Vegan World Fusion Cuisine: Over 200 award-winning recipes

by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi, Jane Goodall (Forward)

Vegan World Fusion Cuisine is a celebration of over 200 international gourmet vegan and live food cuisine recipes. In a simple and easy to follow format, it introduces the ingredients and techniques that allow you to awaken the creative chef within, gently guiding you towards a lighter, more healthful diet. So much more than a cookbook, this Wisdom Work for the 21st century from the Chefs of The Blossoming Lotus Restaurant on Kauai, HI, is designed as a manual for nonviolent living, with a comprehensive resource guide that lists over 50 groups and organizations working for peace and a sustainable future. A moving foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall and an endorsement by John Robbins highlights its aim to inspire peace, unity and understanding among individuals, cultures and all who care about our planet. With stunning food photography and breathtaking sacred site images from around the world, as well as countless wisdom sayings, our book is sure to be a cherished keepsake and reminder of the beauty and hope that life on our planet has to offer

Genres: Cookbooks, Vegan, Food, Vegetarian, Cooking, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published November 18, 2005

About the author

Mark Reinfeld has been preparing inspired gourmet vegan and live food cuisine for over 15 years. He is the recipient of the 2006 Platinum Carrot Award for living foods – a national award given by the Aspen Center for Integral Health to America’s ‘Top Healthy Gourmet Chefs.’ Though his roots are in New York, he developed his love for World culture and cuisine while traveling through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. To further his knowledge of the healing properties of food, he received a Masters Degree in Holistic Nutrition from the Clayton School of Natural Healing. For Mark, Vegan Fusion World Cuisine is an offering of Peace and Healing, a life work culmination of years of travel, adventure, and reflection. It combines the beauty and wonders of nature with the wisdom and cuisine of the World’s cultures.

Reviews

[Lisa Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★ - Took Mark's course last week (taught by the ever awesome Deb Kay) in the first step toward getting "certified" and it was fabulous. Absolutely wonderful book.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as the review says. This has become my favorite cookbook. The images consist of various photos and artwork all with sacred international vibes, and every page has some sage quote garnered from people of all spiritual traditions. It gives a concise briefing on the nature and context of the vegan diet in the beginning, and various technique tables at the end. The recipes themselves are, so far, seemingly all good. There is a lot of raw stuff. The recipes aren't too hard or complex, and there is a definite consistency in the use of certain liquids and powders to round them out. Much thanks to my aunt for providing this.

[KellyAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful book is by the group that owns and manages the Blossoming Lotus restaurants in Portland and Kauai. The pictures of both the food and sites around the world are gorgeous. I have to admit that the book sat on my shelf for some time, in part because of my meat-a-tarian boyfriend and in part because the recipes were at first a little intimidating because of ingredients I wasn't familiar with (spelt? sucanat? nutritional yeast?). In the last week, though, I've tried several of the recipes and they were very easy to create as well as delicious. Said meat-a-tarian even enjoyed the Thai Spicy Noodles and spelt pizza dough with vegetables and daiya cheese.

[Val · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book rubs me the wrong way. cultural appropriation to the max! the recipes require you to make about 3 of the other recipes from the book and it makes for some expensive cooking. i recieved this as a gift, i wouldn't have bought it for myself.

[Steph Anne]

I just ate at the author's Kauai restaurant, and the food was astoundingly good.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a collection of delectable recipes. I always enjoy tofu and tempeh recipes, as well as island based fruit based goodies. I found quite a few recipes that attracted me that I had not seen before. Great book to expand the vegan cooks repertoire.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since it is a cookbook, I have read & reread numerous times, most recently to choose recipe for Vegan Society of PEACE 2nd Saturday vegan potlucks where the theme was vegan fusion. Never gets old, really, with its "healing recipes & timeless wisdom from our hearts to yours." Inspirational quotes interspersed throughout the gorgeous food photos make for a truly lovely book.
Includes a special forward by one of my favorite She-Roes, Dr. Jane Goodall.
The recipes are from those served at Portland's very popular Blossing Lotus restaurant; Ethical & as tasty as the photos accompanying them.
My go-to recipe for potlucks is the Om Great Spirit Black Rice Polenta Casserole, baked & served from 9x13 dish so makes enough for a crowd. Can also be dressed up with additional ingredients suggested, yet is delicious as printed.
Lots of basic information, hints & tips for going & staying vegan, & enjoying & sharing the lifestyle.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly beautiful book. It's lovely enough to be considered a coffee table book. It’s from the Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Hawaii. I’d love to go there! It's supposedly a recipe book, and there are gorgeous photographs of the food and also of places around the world. It’s chock full of information about veganism and the environment, and there’s a resource section with contact information for groups promoting world peace, world hunger issues, the environment, animal rights. The recipes are divided into sections by type of food and place of origin is told for each recipe. There’s a handy glossary to explain some of the less familiar ingredients in the recipes. The recipes don’t look simple but the directions look easy to follow.

There's now a restaurant in Portland, Oregon as well, which makes it more likely that I will get to eat at a Blossoming Lotus some day.

[Sherry Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the recipes in this book that I tried were very delicious, that's not the only criterion I use to evaluate a cookbook that works for me. I don't live in a large urban area with well-stocked co-ops or ethic stores. I need cookbooks that meet the limitations of the ingredients sources available.

I tried five recipes. One I had to wait two weeks to make until I tracked down all the ingredients locally, with rose water being the most difficult to find. Another called for three types of mushrooms---and it WAS delicious, when I finally was able to find the third mushroom after several shopping trips.

I will use this cookbook occasionally for special occasions, but unfortunately it is pretty much just a very pretty book on my shelf.

[Plant Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, and wish I had my own copy (someday!) The Blossoming Lotus is an AMAZING restaurant, their food is absolutely to die for. There are a lot of hard to find and/or expensive ingredients included in many of these recipes, although I've been able to substitute more common/cheaper ingredients in most cases with great success. I love the section that organizes the recipes into categories like: heavy/filling foods, lighter meals and raw foods. These aren't exact, but it's helpful for planning meals when you know how filling you want the food to be. The channa masala and enchilada casserole are two of my favs that can't be missed.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing Vegan cookbook! Definitely one of THE BEST I have come across. Most Vegan cookbooks are packed full of soy recipes and different ways to use tofu. This book has very few recipes that contain tofu and, for those of us who choose to avoid soy products, it is a very welcome change from the norm. The focus of this cookbook is on veggies, veggies, veggies - which makes this girl a happy girl:)

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this cookbook and the photography is gorgeous, but many of the ingredients are impossible to find in the Midwest, or really anywhere in the US outside of Hawaii. My husband's favorite recipe is Bilbo's Taters, and I have fun making and modifying the stuffed bread, spanikopita, and buckwheat pancakes. There are great little recipes in the back for quick meals and condiments. Hmm... maybe I need a trip to Hawaii to test out the recipes involving ulu.

[GoAskPerl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll admit that I'm not the most talented in the kitchen; been vegan(ish) for six years and have never tried tofu (let alone cooked with it); eat peanut butter with rice cakes for meals more days of the week, on average, than not, but I can usually follow simple recipes. I have had this book for years and haven't found one that I have even wanted to try to make.

[Jessica AKA Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an awesome cookbook. I love the spanokopita recipe. I serve it all the time to non-vegans and they love it too. Great cookbook to have if you're vegan, particularly if you do a lot of entertaining for people who aren't.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prize-winning, exemplary, animal and earth-friendly guide to international dishes. It's packed with philosophical quotes and glorious color photos of not only the dishes, but the countries of origin.

[Linda Harkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." ---Albert Einstein

Gorgeous large-format book packed with recipes and photogaphs of food and countries of origin! Will try some new recipes!

[John Stockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

best vegan cook book in the universe

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great wisdom, eclectic yummy recipes, animal friendly, what's not to love?

[Megan K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely my favorite cookbook.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recipes ranging from str8 tubby to raw sprouting perfect vegan delicacies - cheesy (teesy/cheezy) spiritual photos!!

[Tucker Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much variety.

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure joy!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done cookbook with good advice for people learning how to appreciate the vegan lifestyle. I wasn't crazy about the recipes, but it did give plenty of references and ideas to think about.

[Wendi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never been a cookbook fan, and this one was not the end-all/be-all on vegan, gluten free cooking (like I hoped), but it had a few good recipes worth keeping. Pictures always help.

[Saloni Mehra · Rating 4 out of 5]

All natural, vegan recipes with a lot of flavor that help return you to a simple life. This book has beautiful photos of food and Hawaii where the recipes originated from.

[Bradly Dunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book as it ventures far away from "standard fare" and really takes you over seas.
Another vital vegan cookbook

[mad · Rating 3 out of 5]

vegannnn

[Jennifer]

this book might make you cry but it will sure help you produce some delicious, healthy meals.

[Jos-Madelaine Standing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is a masterpiece. Best cookbook (and carrot cake) ever.