Here's what I had to say (translated):
"When people find out that I'm vegetarian, the first question I tend to get asked is 'how can you live without biltong' followed by 'don't you get sick of eating rabbit-food?' When I venture to make a full-disclosure, namely that my previously meat-and dairy-obsessed Portuguese (yes, Portuguese) boyfriend and I have been vegan for the past two years, most people tend to draw the conclusion that I must be some sort of masochistic, extremist hippy who nibbles on lettuce leaves whilst practicing self-flagellation to the accompaniment of Gregorian chants.
Since becoming vegetarian eight years ago, I've worked my way through mounds of cook books- they've become a standard gift from my meat- and dairy-eating friends who pity my poor "starving" boyfriend. What I've noticed from the majority of these cookbooks is their exclusivity. The recipes tend to be quite foreign (through their use of unpronounceable and unobtainable food items), complicated (through their use of fifty different ingredients when two will do) and intimidating (through their mantra of veganism is the only way-to-go-ism). I've always thought that, if I find these cook-books inaccessible, I can only imagine how alienating they must be to any well-meaning person, keen to practice meat-free Mondays, who has consumed meat and dairy products all their lives. Moreover, these cook-books do nothing to counter-act the maligned stereotype of vegans as radical extremists.
It is my past experience with vegetarian and vegan cookbooks which has made Mellissa Bushby's "The Vegetarian Kitchen" a breath of fresh, methane-free, air. There is no preaching or sermonising in the book, just a quick suggestion that the reader abandons any concept of "deprivation" and "blandness" when thinking of vegetarian food. Once you've let go of these preconceptions, you'll be excused in forgetting that you're cooking from what could strictly be referred to as a "vegan" cookbook.
The Vegetarian Kitchen is all-inclusive and caters to people who suffer from lactose-intolerance (characterised by stomach cramps, bloatedness and phlegm upon eating dairy products), as well as to those of us who simply wish to make a change to or improve our eating habits, whether for health, weight or ethical reasons.
In Bushby's own words, "The Vegetarian Kitchen" brings across the feeling of lazy summer afternoons spent with loved ones over a delicious meal, which is no less tempting or enjoyable because there are no animal products in the dishes. The cookbook contains beautifully presented recipes to simple, healthy, wholesome and, most importantly, filling food.
The cook-book is also very personalised, featuring pen and ink illustrations by Bushby which serve to compliment the beautiful food presentation and photography featured in the book. I found the fact that I could see the "end-result" of most of the recipes refreshing to the extent that you're not cooking in a sensory-void. Indeed, the entire book serves as a feast for the senses.
"The Vegetarian Kitchen" provides you with recipes for salads, soups, main meals, breads, cakes, desserts and even alcoholic cocktails and shows you that eating vegetarian or vegan does not amount to your becoming a teetotaler or practising an ascetic way of life. Quite the opposite really, it shows you that you can afford to indulge to your (healthy) heart's content. And when you have over-indulged, the cook-book even features a few natural remedies using aloe, buchu and Devil's claw.
The only criticism I would venture to make of the 176-page book is that it's too short. I wait with bated breath for The Vegetarian Kitchen II."
The Vegetarian Kitchen by Mellissa Bushby
Publishers: Random House Struik
Price: R220
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