Book Review - Grilling Vegan Style

Grilling season really never ends here in Arizona. It is one of the things that makes this state so awesome to live in! I love to call my family back in the midwest in the middle of winter and tell them I'm hanging out on the back patio grilling up my dinner...with veggies I just picked in my garden. It's even more fun (or cruel if I'm being really honest) to text them a picture of my al fresco dinner. We are so lucky to be able to grill most of the year, so I just knew a grilling book would be a great one to review.

Don't live in such a temperate climate? Don't fret! In John Schlimm's book Grilling Vegan Style (published by Da Capo Lifelong Press), John gives some great indoor grilling options for the not so temperate climates. Grilling Vegan Style is on the  Veg News' 2012 10 Must Buy Vegan Cookbooks list for good reason. John offers great tips on grilling safety, different types of grills and how to choose the one that is right for you and grill tools and accessories you shouldn't live without.

There is a section on grilling different ingredients and lists of the most common ingredients used in the book. I found this section to be a little disjointed. There are basic recipes offered in this section that I think would make more sense in the recipe portion of the book, but that is just my preference and certainly would not have kept me from buying or recommending the book. I like John's straightforward but light writing style. It keeps you interested just long enough to learn a little something before the stunning pictures distract you from all of those great tips.

My step son and grand daughter stopped in for a little visit. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do some grilling, family style. I chose 4 recipes for our impromptu grill fest. We started off with the Portobellos with Roasted Leeks and Spinach (pg.101) for an appetizer. We have a few leeks left in the garden, so I thought they would make the dish extra special and they did. This easy appetizer was meaty, savory and earthy. I chose to use Daiya Mozz instead of crumbly cheese as suggested. I had some in the fridge and figured, why not. The Daiya lent the filling a very nice creamy texture. It was a snap to whip up, with impressive flavor results. We were fighting over the last morsel...I won yay!

For the main event I marinated the tofu in the Apple Cider Harvest Marinade (pg. 111). While the marinade added a nice tartness to the tofu, it seemed like it would be better with a sauce of some sort. But I have to say, my 2 year old grand daughter wasn't complaining and happily ate her tofu. So as I was looking through the book trying to decide on recipes, I felt the need for greens. I've been feeling a little iron deficient as of late, plus there was some chard hanging around the garden waiting for its moment on the plate. I chose the Crackling Kale, Swiss Chard and Red Bell Pepper (pg. 83). This took maybe 5 minutes to prep in it's little aluminum pouch. Very simple pantry friendly ingredients. It was really good! The kid ate a bunch of the greens. Another testament to the simple goodness of the recipes.

Tomorrow I will share with you the dessert. Yes, dessert from the grill!!! It will also be the time when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced. One lucky (US only please) reader will walk away with this great grilling companion. Just leave a comment about a fun, memorable or even scary grilling experience you've had before midnight MST on 10/8/12. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on tomorrow's post. Good luck and good grilling!