You Can Cook This!- Turn the 30 Most Commonly Wasted Foods into 135 Delicious Plant-Based Meals- A Cookbook by Max La Manna
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Web ID: 16778133Left Over No More!
Appalled by the amount of food that is wasted? Trying to cut down on your grocery bill? Want to keep down the waste in landfills? Max La Manna has the solution: Turn what were formerly known as leftovers into deliciousness. Working in a variety of kitchens while aspiring to be an actor, La Manna says the amount of food he saw wasted "pained me." He turned his focus to finding ways to turn all those little bits of food in the back of refrigerators and cupboards into exciting, simple dishes. In You Can Cook This! La Manna shows creative ways to use what he has researched as the 30 most commonly wasted foods. All those using his book need to do is turn to the section on whatever ingredient they wish to keep out of the garbage pile and transform it into one of his135 plant-based meals. The cookbook is divided into sections for root vegetables; grains; nightshades; gourds and legumes; leafy greens and cruciferous; fungi and alliums; non-dairy; fruits; and leftovers (perhaps the first time I have seen a section on leftovers in a cookbook). While he uses plant-based equivalents for such things as butter, cheese and milk, he tells us regular diary products can be used as well. La Manna's Carrot Lox and Bagel, he says, mimics the taste of smoked salmon. His Carrot Cheese Sauce is a mainstay for topping nachos or baked potatoes. His Midweek Carrot and Potato Bake is an easy sheet pan dish. His "What's in the Fridge?" Fried Rice will work with virtually any leftover vegetable or even canned corn.. What La Manna calls his "ultimate go-to sandwich" consists of root vegetables with a green sauce. He offers two versions of tomato sauce, noting that he batch cooks his summer abundance and has canned sauce for the winter. La Manna's food inspirations give us "Fresh Cucumber and Apple Salad, tofu replacements for chicken and ground beef, and a pesto make from broccoli stems. Other recipes are for flatbreads, pancakes, scones, and a blueberry galette. But the leftover section is where La Manna really surprises readers: Using stuffing as one of the ingredients in a sandwich or to stuff mushrooms and putting used coffee grounds (take note, Starbucks) in pancakes. Easy hacks are turning leftover pieces of lemon or lime into Citrus Cubes and making Coffee Cubs from the last drops in your pot. La Manna ends the book with instructions how to prep and then store a variety of foods to avoid waste. I received a free copy of You Can Cook This! from Harmony Books and Rodale Books in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fun book
You can cook this helps you reduce food waste by using common ingredients everyone keeps in their fridge and pantry. Chapters are divided by root vegetables, grains, nightshades, gourds and legumes, left greens and cruciferous, fungi and alliums, non-dairy, fruits, and leftovers. I’ve tried the Zesty and Herby Summer Orzo salad, and the Crispy Kale Udon Noodles and Peanut Butter Miso Dressing. Both recipes came out really easily and tasty. I just made a minor change to the Crispy Kale Udon noodles by using almond butter instead of peanut butter. I have more recipes bookmarked including the spices potato pancakes, one-pan lasagna, and stems and herbs pesto. Overall this a great plant-based/vegetarian cookbook, while many of these cookbooks contain the same recipes and can be a bit boring, this one stays interesting by having a wide variety of recipes. I’ve received a free copy from Harmony Books and Rodale Books in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The one cookbook everyone needs!
You Can Cook This! is the cookbook everyone needs. It is made up entirely of recipes that make use of all those lingering fruits and vegetables in your pantry and fridge. Every recipe is plant-based and vegan and most recipes are accompanied by a photo. I discovered many new and exciting dishes that were easy to make and delicious. Carrot lox and bagel, peas and beans fritters, and a killer loaded nacho dish with carrot cheese sauce. Also among my favorites was the fridge greens fusilli which turned out to be a great way to use up unused salad greens. As with most vegan cookbooks, recipes are easily adaptable and could be made using cheese or meat in place of vegan alternatives if desired. I received a free copy from Rodale Books in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com