humans. Although people continue to debate whether these chemicals are harmful, we know they are not necessary, so we don't take the risk. We highly recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible in our recipes.

Raw or living foods are nutrient-rich foods that have not been heated above 116°F. Live food cuisine is a growing trend in the culinary world. People who eat raw foods report feeling increased energy, weight loss, healing, and a host of other benefits. We indicate the raw food recipes in the book with a ♥

The importance of eating locally grown foods whenever possible cannot be overemphasized. Locavore was even recently selected as "new word of the year." It refers to one who eats only local foods. Eating local foods ensures freshness and saves those resources involved in shipping across long distances.

Growing foods in your own garden or participating in community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs) is the best option if you have the opportunity. It's very rewarding to see something grow from seed to plant. Farmers' markets are the next best choice. Make friends with the people growing your food! Many of the recipes in this book can be adapted to include whatever fresh ingredients you have on hand.

Our general approach in the kitchen emphasizes minimizing the use of processed and packaged foods. Not only is this much better for your health, the reduction in packaging is good for the planet as well. In our recipes, we often list homemade alternatives to packaged products, such as to canned beans, commercially made vegan mayonnaise, or sour cream. For your comfort and pleasure, we do include some of our favorite processed "transition foods," such as vegan cream cheese and vegan butter for those just beginning to include more plant-based foods or for special occasions.

A plant-based diet also helps protect the environment. Now with more attention than ever on global warming and greenhouse gases, people are realizing that making changes to our diet is the most effective impact we can have on our planet. The environmental footprint of a vegan diet is a fraction of that of a meat-based diet. A recent United Nations report, Livestock's Long Shadow, shows that 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the livestock industry, more than the entire world's transportation industry combined!

Vegan foods represent the best utilization of the earth's limited resources. It takes 16 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef. It's astonishing that the beef industry continues to flourish when we see so much in the news about food and water shortages and people going to bed hungry. For more information on veganism and organic foods, please see appendix A.

Visit our Web site, VeganFusion.com, to learn about the vegan lifestyle, sign up for our free newsletter, and find out more about our books: Vegan Fusion World Cuisine (the winner of nine national awards, including a Gourmand Award for Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the USA, Best New Cookbook by PETA, and Cookbook of the Year by VegNews) and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.

Read through the recipe carefully, perhaps even twice. Make sure you have everything you need and gather it before you begin. Also remember that with practice, everything becomes easier. The more you make a recipe, the faster you will become.

Use these recipes as a starting point for creating your own versions and specialties based on your preferences and whatever ingredients you have on hand. We strongly encourage creative expression in the kitchen; don't just try to stick to the recipe. Never let one or two missing ingredients stop you from making a recipe. There is always something you can substitute—be creative!