Joe Yonan's New Book: Eat Your Vegetables

While I was back at home in Boston I found a great event to go to, Joe Yonan, the Food and Travel editor for theWashington Post, held a book reading and signing event at the Trident Booksellers and Cafe. Yonan recently released his second book Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook. While I appreciate good food, between my Mom's great cooking and the opportunity to dine at any of DC's fabulous restaurants, I have found it difficult to cook for myself as a college student. Not only am I trying to stick to a healthy diet, but I also want to make affordable and  delicious dishes. 

Yonan's book offers many recipes perfect for vegetarians. He prepared two dishes for the audience to sample. The Kimchi Deviled eggs were so tasty and I loved the dash of Sriracha that was added to give the egg an extra spice. The second dish was a Poblano Tapenade, a vegan dish. This was so good paired with tortilla chips and the poblano chiles mixed with olives and garlic brought a lot of flavors together in one dish.

Yonan had a lot of wise words to share about vegetarianism and cooking for one. Although I am not a vegetarian myself I am always looking for more vegetable-based recipes in hopes to stick to a healthier and more natural diet. A few of his tips included thinking about what you are purchasing and focusing on vegetables that are in season. If you are cooking in the cold winter months to check out the frozen sections for vegetables such as peas. Another consideration is to shop at farmers markets for better prices and the opportunity to pick smaller servings so that as a single person you eliminate some of the inevitable waste.

I cannot wait to start cooking some of these recipes when I return to my apartment for the start of my junior year of college! A few that I am tempted to try include: Fusili with Corn Sauce, the Grilled Greens, Chickpea and Peppedew Sandwich and a few of the homemade salad dressings. The great thing about Yonan's recipes is that they are so thorough that even a beginner cook like myself can figure them out! Interested in hearing more from Joe Yonan? Check out his website at http://www.joeyonan.com and see him speak on August 24th, 25th and 28th in different Washington, DC locations.