pspan style=”font-size:14px;”span style=”font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”Marla Rose, author and co-creater of Vegan Street, took the time to write a fantastic a href=”http://veganstreet.com/bookreview-diningwithfriends.html” target=”_blank”book review of our two vegan cookbooks/a. It#39;s shown below and has beennbsp;posted to her website along with one of our recipes for butternut squash, white bean and kale ragout. Take a moment to check it out nbsp;and if you#39;re interested, consider purchasing the cookbooks for yourself./span/span/ppnbsp;/ppnbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;a href=”https://friendsofanimals.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=0dac0ebceff7c6b5fd4dfe8f2b23e2b5Screen=PRODStore_Code=FOAProduct_Code=newckbkCategory_Code=bks” style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;”img alt=”” src=”/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bestofvegancooking.jpg” style=”width: 200px; height: 185px;” //anbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;a href=”https://friendsofanimals.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=0dac0ebceff7c6b5fd4dfe8f2b23e2b5Screen=PRODStore_Code=FOAProduct_Code=ckbkCategory_Code=bks” style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;”img alt=”” src=”/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/diningwithfriends.jpg” style=”width: 200px; height: 176px;” //a/phr /pnbsp;/ppspan style=”background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-size: large;”Book Review:/span/ppemspan style=”font-size:11px;”span style=”background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;”by Marla Rose/span/span/em/ppfont size=”+1″ style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;”span style=”font-style: italic;”The Best of Vegan Cookingnbsp;/spanandspan style=”font-style: italic;”nbsp;Dining with Friends/span/font/ppspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”I think that one of the little known perks about becoming a vegan is the awakening of the palate. So many people have told me over the years that they didnrsquo;t really know how much they loved food, as well as the staggering variety of flavors and textures available, until they went vegan. Isnrsquo;t that ironic? While on surface, vegan diets restrict, in reality, we find ourselves eating an incredible diversity of foods that we never knew existed just a year or two before. Irsquo;ve often thought that I would love to compare the food diaries of the average omnivore and the average vegan as I am certain that the herbivore would eat way more variety that his or her omnivorous counterpart who can, by definition, eat anything edible to humans.nbsp;/spanbr style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” /br style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” /span style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”Recently, I was reminded of the amazing abundance available to us when I received two cookbooks to review, both titles published by the distinguished animal advocacy non-profit organization, Friends of Animals.nbsp;/spanspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;”The Best of Vegan Cooking/spanspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”nbsp;andnbsp;/spanspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;”Dining with Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine/spanspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”, written and compiled by Priscilla Feral, the President of FoA, and the second co-authored with Lee Hall. These are books that revel in luscious, seasonal natural foods, prepared just enough to bring out the best of their flavors. The recipes in both compilations span the globe, with what seems to be a particular love for Mediterranean cuisines, especially Italian. (emDining with Friends/em even includes a helpful section called ldquo;The Art of Preparing a Perfect Pasta,rdquo; a great primer for those of us who never had an Italian grandparent.)nbsp;/spanbr style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” /br style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” /span style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”I found both books to be excellent for either the experienced or the novice home cook, with simple instructions, vivid descriptions, abundant photography and very helpful glossaries. The recipes do seem to favor simpler preparations with shopping lists that are not extensive, expensive or reliant on rare ingredients, which makes them ideal also for those just beginning to dabble in plant-based cuisine, but there are also some beautiful show-stoppers here, too, like the impressive Vegetable Carousel Torte with Pommes Soufflés Filled with Peas in The Best of Vegan Cooking. With everything from salads and soup to entrées, desserts and baked goods – even including a section on risotto in emThe Best of Vegan Cooking/em, perfect for the gluten-free among us – you really cannot go wrong with either (or both) of these treasures.nbsp;/spanbr style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” /br style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” /span style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”Please consider supporting the fiercely independent Friends of A/spanspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”nimals and their tireless work on behalf of animals bynbsp;/spana href=”https://friendsofanimals.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=e869e9b16b447c1a61b9c6ed5a5bbfd3Screen=CTGYStore_Code=FOACategory_Code=bks” style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);” target=”_blank”span style=”font-weight: bold;”ordering these impressive cookbooks/span/aspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”. With the holidays coming up, these are also the perfect gift for yourself or someone else who enjoys delicious, healthful but still tantalizing dishes./span/ppnbsp;/ppspan style=”font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;/span/ppnbsp;/p