Today on our Monday's green books series, we're getting into the kitchen and learning how vegan food can not only be notorious but also very yummy!

Our book for today is:

Get It Ripe: A Fresh Take on Vegan Cooking and Living

Author: Jae Steele

Jae Steele is a registered holistic nutritionist and runs the vegan blog Domestic Affair. She has authored various self-published cookzines including Vegan Freegan and Ripe. She lives in Montreal.

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press

Publication date: May 29, 2008

What it is about: (from the publisher's website): Get It Ripe is a vegan cookbook for the 21st century, with an emphasis on holistic living and whole food (i.e. unprocessed and unrefined) ingredients. jae steele is a registered holistic nutritionist; she has also been a professional vegan baker, and worked on organic farms on both the east and west coasts of Canada. Her life experiences, and her love of vegan whole foods, are at the heart of Get It Ripe, which not only features uncomplicated yet delicious animal-free recipes, but advice and information on various aspects of holistic vegan living, including special diets (all recipes are wheat-free), simple steps for cleansing and detoxing, building your own kitchen compost, information on ethical consumerism, and the connections among mind, body, and spirit.

The 140 recipes include Butternut Risotto, Chipotle Black-Eyed Peas with Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower Chickpea Curry, Fettuccine No-Fredo, Apple Carrot Soup with Coriander, Blueberry Breakfast Polenta, Spiced Squash Muffins, and Cowgrrrl Cookies. Two-colour throughout, the book also includes 16 full-colour recipe photographs.

Why you should get it: I am not a vegan and even not a vegetarian (although my wife is), but nevertheless I have always admired the commitment of vegans to their beliefs. It seemed for a long time that being a vegan means scarifying good food for your beliefs, but in the last couple of years this notion starts changing with growing number of chefs and cooking books that present vegan food that is not only animal-rights friendly, but also tasty and I would even say very yummy! Jae Steele's book is definitely one of these books. If you're not sure about it, check out the recipes on her blog Domestic Affair.

I like the fact that this book is not just for "animal right-activists types or those who are allergic to dairy or intolerant to wheat", but for everyone as Jae explains in the book. Anyone can enjoy the good and nutritious food you will find in the book, that just happen to vegan.

We should definitely take food more seriously as it happens to significantly impact everything - economies, the environment and of course our health. Reading this book can definitely help to get more information and ideas on the right direction - local, more vegetables, more whole foods, and still making sure that the food will look and taste good, very good!

What others say on the book:

"Get It Ripe is far from your run of the mill cookbook. It's rammed with thought-provoking info on sustainable food, decoding grocery store labels and holistic ideas on how to heal and balance our bodies through what we put in our mouths. Not to mention how all the mouth-watering recipes will make you want to jump in your kitchen and start cooking up a storm! Not just for vegans, this cookbook is for anyone that wants to treat their body, the planet and their taste buds good." ?Adria Vasil, author of Ecoholic

"jae's inviting approach to whole foods is both pragmatic and uplifting. Get It Ripe offers big-picture broad stokes and meaningful details for delicious, nutritious food on a daily basis (regardless of one's dietary denomination!). If you love your body and the planet, this book is a sure thing."?Renée Loux, TV show host of It's Easy Being Green, and author of The Balanced Plate and Living Cuisine

"jae offers practical advice and truly delicious recipes in her friendly, never-judgmental voice. This book is a breath of fresh, yummy air." - Jessica Porter, author of The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics

This green book review was originally posted on Eco-Libris blog.

More resources:

1. The book on Amazon.com

2. Jae Steele's blog - Domestic affair

3. An interview with Jae Steele on Eco-Libris blog

4. The book's Facebook group

Back to Eco-Libris green books page