salad samurai by terry hope romero :: review and giveaway

press sample

disclosure :: I know Terry in real life

Fresh Fig and Tempeh Salad with Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing from Salad Samurai.

Salads. The ultimate vegan cliche, right?

Fact is, cliches exist for a reason. I, for one, gobble up a humongous salad for dinner on average about 3 nights a week. I don't eat my greens out of obligation or discipline: I truly enjoy hearty dinner salads and they're easy and fun to make. None of this side-salad-with-storebought-Italian-vinaigrette sadness for me, thank you very much. I know how to transform a salad into a meal by adding protein, crunchies, a killer dressing, and layers of complexity. Or so I thought...

Then I received a review copy of Terry Hope Romero's Salad Samurai: 100 Cutting-Edge, Ultra-Hearty, Easy-to-Make Salads You Don't Have to Be Vegan to Love  All I can say is, Holy Guacamole. I'm an amateur. A young grasshoppa'. Terry is an old salad soul. Listen to her. Learn from her and you, too, can become a Salad Samurai.

Maple-Orange Tempeh Nibbles, my new favorite thing.

Excuse my rant, but these days, the marketplace is grossly oversaturated with cookbooks, plant-based and otherwise. [Yeah, I know, I've written a few] It's great to appreciate well-prepared, flavorful food but this foodie thing has gotten way out of balance. It seems everyone has a cookbook. But as I've learned firsthand, just because it's published, online or in print, does not necessarily mean a recipe or technique is new, innovative and/or palatable. Cookbooks have become undercurated [less quality control] and overmarketed [more about cha-ching]. Just like Instagram and Tumblr feeds tend to produce live streams of [mostly] visual noise, the blogosphere and bookstores have become a cacophony of culinary noise. There, I said it.

Back at the Ranch dressing...so easy, customiazble and groundbreaking

My current measure of an excellent cookbook or blog is when the recipes taste great, the author has a unique style, and I can actually learn something new. Check, check and check, Terry. I thought I was a salad expert but I have already learned oodles from Salad Samurai As the full, adorable title suggests, everyone loves salad – vegans, omnivores and every species in-between. And this pivotal work includes something for everyone. It's useful for both new cooks and experienced culinary curmudgeons like me. If you're a newbie, you can make the recipes exactly as Terry prescribes. Those who are already facile in the kitchen can mix and match with abandon. Tempeh Bacon Bites? That 70's Tofu? Pickled Red Grapes? Maple Orange Tempeh Nibbles? Yes, please.

Some of my favorite recipes from Terri's previous books have been salad dressings. This book is worth it just for the dressing chapter alone. My favorites so far are the Back at the Ranch Dressing, made creamy with cashews, and the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing which is surprisingly sassy, thanks to a roasted jalapeño pepper [which you can skip if spicy is not your thing.]

While the salad recipes themselves are mouthwatering, well-orchestrated and full of color, I really prefer deconstructing the recipes and leaning on their building blocks – Terri's dressings, proteins, crunchies, etc.  I can tell you that Roasted Hemp Seed Parmesan, Sriracha and Smoke Pecans, and Herbed Pea Ricotta have made their way into my weekly meal rotation – and not just for use in salads. The mix-and-match nature of this cookbook rocks and will keep inspiring you to take your salads to the next level.

The nice folks at Da Capo Lifelong Books are giving away a copy of Salad Samurai to one lucky US reader. Good luck, kids. And eat your greens!

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