I may have been doing a little retail therapy at Target when I saw a cookbook I hadn’t seen before: Big Vegan Flavor. It had a discount sticker on it too, although it was probably one of those that’s designed to distract from the unreasonable original sticker price. Book cam home with me anyways. I have never been that much into the food blogging or You-tubing worlds, and this apparently descends from that realm.
The only thing I really hold against Big Vegan Flavor is the heavy insinuation that the author invented putting genuine flavor into vegan food, building flavor, and global-ish recipes. This was published in 2024; none of that is a new thing.
However, I am willing to forgive that really dumb hint as the book does two things I really like. First, when it gives you a recipe for something like a home-made condiment, there’s a list of multiple recipes where you can use up the whole batch, so you won’t be stuck with random 1/3 full jars filling the fridge. On a related note, a lot of recipes also have an “easy variation” sidebar that gives you some ideas for substituted; no carrots? Try squash, butternut or kabocha. The recipes also are actually fairly global in nature, and it’s hard to pin down one main influence cuisine. So far I’ve tried some things like Creamy Tahini Lentils with Crispy Spiced Garlic, which is actually pretty good as a protein salad, although I may have not gone to the trouble to make the garlic chips; I used some slightly stale French’s Onions leftover from the holidays. The waffle recipe is fine, but not all that special, and it has a lemon poppyseed option that doesn’t really taste lemony even with double the lemon zest. I was also ready for the “spicy noodle stir-fry with S&P tofu” to be kind of boring, but it was actually quite good with the sauce. I definitely think that tofu needed some marinating in something, but overall this was decent. The standout so far actually made me locate and use something I’ve heard of but never actually tried: preserved lemons. There is a diy recipe for that but it takes a while. Pearl couscous & Chickpea Salad with Preserved Lemon is really good. I did use a grain/couscous blend, but I did actually follow the rest of the recipe, including all the fresh herbs, even though I’m not a huge fan of fresh mint in salads, but it actually works pretty well when combined with cilantro and parsley. No pictures because no leftovers.
Second thing is the emphasis on technique, both in terms of individual recipes (read the whole thing through well before you start; I don’t remember if I’ve actually ever heard someone say that out loud, and I’m here for that idea) but also for making your own adaptations. There’s a good amount of space dedicated to actually useful discussions of global pepper (as a ground spice) varieties (just for example), or dried fruits in terms of textural and recipe options (apparently golden raisins are good pickled), or that you should try stir frying cauliflower leaves (I’ve actually never heard of something you could do with those besides toss them).
This is a big book (seriously, it weighs about the same as my youngest cat who is approaching her first birthday (probably, she’s a rescue so who knows there for sure)), so I haven’t gotten that far into trying things out, but I definitely will be working through it, assuming the spine holds together, because this thing is definitely cheaply made; it got knocked off the counter (by a cat) and the gatherings are now partially separated from the outer cover, and there’s a good sized crack on the bottom of the spine.