I was going through a shelf looking for a book, when I found a different book that I’d forgotten about. I kind of remember reading Skinny Bitch (basically an argument for eating vegan but feminist-ly) but apparently I’d forgotten I had the accompanying cookbook, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. I must also have read this cookbook at some point, as every recipe has the US equivalent of the UK measurements the book uses added, in my handwriting. However, I am not sure I’ve ever actually used this cookbook, as I tend to put notes in my cookbooks, and this has none (other than the already mentioned measurement notes). There’s also not sign of splatter. The introduction sounds mostly standard (conventional meat and dairy are bad) but carbs can be ok (interesting argument for the mid-late aughts). The only reason I suspect I have used this book is that I almost definitely remember trying the pad thai recipe, because I think it was this one that actually got close to restaurant sauce taste but more specifically because of the following comment I’m almost positive I know I’ve seen before (and I’d only have noticed/remembered if I’d actually tried to follow this recipe): “We know that it seems like the ketchup would crap up the whole dish, but it doesn’t. Trust your bitches.”
What I didn’t remember, and am not sure I like, is the total reliance on store-bough fake meats and cheeses. Vegan cheese (the store bought kinds at least) is the one and only thing that has no right to call itself by the same name as the conventional product. Milks have reasonable facsimiles as do sour cream, ice cream, quite a few meats, etc. I have had a hard time finding a good veggie burger recipe that doesn’t completely fall apart when you try to cook it, and I was hoping the one here might be worth trying. But, here’s the “Veggie Burger” recipe: vegan burger patties, vegan cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, sweet pickle relish, buns. Firstly, that’s a nope on the sweet pickle. Dill is proper for burgers; sweet pickles have no place. Second, if you’re going to suggest fake meat and cheese premade, at least suggest a good brand in-recipe (don’t bury it in the glossary). Especially in the era before Impossible, and still in the Daiya times, at least give me an idea of where you stand. And when there’s also a “Basic Smoothie” recipe that is frozen fruit and juice or soy milk (that’s it); I mean, who needs a recipe for that?! Even in 2007 (when this was published), most people probably could figure that much out on their own. How about some interesting combos, or ways to sneak veggies or greens in?
I can forgive the reliance on and inter-change-ability of soy and rice milk given that 2007 was before the advent of things like oat milk, almond milk, and a few others. Soy milk adds a weird sweetness to savory things but is fine in baking; rice milk is really thin and often a little bitter, so I kind of avoid that one. There are also other more interesting grains than wheatberries; I love wheat berries in a salad, but again, there are more options.
The book seems aware of its shortcomings in a way; there’s a note in the introduction that “if you come across few ingredients that irritate you: Don’t Hate. Appreciate.” I do indeed appreciate some of what’s in here; however, I maintain that I don’t like the total overuse of things that taste bad, like fake cheese.