EST. 2011 BY LIZ RUEVEN
Real Food Ready in 10 Minutes or Less
Credit: Hannah Kaminsky; Real Food, Really Fast

Real Food Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Hannah Kaminsky is determined to get you cooking nutritious, seasonal, plant based meals from scratch that you’ll be eating at your table in ten minutes. She’s a vegan whiz kid with four other cookbooks* to her credit, all of which are invaluable resources for kosher keepers seeking healthy, dairy-free solutions for flavor packed meals.  And she’s at it again with her first savory cookbook, Real Food, Really Fast.

So what makes these “quick and easy” recipes different from all others quick and easy recipes?

Start with a great introduction, chock full of “warp-speed secrets and fast fundamentals”.  Kaminsky has  tested the heck out of these recipes and states that certain ideas and tools are impractical.

Pre-heat your oven, prep your recipe and bake or roast? Not gonna happen within ten minutes.

Instead, she encourages using the microwave (What? Nuts and seeds can be toasted in a microwave?!), shortlists the quickest cooking grains and keeps her recommended pantry list  to about 10 items. In a word, she’s keeping it SIMPLE.

vegan kosher Daikon Scallop Skewers
Daikon *”Scallop” Skewers; Photo: Hannah Kaminsky.

This is a chef, cookbook author and master photographer who has cooked in small apartment kitchens and is realistic about it all: time restrictions, weary souls too tired to cook, an uncompromising yearning for whole foods loaded with flavor and nutrition that can be whipped up fast.

In seven concise chapters, Kaminsky takes the home cook from breakfast to snacks and apps, salads, soups, sides, entrees and with a grand finale on desserts.

Photo: Hannah Kaminsky

Do you or the kiddos crave sweets for breakfast? Kaminsky shares a recipe for Cake Batter Breakfast Bars that is loaded with protein, oat flour, cashew butter and a scant 1/2 cup of sprinkles or mini chocolate chips. Mission accomplished minus the junky cereals.

Twists on Eggs Benedict appear as A+ Benedicts using firm packed tofu seasoned, lightly panned seared and resting under a velvety blanket of Avocado Hollandaise (not a bit of worthless fat here). Hash Brown Waffles are made using frozen, shredded potatoes cleverly pressed into shape in a waffle iron.

Snacks and Apps highlights are Island Breeze Ceviche using lychees and springy coconut meat to replace traditional shellfish. Wasabi Pea Fritters utilize frozen peas with wasabi paste, an inventive way to achieve bold flavor while pulling ingredients from the freezer.

Salads include Grilled Caesar with a prize-worthy dairy-free Caesar Dressing. Guavacado Chopped Salad has me sold on seeking out guava via Kaminsky’s clever, lyrical and knowledgeable recipe header notes.

“Apple guavas are among the most popular varieties, and the one you’ll want to seek out for this invigorating raw preparation. Colored like a green apple, with similarly tart flavor to match, slice one open to release a fragrant bouquet of exotic aromatics, singing with the bright zeal of citrus and mysterious redolence.”

Sometimes special ingredients deserve a song and Kaminsky is top notch at writing about what she loves.

The Pho King Salad (recipe below) struck me as the quintessential summer salad. Yearning for crisp textures but need something a bit heftier after a day of outdoor fun? This is my choice.

cucumber melon chilled summer soup
Credit: Hannah Kaminsky

Cooling green Cucumber-Melon Gazpacho ranks high on my list of summer must do’s in my new Vitamix. Just as I thought this hydrating puree might lean into dessert territory the fruit and veggies are made savory with mint, garlic and onions. Sounds like the perfect summer starter to me.

Fresh vegan kosher corn grits
Photo: Hannah Kaminsky

Fresh Corn Grits and Daikon Scallop Skewers (scroll up for photo) illustrates Kaminsky’s wit once again. While her corn grits are more of a “cross between polenta and creamed corn” she plays with us by riffing on the classic southern presentation of shrimp and grits by using konjac or soy based imitation seafood as accompaniment. Unlike the fatty cholesterol bomb that is the original, her version uses no more that one tablespoon of coconut oil or vegan butter and 1 cup of unsweetened non-dairy milk. The rest of the ingredients are easily plucked from your farmers’ market or freezer.

*Daikon Scallop Skewers are another play on an overtly non-kosher presentation that Kaminsky “veganizes” by finding a visual match in “woefully under-appreciated” daikon (long white radishes). She adds brininess via white miso (essential basic in my opinion) and kelp powder.

vegan kosher cheesecake stuffed strawberries
Photo: Hannah Kaminsky

Desserts are indeed the grand finale with my favorite, Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries. Take advantage of summer fruit and present this one the next time your crew gathers. Vegan cream cheese, dairy and gluten-free graham crackers make this one a winner for all.

Takeaway: For vegetarians, vegans and kosher keepers, Real Food, Really Fast is a friendly, pragmatic and inspiring resource. There are plenty of gluten-free recipes here, too.

*After covering Vegan A La Mode (oh! that dairy-free cheesecake ice-cream!)and Easy as Vegan Pie  (frozen Mojito Pie? Can it really be pareve?) we celebrate Kaminsky’s shift to savory recipes for the health conscious home cook yearning for fast, unfussy ideas.

Watch for our give-away next week! We’ll be seeking your feedback and responses and choosing one winner to receive a copy of Hannah Kaminsky’s Real Food, Really Fast.

Can’t wait? You can order your copy by clicking here.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase an item through these links it helps to support the costs of running Kosher Like Me. There is NO additional cost to you.

 

Photos, recipe, quotations all copyright c 2018 by Hannah Kaminsky, used with permission from Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

8 Comments

  1. I hardly feel that my work is worthy of such eloquent praise, but I’m so deeply touched and grateful for every last word! This is easily the best review I’ve read to date, and not just because it’s so favorable. 😉 I can’t wait for the giveaway!

    Reply to this comment

    • I am proud to say, “I knew you when.” Your passion has been clear to me since you cooked at Health in a Hurry for Sue Cadwell in Fairfield, CT. I don’t mean to be greedy but I can’t wait to see what comes next. SF is lucky to have you.

      Reply to this comment

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SIDE DISH
Photo by Jerri Graham Photography

Hi. I’m Liz and I welcome you to Kosher Like Me.

When I’m not caressing fruits and veggies at my local farmers’ market you’ll likely find me chatting with like-minded eaters, probing the scene in NYC or seeking inspiration in my spice cabinet. Life outside of this blog is all about my family, tasty travel adventures and power walks deep in the CT woods or along the shore.

Please brew a fragrant cup of tea, grab a nosh and stay a while.