Book Review

The Real Food Daily Cookbook
by Ann Gentry
Review by Cathe Olson

More than ten years ago, Ann Gentry opened her first Real Food Daily restaurant in Santa Monica, California. She served a unique mix of California cuisine and southern comfort foods that were all vegan and organic. The restaurant was so popular that she has since opened additional locations in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. If you're not lucky enough to live near a Real Food Daily, don't despair. The Real Food Daily Cookbook is a collection of 150 of the restaurants' most popular dishes.

The book begins with a Guide to Real Foods where ingredients, methods, and equipment are explained. Then it's on to recipes. Starter dishes include Phyllo Triangles with Spinach and Tofu Cheese (a delicious, vegan version of spanakopita) and Better Than Cheddar Nachos. The large selection of soups include Quinoa Vegetable Soup, Asparagus and Cilantro Soup, and Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup.

The cookbook includes lots of salads including Asian Slaw with Wasabi Vinaigrette and Caesar Salad with Blackened Tempeh. There are sandwiches such as the RFD Burger, which was named one of the Top Five Burgers in LA by Citysearch.

Gentry's macrobiotic influence is apparent from the way the entrée sections are presented - by season. Spring Entrees include Seitan Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Tofu Quiche with Leeks and Asparagus. Summer Entrees include Red Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Okra and Sweet and Sour Tempeh with Vegetables. For autumn dinners, try Baked Spelt Macaroni with Cashew Cheddar Cheese or Faux Turkey Breasts made from tempeh. Winter Entrees include some real comfort foods like Salisbury Seitan and Creole Tempeh Gumbo.

To accompany your entrée, there are plenty of side dishes like Spanish rice and garlicky greens. You'll also want to try the breads and spreads such as Multi-Grain Quick Bread and Tahini-Miso Spread.

The dessert section features treats like Pecan Pie and Double Chocolate Layer Cake. Many of the desserts are wheat-free (though not gluten-free). My children particularly liked the Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies.

All the recipes I tried came out very nicely. Most are not exactly quick meals but the recipes are much less complicated than many restaurant cookbooks that I have tried. For the most part, the recipes are very family friendly. I would love to be able to go to one of Gentry's restaurants and have these dishes cooked for me and my family - but having this cookbook is definitely the next best thing to being there.

Order The Real Food Daily Cookbook Now!

Cathe is a freelance writer and the author of Simply Natural Baby Food: Easy Recipes for Delicious Meals Your Infant and Toddler Will LoveSimply Natural Baby Food and The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook: Whole Foods To Nourish Pregnant And Breastfeeding Women - And Their Families. She has studied vegetarian, macrobiotic, and whole foods nutrition and cookery. Cathe cooked at natural foods restaurants and delis in the San Francisco Bay and Central Coast areas of California before settling down with her husband Gary to raise a family. She works at home while caring for her daughters Aimie and Emily. Read Cathe's blog

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