It's My Anniversary!: Cookbook Review, Part 1 of 4 -Thug Kitchen:The Official Cookbook

*This blog post will appear in four parts, each part being a review of one specific book. Part 1 of 4  follows below:

As I was getting ready to write this post, it occurred to me that I might be the only one left using a cookbook (dinosaur that I am!). Turns out I am not that old fashioned and cookbooks are just as popular as ever though the nature of their content has changed. This article in the Huffington Post explains that while recipes are basically free on the Internet, people are still putting down hard earned money to purchase cookbooks. Cookbooks these days, however, are not just how-to manuals. They have become a kind of food focused novel with a good story, good characters, and insider information. People who buy cookbooks want recipes but they also want to be entertained. Content is important. Buyers want the background on the chefs and the cuisine.  A cookbook can focus on a well known chef or a hot regional cuisine. Even a way of life or a diet fad can be a selling point for a book. Cookbooks are still a treasured source of how to do something, a refernce book if you will, but are now a kind of entertainment too.  It's a good time to be a chef, a food blogger, or consumer if you think about it.

With the above trends in mind and to celebrate my one year anniversary of veganism, I thought I would give a rundown of  the books I bought when I first transitioned to this way of eating. I am notorious for buying books when I am trying something new and this time was no exception. I like to have something in my hand, such as a book, for reference. I enjoy writing notes for each recipe and being able to look things up. I want to make sure I am doing things right! Having a book in front of me really helps. And really, I just love books. They are better than a collection of miscellaneous recipes in a folder or having to constantly look at my phone. Books, to me, are the real deal!

Over the past year, four books have made it to my kitchen shelf. I use each of them regularly and for different reasons. Each book offers something to the user that is fairly unique. They are all good generalized introductions to a plant based way of eating. For my review, I focus on ease of use, my results, and the uniqueness of some of the content. I will point out some things too that I see as problems. So, here goes!

First up is a book called Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook, written by Thug Kitchen. This was my introductory book to vegan cooking and as such, it is a pretty good primer. The authors seek to demystify and generally tone down the level of cooking "talk", allowing us regular folk to understand common terms and basic ways of preparing food.  And because this is a vegan based cookbook, there is a lot of information about why a plant based diet is important. The reasons given focus on both a macro and micro viewpoint with regard to food selection, production, and individual health benefits.

So, who is this book written for? It seems like the audience might be the "eat-out-often-frozen-food-twenty-something" crowd. (The authors do maintain a website here, where they explain better their point of view.) Regardless of age, the book is a good read for someone just getting started in the kitchen or maybe someone with a little experience who wants to eat a home cooked meal more often. The book does a good job of reviewing the basics of a plant based pantry, gives tips on measuring accurately and following recipes more carefully, making substitutions, and what kitchen tools/gadgets you might need to get started. You also get a good basic introduction to preparing some common vegan foods such as tofu and tempeh. 

Some of the recipes are fairly standard vegan fair. Many though go beyond that. I have enjoyed the whole wheat banana pancakes, roasted potato salad with fresh herbs, 5 spice fried rice with sweet potatoes, and chocolate chip and almond butter cookies. They have all come out as expected and I would make them again. 

There aren't any complicated methods or exotic ingredients. The recipes are straightforward with easy to follow instructions. The book is suitable for someone with some cooking experience. I would say that the skill level needed is somewhere between beginner and intermediate. I think the authors have done a good job of targeting a specific audience: those among us who may be sick of eating out and not getting a healthy meal, or maybe just want to eat better but don't know where to start. They try hard to make the ideas accessible to the everyday person. 

The best feature though of this book for someone my age comes under the category of "ease of use." The text of the book is big enough, the font is dark and readable, and the ingredient list/step-by-step instructions are clear. There are no portion sizes given, however, and no calorie content so it isn't a suitable book for anyone who wants that information. I also found that the yields of many of the recipes are more than expected, at least for me. 

The big drawback to this book for many people of course will be the language. The authors' point of view/style of writing is that of a pseudo street "thug", for lack of a better term. Or maybe "street" language is the way to describe it. (In their defense, I think this is part of their efforts to make cooking and cooking terms more accessible, in a way. It's a specific appeal.)  Be warned though,the book is riddled with the "F" word. It's even in the title. If you can't take that, there are other books that will work fine. If it doesn't bother you, this is a great first cookbook for a new vegan and quite a hilarious read if you are into that sort of thing. I tend to pull this book out when I am casting about for ideas. Sometimes I just read it for no particular reason other than to be entertained. It's that kind of a cookbook.

I hope this first review has been helpful. If there are specidfic questions or points please email me: libbyfife@ymail.com. Stay tuned for part 2/4. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.