The Fast and the Delicious

Throughout the month of March, the Book Publishing Company at the Farm (the same folks who are publishing my cookbook!) is giving away copies of several recently-released vegan cookbooks as part of the "Live Delicious, Eat Vegan" campaign.

Titles include Speed Vegan, The Natural Vegan Kitchen, Vegan In 30 Days, The 4-Ingredient Vegan, Becoming Vegan, and Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness. Click here to enter.

I own most all of these book (except for Becoming Vegan), and I can attest that they're all amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting Chef Alan Roettinger, author of Speed Vegan, last weekend when we both led back-to-back cooking demos at the Farm's Sustainable Life Vegan Retreat. Here's Alan in action:

I reviewed Speed Vegan shortly after it came out last year. You can read the full review here, but in a nutshell, I'll just tell ya that this book is designed for vegans who'd love to eat and serve gourmet meals but are hindered by time constraints. Everything in Speed Vegan comes together quickly, yet boasts a complexity of flavor that hints at hours and hours spent working in the kitchen.

This weekend, I attended a dream workshop led by my friend Cindy, and guests were encouraged to bring finger foods. I wanted to show up with something fancy that took no longer than five minutes to whip up. Thankfully, Alan's Artichoke Sandwich Spread from Speed Vegan did just the trick:

Rather than serve it on sandwiches, I brought a bowl of the spread with some Back to Nature Stoneground Wheat Crackers. It literally took me less than five minutes to toss together canned artichoke hearts, vegan mayo, shallots, and few other ingredients to make this appetizer. The results? A creamy, dreamy spread with just the right mix of tanginess and a subtle hint of shallots. God, I love shallots.

Anyway, if you'd like to see Speed Vegan for yourself, hop over to the BPC's website and enter the giveaway!