annieb123
Written on May 11, 2019
The Complete Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook is a new collection of 101 plant based vegan friendly recipes written for the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Released 30th April 2019 by Rockridge press, it's 190 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. Author Barb Musick is a lifestyle blogger and writer with a very encouraging 'you can do it' style. She admits to not really learning to cook before she was in her 30s, so there's maybe still hope for me.
There are a lot of reasons to incorporate more plant based food in our diets; guarding our resources for future generations, living more simply, health and well-being, as well as philosophical reasons, not to mention taste. Using a pressure cooker can be a time-saving device but even better, it's generally a much less 'hands on' process. You can set the ingredients on the proper cooking program and walk away. I'm -not- a gifted cook and it really is that simple.
The included recipes are made with easily sourced ingredients and the instructions are crystal clear and easy to follow. The photography is not abundant; most of the recipes are not illustrated, but the photographs which are included are clear and well done.
The introductory chapters (10% of the page content) are devoted to an explanation of the instant pot and what it does. The recipes which follow are arranged thematically: breakfasts, appetizers (and side dishes), soups/stews, legumes and grains, main dishes, desserts, and kitchen staples (stocks, etc). Each recipe includes an intro with recipe special features such as nut-free, gluten-free, etc. There is an introduction with other info such as portion control and yields followed by highlighted sidebars with prep-time estimates, cooking settings, and other info. The recipes' ingredients lists are provided with English/American measurements. Metric/SI measurements are not included in the individual recipes (there's a conversion table in the appendices).
The links and recipe ingredients are slanted toward the North American reader, but can be sourced relatively easily in other areas of the world with an internet search. More difficult to source outside North America would be the actual Instant Pot itself.
The ebook version includes an interactive table of contents Possibly worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this cookbook is included in the KU subscription library. There's also an interactive resource links list (slanted toward readers in North America). The chapter subheadings are also linked for easily paging back and forth to other areas of the book.
We tried out Gobi Masala (Cauliflower curry), Kimchi Pasta (Korean/Italian fusion), and Korean Barbecue Chickpea Tacos (more fusion food). They were all tasty, but possibly a bit adventuresome for my family. We do love Korean and Italian and Southwestern cooking, just possibly not together. The portions were also slightly smaller than my family are used to, I cook for 5 and 2 of them are skinny athletic adult males with hummingbird metabolisms who can pack away food like crazy. It's not an insurmountable problem, but some portions will have to be adapted or compensated for with an extra side dish or more salad.
Three and a half stars because I really felt the lack of sufficient photography very keenly, rounded up to 4 for the completeness of the instructions and cooking settings and the author's overall supportive and encouraging writing style.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.