[.ca] reFresh: Contemporary Vegan Recipes From the Award ... (ISBN 0470840846)

Imaginative and insightful:
The recipes here taste fantastic and you will find the ingredients usually in stock your regular grocer and if it isn't, you'll likely find it stocked plentifully at natural & health food stores such as Whole Foods. These dishes do taste wonderful with imaginative combinations and easy cooking instructions. One of the best thing about this book is the re-use of dishes. Say you made the Moroccan stew. Got left-overs? There's a roti recipe a few pages down that uses it for a filling. The same goes for many of the dressings. Use it for a salad and a sauce in a rice bowl or noodle dishes. For those of us who hate leftovers and eating the same thing twice in a row, this is the cure! This book is also a two-part book. The second half is dedicated solely to juicing. I was able to pick a juicer (Breville Ikon) that I was super happy with based on the advice written. The recipes presented are unique combinations you won't find anywhere else. She skips the banana and strawberry only combos (even though they are great) combo because they are a stable in nearly any juice & smoothie book as filler. Only originals here! How about one with ginger, lemon, cucumber, apple and carrot? It wouldn't have been my first instinct but wow, it works. Iron Chef Susur Lee also contributed an all-red juice involving beets, raspberries and apples. Highly thoughtful and crafted. If you're a gym-nutsy and are bored of your regular protein mixes, recipes you'll love are in here too. The same goes for you coffee-aholics with espresso shakes including a healthier combination for those hooked on Starbucks Java Chip shake. Have trouble drinking wheatgrass? Ruth Tal has some knock-out combos for you. I had the Singing Grasshopper from the restaurant and was blown away how pleasant it was to drink it all. It has a soothing peppermint and now I can make it at home too. I highly recommend this book and I'm sure you'll find a few recipes that you're willing to try. I am not a vegetarian and far from vegan, but I wanted to increase my vegetable intake and eat less meat. I didn't have a good repertoire of vegetarian dishes, but now with this book in my library, I'm happy to make a vegetarian meal any night accompanied by a fabulous juice.