Mena Massoud

Evolving Vegan from Mena Massoud is like a combination travelogue and recipe book. Perhaps the best thing about the book, to me, is that he makes a concerted effort to be inclusive and reach all eaters (yeah, that means all of us).

If you're not a vegan and also not a vegetarian but want to work toward a more plant-based diet, I think you'll appreciate both the recipes and Massoud's discussion of how we eat. If you have been turned off because you feel some books are preachy (in my opinion, for a good cause) give this one a try. Part of eating well is being happy about what you eat. Because Massoud does not judge so much as suggest you can simply enjoy the information he offers (whether it makes any change in your diet is on you, as he readily acknowledges) and then enjoy the recipes he has collected.

I tried just two of the recipes so far and I liked them both. I also contacted some of my family and friends who live near the restaurants mentioned to get their opinions of the places. In my case, those places included Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and DC. Several of my friends not only knew of the places but love them and eat there regularly. That gives me confidence, coupled with the two dishes I tried, to give even more of them a try.

These recipes are not simply taking standard dishes in American cuisine and substituting non-meat for meat. There are a few such examples (though they are not quite so basic as substituting a generic non-meat burger for a beef one) but the bulk are dishes that will move beyond the usual American flavors. In particular I am looking forward to trying the Ethiopian Dinner which is from Bunna Cafe in Brooklyn, which a friend of mine highly recommends. I especially want to make the ginger-garlic paste they have and try it with some other dishes I regularly cook.

No matter where you are on the eating scale you will find recipes here that will appeal to you. I recommend this as a cookbook first and specifically as a vegan cookbook second. Good food is good food, if I can also help the planet, all the better. And for the record, I am not a vegan, I have come close but still have a couple of things I haven't been able to let go yet.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (altro)