Book Review

Vegan Soul Kitchen
By Bryant Terry
Review by Tammie Ortlieb

Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine

I am back at Grandma's kitchen table for Sunday supper. Having spent my early years in the thick of the Tennessee heat, I am fondly familiar with gathering pecans from the tree in the front yard to make pie, passing the butter beans, and understanding that all tea is sweet, that's just the way it is. I take a certain pride in knowing exactly what okra is and that it really does taste good. I must say, though, that when I went vegan I gave up much of my Southern ways with food. How do you truly do service to cornbread with rice milk or egg replacers?

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My veganized biscuits will never taste like Mama's. And that pecan pie? In my dreams, baby!

Bryant Terry to the rescue with his latest book Vegan Soul Kitchen. Terry melds his Memphis roots with his interest in fresh local whole foods that are not only nutritious but in season and ripe for the picking. An eco-chef and food justice activist, Terry's recipes utilize real food. Not a single page his book contains any trace of processed meat- or dairy-alternative. His dishes reflect his experience not only with Southern cooking, but with foods he has tried in both Africa and the Caribbean. Add to that a little Brooklyn influence and you've got some amazing, good for the body, good for the soul desserts and dinners. Start off with Uncle Don's Double Mustard Greens and Roasted Yam Soup. Don't like your okra on the slimy side?

Fix up some Chilled and Grilled Okra, Corn, and Heirloom Tomato Salad. Move on to the Quinoa-Quinoa Cornbread, Johnny Blaze Cakes, or Sweet Cornmeal-Coconut Butter Drop Biscuits. And for breakfast? Try the Little Potato and Sweet Potato Pancakes.

My favorite? I ran to the Sweet Thangs chapter right off for a twist on a favorite old dessert—Chocolate-Pecan Pudding Pie. And no Southern meal would be complete without Agave-Sweetened Orange-Orange Pekoe Tea.

What I like about Terry is that he brings a sense of community back to eating. Grandma's table was always packed with aunts and uncles and cousins and whoever happened to walk in the door as Pop started the grace. Food was about family and friends and conversation and the good things the earth gave us. With each recipe Terry provides suggested tunes to enjoy while cooking or eating. He dishes up relevant reading lists and points of interest for the foods he uses. A master essayist, his stories are as fascinating as the recipes. So, don't be shy. Grab a plate and join us. You'll be glad you did.

Buy Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine now!

Tammie Ortlieb is a freelance writer and adjunct instructor with a Master's Degree in Developmental Psychology. She resides in southwest Michigan with her omnivorous husband, four veg kids, and small menagerie of pets. Tammie writes for various vegetarian sources, mostly on being okay with your vegetarian self. She's a book nerd, a research nerd, a health nerd, and a huge glass of soymilk half full kind of creature. Visit her blog at www.middle-agedveganchick.blogspot.com.

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