Gena Hamshaw

I’ve become a fan of Food52. I recently reviewed their book Genius Recipes, which garnered my very rare and coveted “A+” rating! And last night I made dinner using a recipe from their website.

Food52 in general is not vegetarian, but this cookbook is the baby of Gena Hamshaw, who writes the column New Veganism for Food52. It's chock full of inventive and flavorful vegan goodies.

The book begins with a foreword by Food52 founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs. They express their initial reservations regarding vegan cooking, but the author converted them.

The foreword is followed by a brief Vegan 101 index, letting you know where you can find some essential information like "Getting to Know Some Vegan Staples" or "Essential Techniques".

The book is divided up into chapters:

Breakfast
Appetizers & Snacks
Soups
Salads
Main Dishes
Desserts

It's filled with beautiful photos. The ingredients are generally simple, common ingredients (at least for someone familiar with vegan dining. Some things like nondairy milk, tamari, or nutritional yeast may not be familiar to more traditional cooks). I didn’t notice anything that would be especially difficult to find in most modern grocery stores.

There are lots of delicious-sounding recipes, like Peach Crumble Coffee Cake, Penne with Summer Squash, Corn and Herbs, Smoky Tempeh and Hummus Sandwiches and Chai-Spiced Bread Pudding.

Also note that the index is searchable by ingredient or recipe.

This book is put together well, the recipes are familiar yet presented with a twist, the ingredients are attainable. This book makes vegan cooking "friendly" and accessible.… (meer)