The Sublime Restaurant Cookbook by Nanci Alexander: Book Review

Eager for another vegetarian cookbook full of delicious recipes?  Well, Groovy Vegetarian‘s summer cookbook reviews are back and this time we’re looking at The Sublime Restaurant Cookbook by Nanci Alexander.

Ms. Alexander is a famous Floridian and animal lover, who founded the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) in 1989.  She opened The Sublime Restaurant as a natural extension of that love for animals.  The restaurant features delicious all vegan cuisine.

Turning to the book, it’s published by the Book Publishing Co. under the Green Press Initiative.  This means that they printed it on post-consumer recycled content without chlorine.  According to the publishers, this saves 46 trees, 2,135 lb. of solid waste, 16,624 gallons of waste water, 4,005 lb. of greenhouse gases, and 32 million BTU of total energy — not bad!

Inside the book 73 vegetarian recipes are featured in a pleasant layout.  Its sections include — Hors d’Oeuvres, Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Sushi, Pizzas, Pastas, Entrees, Sides, Fillings, Toppings, Sauces, Desserts, and Cocktails.  (wonderful color photos of the dishes are included in a center insert)

We’ll present three of these recipes to you, and we bet you’ll be hooked.

Caesar Salad (vegan)

Ingredients:
1 8 oz. jar of water-packed artichokes      2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 cups of all-purpose flour                           2 tablespoons chopped raw garlic
Salt                                                                 2 tablespoons of roasted garlic
Pepper (fresh ground, black)                      2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups vegan mayonnaise                     2 heads of Romaine lettuce sliced
4 tablespoons of vegan Worcestershire             into 1″ pieces
sauce                                                              Oil
4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
1.  Drain the artichokes, pat dry.
2.  Coat artichokes in flour until there’s a thin layer all over, shake off excess.
3.  Deep fry in oil, use paper towels to drain.
4.  Combine mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mustard, raw garlic, roasted garlic, and cracked pepper together.
5.  Add lettuce pieces, tosses.
6.  Top with artichoke hearts, salt, and pepper.
Groovy Suggestion: Try adding vegan (or non-vegan!) parmesan cheese to the salad, for the perfect Caesar!!

Nori-Crusted Tofu (a rival — or perfect companion — to the hijiki balls from last week)

Ingredients
1 pound of extra-firm tofu         1 English cucumber
2 sheets of Nori (seaweed)      1 teaspoon of wasabi paste

Directions
1.  Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes, slice cucumbers into slightly-thick rounds.
2.  Roll the cubes in Nori until evenly coated.
3.  Put dab of wasabi paste on top of cucumber and top with tofu cube

Sublime Sangria (needs no description!)

Ingredients
1 bottle 750 ml of red Zinfandel wine        1 orange sliced into wedges and seeded
1 lemon sliced into wedges and seeded    1 lime sliced into wedges and seeded.
6 large strawberries, sliced                           1 cup of blueberries sliced in half
1 medium red apple cored and sliced         1 kiwi, peeled and sliced into wedges
into wedges                                                    2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of brandy (optional)              Ginger Ale

Directions
1.  Pour Zinfandel, sugar, and brandy (optional) into 2 quart pitcher.
2.  Squeeze citrus wedges juice into pitcher.
3.  Add squeezed wedges and other fruit to the pitcher and stir.
4.  Refrigerate 8-12 hours.
5.  Serve poured over ice, with a splash of ginger ale and garnished with an orange wedge.

Thanks for reading this summer edition of vegetarian (and vegan) cookbook reviews here at Groovy Vegetarian.

Hope you like the recipes and I’d like to give a special thanks to The Sublime Restaurant, Nanci Alexander, and her wonderful cookbook.

Check it out!

(Sangria image courtesy of houstinist.com)