Spork-Fed Cookbook Review

The lovely folks over at Nasoya sent me a copy of Spork-Fed: Super Fun and Flavorful Vegan Recipes from the Sisters of Spork Foods, by Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg, and have offered to give an additional copy (plus some extra schwag) to one lucky reader of this blog! Jenny and Heather are also the owners of Spork Foods, a gourmet vegan food company based in Los Angeles, and also conduct healthy-eating consultations, teach vegan cooking classes and give private cooking lessons.

The first few things I noticed when I opened the cookbook were:

• the photos. There are lots of them, and they are all beautifully arranged and shot.
• the ingredients. Very simple, non-fussy and well-varied. Gluten-free or gluten-free optional recipes are all clearly marked.
• the content. Each recipe has a “Sporkie Scoop”—some factoid about an ingredient used as well as a snippet about its nutritional value.
• the simplicity. All of the prep and methods in this cookbook are very simple, yet yield impressive-looking and tasty end products.

I had a hard time deciding which recipe I wanted to make first. Would it be the seitan wellington, miso-glazed eggplant, spicy corn fritters with lemongrass or the cinnamon-scented tiramisu? While the options are well-varied and numerous (there are more than 75 recipes included), I ended up choosing to make their tofu satay with a decadent peanut sauce first (pictured above). Tofu satay is one of my favorite dishes, and I wanted to see how their recipe compared to the others I’ve tried in the past.

The verdict: this cookbook is worth getting for the peanut sauce recipe alone! It uses a close ratio of peanut butter to coconut milk as its base, then slowly introduces a small but balanced variety of tastes and textures to produce a complex and rich sauce to dredge your succulent and caramelized tofu into.This is now my new go-to peanut sauce recipe for its bold flavor and easy prep. I’m excited to try out more of their recipes and know that Spork-Fed will become a solid fixture in my cookbook collection.

Now, on to the Giveaway!

Here are the details:

PRIZE: A brand-new copy of Spork-Fed, Nasoya “Tofu U” gym shorts and coupons for five free Nasoya products!

TO ENTER: Simply leave a comment to this post that includes the phrase “Spork-Fed!” (One entry per reader, please.)

BONUS QUESTION: Include your favorite tofu dish or favorite way to prepare tofu in your comment.

DEADLINE: Contest ends on Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 10 p.m., EST.

RESULTS: One lucky winner will then be announced through an update to this post on Tuesday, June 12 (chosen by using random.org). I’ll ask the winner for their email address at that point and arrange to have the items shipped through Nasoya. (Shipped within the US only.)

Good luck!

UPDATE: Melissa D. is the lucky winner of this giveaway—congratulations Melissa! Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway!