BOOK REVIEWS

I've had the opportunity to dine at several Soul Vegetarian restaurant locations throughout the United States. The food served at these establishments is tasty and hearty. Readers can now enjoy the restaurants' cuisine through the recipes in this cookbook.

Among the dishes you'll find in this book are Zucchini Bread, Ground Nut Soup, Chickpea Loaf, Blackeyed Pea Patties, Alive Kale Salad, Sunflower Seed Spread, Apple Nut Cake, and Strawberry Shortcake. Nutritional analyses are not provided, and not all dishes are lowfat. Beautiful color photos can be found throughout the cookbook.

The New Soul Vegetarian Cookbook (ISBN 0-942683-13-7) is published by Publishing Associates, Inc. This 114-page book can be purchased from The Vegetarian Resource Group for $25 (including postage and handling). Send your check to VRG, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

Most people know someone with a food allergy, so The Gak's Snacks Allergy Cookbook is a great find. The book contains recipes for baked treats for all occasions. There are no peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, or dairy in any of the more than 100 vegan recipes. You'll find recipes for donuts, all types of muffins and breads, cobblers, pies, puddings, brownies and snack bars, cookies, frostings and sauces, cakes, cupcakes, and even vegan ice cream cakes.

The Gak's Snacks Allergy Cookbook (ISBN 0-9776836-0-5) is published by Family Matters Publishing. This 148-page book can be purchased online for $17.95 plus shipping at <www.gakssnacks.com> or by calling (800) 552-7172. If you're unable to locate some of the ingredients needed to prepare the recipes, you can also purchase them from that same website.

ExtraVeganZa - Original Recipes from Phoenix Organic Farm offers a wide variety of unique vegan recipes. The author is a longtime vegan, an organic farmer, and a B&B owner and operator. She also worked in a vegan restaurant and has been a personal chef for individuals with dietary sensitivities. In fact, many of her baked recipes in this cookbook use alternative flours.

I especially found her pâté recipes — including Shiitake Sake Pâté, Jerusalem Artichoke Hazelnut Pâté, and Pumpkin Seed Yam Pâté — to be quite creative. Readers will also enjoy the Curried Squash Pear Soup, Strawberry Jalapeño Dressing, Vegan Pad Thai, Lemon Lavender Blueberry Muffins, Spelt Cinnamon Buns, Raspberry Mousse, Oatmeal Lemon Fig Cookies, and Vegan Baklava.

At the back of this wonderful book you'll find information on edible flowers and natural food dyes. The volume includes both black-and-white and color photos. Nutritional analyses are not provided; however, most recipes do not appear to be high in fat.

ExtraVeganZa (ISBN 0-86571-551-3) is published by New Society Publishers. This 288-page book retails for $24.95 and can be found in your local bookstore.

Carole Raymond, the author of Student's Vegetarian Cookbook, has recently published Student's Go Vegan Cookbook. Readers will find tasty recipes in the breakfast chapter, such as Tofu Scramble Asian-Style and Hash in a Flash made with crumbled vegan sausage. Raymond also provides some quick bread recipes that busy students will enjoy, like Pumpkin Scones that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes. And, of course, you'll find some creative pasta-based options and stove-top dishes, including Lickety-Split Burger Hash and Déjà vu Sloppy Joes. Finally, what student wouldn't enjoy those Ten-Minute Brownies?

Student's Go Vegan Cookbook (ISBN 0-307-33653-0) is published by Three Rivers Press. This 272-page book retails for $13.95 and can be found in local bookstores.