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With references to "the magical soybean" and "cosmic oatmeal," it's no surprise that the cookbook by Bruce Brennan and James Ehrlich is titled The Hippy Gourmet's Quick and Simple Cookbook for Healthy Eating.
The book is brought to us by the host of the hit PBS show The Hippy Gourmet, who travels the world to find delicious food on every continent. Fortunately for our taste buds, his adventures help the cookbook's recipes break the mold of what we usually think of as traditional hippy food.
Sure, many of the recipes are quite granola. There are lots of recipes for beans, greens, and quinoa—and even one for a solar pizza—but the recipes that highlight world cuisine are what make this cookbook a little less crunchy. There are African, Mexican, traditional Native American, and Ukrainian dishes for the reader to explore, to name just a few.
While not strictly vegan, the cookbook offers a variety of recipes for vegans and vegetarians. Vegan desserts in the book are practically nonexistent, but there is a section dedicated to vegan and vegetarian main course meals, and there are plenty of options in the soups, sides, and starters categories.
When flipping through the pages of the book, I wasn't immediately blown away by the recipes, but after trying a few—Chinese Tofu Salad, Japanese Style Beans, and Pasta With Butternut Squash Sauce—I realized that they are very balanced, solid recipes. Not flashy, just good—exactly what I'd expect from a hippy.