Since we live in the same house, it’s pretty easy to keep tabs on what my husband, Jon, is up to, at least most of the time. This includes the progress of his publishing company, Vegan Heritage Press. At the risk of blatant commerciality, I really must let you know about his latest title, Vegan Unplugged: A Pantry Cookbook and Survival Guide, a book Jon wrote and for which I contributed the recipes.

This is no ordinary vegan cookbook. First of all, it’s pantry cooking, and I’ve devised 80 recipes—all made with nonperishable ingredients. (They’re so simple, even Jon can make them.) You can make these recipes in fifteen minutes or less, often using only one pan. Second, Vegan Unplugged is an emergency guide for you, your family, and companion animals to be prepared for those times you may find yourself without electricity due to power outages. It’s also great for camping or those times when you just don’t feel like cooking.

The recipes include Almost-Instant Black Bean Chili, Pantry Pasta Salad, and Fire-Roasted Blueberry Cobbler. One of the great things about the recipes is that in addition to being ideal in an emergency or when the refrigerator is bare, they’re also extremely adaptable and can be augmented with fresh ingredients for quick and easy meals.

For example, the recipe above is the Amazing Technicolor Chickpea Salad. In an emergency situation, it would be made strictly with pantry ingredients, but because I had access to fresh veggies, I was able to make it with fresh roasted beets (instead of canned) and serve it on fresh lettuce leaves.

Vegan Unplugged is available now on Amazon (where it only costs $10!), Barnes and Noble, or it can be ordered through any bookstore. Do check it out, and, if you’re so inclined, subscribe to Jon’s new blog, aptly called Vegan Unplugged.

Labels: Amazing Technicolor Chickpea Salad, Vegan Unplugged