Eat Like You Give a Damn

It's official — I have a new favorite cookbook. Eat Like You Give a Damn by Michelle Schwegmann and Josh Hooten of Herbivore Clothing Company!

I mean, it just makes sense that I'd fall in love with this book. A large chunk of my wardrobe is made up of tees and hoodies from Herbivore. For years, I've had Herbivore bumper stickers on all of my cars (and yes, I've had a lot of cars because I've had a lot of wrecks — never my fault, though). Michelle and Josh are adorable people, and their book is filled with easy and delicious vegan meals. And I want to make EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

This book is so Portland. As you may know, Herbivore has a storefront in Portland in the vegan mini-mall. So of course, Michelle and Josh eat like Portlanders — bowls, chunky tofu scrambles, soy curls, loads of nooch. Flipping through it reminds me of past visits to Portland, a.k.a. The Vegan Mothership. It brings me back.

I had a hard time deciding what to try for this review because everything sounded (and looked) amazing — Kale, Tempeh & Tomato Salad; Praise Seitan Vegan Roast; No-Bird Noodle Soup; Sweet Potato Ravioli with Popeye Pesto Sauce; Roasted Beet Burgers; Skillet Taco Pizza; and bowl after bowl of awesomeness. How could I possibly choose?? I finally settled on four recipes because I couldn't pick just one.

Of course, a bowl was a must! This Curry-Barbecue Soy Curls Bowls called out at me on my first flip through the book.

It has all the things I need in life — soy curls simmered in sweet 'n' tangy BBQ sauce, Southern-style braised collard greens and corn, wholesome brown rice, and a homemade chunky vegan blue cheese dressing. I added a touch of Austin to my Portland by adding a drizzle of Yellowbird Habanero Sauce. 

These flavors work so well together! The dressing has chunky bits of tofu that simulate chunky blue cheese (minus the mold! yay!), and since it's made with tahini and vegan mayo, it's super-duper creamy and thick. The soy curls are simmered in the BBQ sauce for a long time, so they get really plump and juicy and soak up all that flavor. This dish is like last-meal-on-earth good.

I saw that Cadry of Cadry's Kitchen tried the Herbivore's Tofu Scramble in her review of this book, and she compared it the amazing tofu scramble that we all had at Bouldin Creek Cafe in Austin during Vida Vegan Con 3. So I had to see for myself!

And she was right! This is eerily similar to Bouldin Creek's scramble, which was a drier, noochier, chunkier scramble than I'm used to. That scramble and the Herbivore one seem closer in texture and taste to real eggs, which is awesome because 11 years into veganism, I still miss eggs sometimes. 

I also love that this scramble is veggie-less. I always add veggies to beef up the nutrition factor in my scram. But let's face it — the best part is the tofu. Veggies just get in the way. Better to have them as a side dish, which is what I did this morning. I had my scram with a side of steamed kale and cracked wheat toast with lemon jam.

I tried another breakfast recipe from Eat Like You Give a Damn — Nut Butter & Bacon Toast!

This is just toast spread with any nut butter (I opted for a chia peanut spread) and topped with homemade vegan bacon. They give two bacon recipes — one for tempeh bacon and one for coconut bacon. I made the coconut bacon, and it's just perfect. The recipe warned that the coconut bacon might get soft if wasn't used right away, but not so with mine. It has stayed crunchy for two weeks now in a plastic Tupperware bowl! I used most of it last week, but I have a tad left that I'm saving for salads. 

Finally, y'all know I love my smoothies, so I had to try one from the book. I went with the Minty Kale-Pear Smoothie so I could sneak some more greens into my diet.

It has kale, pear, banana, mint, plant milk, vanilla, and molasses (but I subbed out maple because that's what I had on-hand). Just a perfect combination. Filling, nutritious, delicious.

Eat Like You Give a Damn is sure to become one of my go-to staple books. There are so many more recipes that I need to try — like I said earlier, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. But I think next on my list is the Sweetpea Snickerdoodle. You see, right next door to Herbivore in the vegan mini-mall is Sweetpea Baking Company, an amazing vegan bakery. And they've shared their snickerdoodle recipe for this book! Can't wait to try that!