The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Dishes from the Healthiest Region Under the Sun:A Vegan Cookbook

Great recipes no matter what your eating preferences are. My go to cookbook for the time being.

I purchased this cookbook about five or six years ago here on Amazon, probably used and I'm finally getting around to writing a review.My copy is now literally falling apart, covered in notes, and soiled from ingredients. To say I love this cookbook is an understatement. I mean, this is that cookbook that I would choose if I could only have one, ever, for the rest of my life. I have made nearly every recipe in it and with the exception of a few that I could count on one hand that aren't bad, we just don't prefer, they are all EXCEPTIONAL. They are all incredibly flavorful, beautiful to the eyes and the palate, gourmet, restaurant quality recipes that are vary from beyond simple to more advanced for the weekend hobbyist cook to prepare.I should mention that my husband is not at all vegan, and I'm more of a 6 days a week vegan. Also, my husband absolutely refuses to eat any fake meat type products. None of these recipes ever even hint at the stuff. Additionally, we have committed pretty thoroughly to the Blue Zone style of eating, which this cookbook is absolutely perfect for if you are living that lifestyle. I promise, you will never miss the meat while eating these recipes. We just feel like we are eating out way across France, Italy, Greece, and Morocco. It's a gourmet vacation in my kitchen every night. And that is saying a lot for us. We live in Portland, Oregon, arguably one of the finest food meccas in the USA, and have also travelled extensively, making a point of eating at the finest most coveted restaurants in the world... and that has made us picky and snobbish about food on an epic scale.My favorite feature is the meal plans in the back of the book. Use them!!! Klein offers full menu plans, by season no less (!), for four people and then another set (!) for six. Recently, I have started using these meal plans (I got sick of making my own and remembered these in the back of the book). I have started making these complete meals for my hubby and I every night and eating the leftovers for lunch the next day. The appetizer course is always delicious and gives me something to tide my hubby over while I'm making the rest of dinner so he doesn't start binge eating while I'm cooking. The desserts are easy to prepare and delicious. My hubby has a serious sweet tooth and grand finales to dinner really appease him. Not only are our meals truly outstanding, but I'm saving a ton of money by eating these seasonal menus. As soon as I'm done with the menu plans for 4, I'm going to start making the meal plans for 6 and freeze the extras. And to think that I was going to start paying for one of those services that plans your meals for you! My holdback was always that their menus seemed pretty lackluster. Now I am getting everything I want. Why did I wait to long to start using them?!Some cookbook authors tell you they are classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and then you make their recipes and wonder if they actually showed up to class or have destroyed their palates with heavy smoking or just think so little of their consumers that they don't trust us to actually appreciate their taste. Klein has used her ample talent to collect real, authentic regional recipes that just happen to be vegan and walks you through preparing them so they taste like they are supposed to. I read the negative reviews left: no pictures...and? I'm frequently guilty of taking pictures of her finished recipes and rubbing my friends noses in it on Facebook. Just follow read through the recipe before you get started, do all your prep work, and cook. Can't use for heart healthy diet....use the wet fry method and omit the salt. I've done it with several of her recipes and although the olive oil really adds something (it does with any dish, we are human, we love fat), if you have that health issue you will still be pleased with her recipes.Not sure how much more of a glowing review I can give. I've lived with this cookbook for a long time and I'm now going to order another copy, only this time I'm going to take it over to a print shop and have them laminate it and spiral bind it. It will be worth every stinking cent. I also own her Tropical Vegan book and again, all excellent recipes. If you are really broke and are living on beans and rice, this book will make you forget you are on a budget. But this one is my favorite, hands down.Now Donna, Dear, can you please do me the immense favor of coming up with a French version? I know it's asking a lot, because you know, the French and butter and heavy cream, but if anyone can do it, I believe it's you. And if you want a volunteer for photos of all your recipes, I'm your girl.

If you gleaned all the world's good Italian cookbooks for their best recipes, then omitted all animal ingredients, and then added some beans to various recipes, you would have this book.The author cooks like a friend of mine--perfectly, but not creatively. The pesto recipe seems to be a big frustration to Donna Klein. She wrings her hands and almost apologizes for it in the introduction to the book and in the introduction to the pesto recipe and even in the recipe's title: "Poor Man's Pesto." So, of course, that was the first recipe I tried. It was worthy of some apologies. It was a typical pesto recipe, sans the cheese. I understand that the author didn't want to use any non-Mediterranean ingredients, but why not add a little lemon juice for a cheesy tang? Why not substitute walnuts for the pine nuts to increase the richness?The other recipes I've tried in this book have turned out to be delicious, and, again, they sometimes remind me of my friend's cooking. When I visit her house, my non-vegetarian friend prepares amazing animal-free dishes--then she tosses some beans in, because, hey, isn't that how vegans get their protein? Here are some recipe titles from this book: "Ratatouille with WHITE BEANS" "Tabbouleh Salad with CHICKPEAS" "Quick Tuscan-Style Pizza with WHITE BEANS, Tomato, Basil." Do whole beans belong in these recipes?But in general the food I've made from this cookbook is really good. My young kids eat it eagerly (they don't always eat my more "creative" foods!).

She has an amazing variety of different ingredients combos that use the same types of ingredients but keep it interesting.Recipes we love from her book are Tuscan bread salad, marinated artichokes with mint on French bread, Ditali with cauliflower ( it's grown up spaghettios), raw tomato sauce with linguine, Lebanese bread salad, ligurian bread salad with vegetables, marinated lentils salad with crackers, spinach and mushroom calzones, salad of bitter greens and pine nuts with classic Italian vinaigrette, apples poached in white wine. The apples poached in white wine were so delicious it felt sinful.We have been cooking almost exclusively out of Donna Klein's cookbooks for months now. Even though I have an entire bookcase of vegan cookbooks. Almost anything I cook out of these books will not be "weird" vegan food and will be acceptable to an omni's pallette. I use her recipes for entertaining my discerning omni family members. Not everyone is down for tempeh, tofu, or homemade seitan. The fattoush and couscous went down well.I love that her recipes have calories, nutrition facts and serving sizes and most are very easy to accomplish on weeknights. Most recipes take no more than 30 minutes of active effort in the kitchen, and we are eating a larger variety of foods now.Something to be aware of, most of her recipes call for easily available fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley) rather than dried herbs as the main flavor agents. They really are necessary as she keeps many of her recipes very simple and they provide the majority of the flavors.My mom likes her PDQ vegetarian cookbook. The PDQ vegetarian is great for her, because she doesn't have the energy to do much cooking anymore, and even though she is tired she can make these recipes. Most of those involve opening a few cans or some frozen vegetables and adding some spices and a grain. I've seen reviews of the PDQ cookbook mentioned as good for people with chronic illnesses or disabilities because many of the recipes are so simple and fast.I've seen complaints from reviews that she has no pictures in her books, but most recipes are pretty self explanatory and don't need them. If you're beyond a very beginner chef, most of these recipes should be very easy for you to accomplish, no pictures necessary.