Vegan Heritage Press FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
|---|---|
Vegan Heritage Press
|
Vegan Heritage Press E-mail: jon2012@shentel.net |
The Blooming Platter Cookbook has bloomed!
Home cooks will have a fresh new resource this Spring. It’s Betsy DiJulio’s The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes, that helps you cook with what’s in season throughout the year.
The recipes are rooted in regional American favorites and global cuisines and celebrate the essential tastes, textures, and beauty that only fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs can bring to the table.
A vegan blogger and freelance writer, Betsy DiJulio wrote “The Veggie Table” column for Norfolk, VA’s Virginian-Pilot newspaper. A lifetime cooking enthusiast, Betsy has worked as a caterer and taught private cooking classes in Hampton Roads Virginia and has won recipe competitions. As a freelance writer, DiJulio focuses on topics of vegan and organic food, art, home and garden design, and “green” initiatives. A practicing artist, DiJulio is a full-time art teacher in Virginia Beach.
“What I love about cooking,” she recently said, “is the alchemy of transforming a few simple ingredients into something much larger than the sum of their parts. I love the creativity involved. Creativity for its own sake is a fine thing; all the better if one has a delicious meal to show for his or her creative energy.”
The Blooming Platter Cookbook has something for everyone as the recipes range from simple to decadent and from casual to elegant. Each recipe exalts at least one fresh seasonal ingredient: the crisp tart apples of fall; tender young asparagus of spring; dynamic leafy greens of winter; and the plump juicy berries of summer. They include Betsy’s vegan spring rolls, calzone, hearty main dishes of beans, grains, soy and wheat meats. In the offing are Seitan Pate with Sauteed Pears, Southwestern Tempeh and Corn Pie, and White Bean Sausages with Red Apple Sauerkraut. The desserts alone are astonishing in their range and intrigue: If Peaches-n-Cream Ice Cream with Bourbon-Broiled Peaches doesn’t whet one’s appetite, the Cherry-Almond Clafouti Cake will.
What distinguishes DiJulio’s book in the growing number of vegan cookbooks on the market? “I think people will find the recipes to be enticing and refreshingly creativity without being bizarre,” she explained. “The book offers relief from some of the ‘quirkiness’ found in a number of vegan cookbooks so, in that way, I think this book will appeal more to the mainstream, whether they’re vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous. It’s very balanced overall, balanced in the numbers and types of recipes; balanced in quick and simple recipes vs. some that require more skill; balanced in fresh and light vs. richer and creamier; and also balanced in its straight-forward instructions and, I’d like to think, my own natural voice.”
The Blooming Platter Cookbook is organized into a “Basics” chapter of essential background information, tips, and recommendations followed by 175 clearly-written recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, sides, and main dishes, as well as desserts and brunch, that anyone will want to eat, whether they are vegetarians, vegan, or omnivorous. The recipes in each chapter are organized into a handy index and identified by seasonal icons. The chapter introductions and head notes, written in the author’s warm and friendly voice, help orient and inspire readers’ creativity. The book has eight pages of full-color photographs, food-related quotes, and menus to save time in meal planning. DiJulio’s blog can be visited at TheBloomingPlatter.com.
Vegan Heritage Press
Paperback, 224 pages, $18.95
ISBN: 978-0-9800131-3-9
Pub Date: April 20, 2011
About Vegan Heritage Press
Vegan Heritage Press is an independent book publishing company founded in 2007 by publisher Jon Robertson to publish quality vegan cookbooks and other publications that promote healthful living and respect for all life. They publish books that bring new and inventive ideas to vegan cooking that can delight longtime vegans, inspire newcomers, and intrigue the curious who want to improve their health and the world in general by cooking great vegan food. The Press website can be viewed at www.VeganHeritagePress.com.
-30-