Eating at Ann Gentry’s LA restaurant Real Food Daily (RFD) is a little slice of organic vegan heaven. It’s the perfect place to take someone who thinks vegan eating is all about lentils, tofu and a carrot on the side. The fare served up at RFD is anything but bland, rather, it shows how adventurous and downright tasty vegan cuisine really is.

If you can’t get to the City of Angels, you don’t have to miss out on Ann’s delicious veggie masterpieces. The successful restaurant-preneur has just launched a recipe book, Vegan Family Meals, that boasts some of her favourite dishes.

I caught up with Ann to find out more and she kindly offered to share her Super Hippie Granola recipe (see below)…

How did your vegan journey begin?

My food journey began in my 20’s and is still continuing. I’ve been experimenting with various vegetarian and vegan cuisines for three decades, starting as a young actress struggling with my weight and appearance, and today as a working mother and the proprietress of America’s leading organic vegan restaurants, Real Food Daily.  Over the years, I’ve explored the many permutations of a plant-based diet. I spent years as a strict vegan and a macrobiotic, and I experimented with raw foods, food combining, wheat- and gluten-free eating, and other dietary regimes. Today, I know what makes me feel best—a mostly vegan diet.

Congratulations on the book. How much work and preparation went into it?

Over the last few years, I found myself cooking more at home and enjoying re-visiting recipes I hadn’t made in years as well as whipping up new ones. I thought I had something to say as a busy working mother because I struggle with the same day-to-day challenges everyone else has: juggling work, kids, grocery shopping, exercise and trying to squeeze in time for myself.  Food wise, I’ve learned to stick with a plant-based diet, especially when cooking at home. Whole grains and vegetables are relatively simple to prepare, always accessible and very economical.

As I pondered what to say in a second book, I started looking at other cookbooks to see what attracted me and what didn’t.  I also talked to many home cooks about what kind of vegan cookbook they might want to have in their collection.  In looking at books, I got turned off by the ones that pushed and sold the tenet: ‘fast, quick and easy should be the goal in a preparing meals.’  Just as equally, I felt frustrated hearing the misconception that healthy cooking means you spend all day long in the kitchen. I don’t know who started that rumor, as that has never been my experience. Time is precious but even more importantly; your good health is priceless. Spending time in the kitchen preparing good food for yourself is well worth it.

These were the motivators that encouraged me to write a second cookbook.  I spent six intense months about five days a week moving back and forth from my kitchen to my computer. The result is a book that contains simple vegan recipes with approachable ingredients and techniques accessible for all kinds of eaters.

Are any recipes from your restaurant menu included? What are some of your favourites that you think everyone should try at least once?

My first cookbook, The Real Food Daily Cookbook is filled with my restaurant recipes. It is a great book sharing relatively elaborate vegan recipes downsized for home use. Vegan Family Meals has a few recipes you might find at my restaurants as a daily special such as the lentil loaf or pecan and cornmeal crusted tempeh.  I also included a few desserts such as the cupcakes and brownies.

Have you met anyone who transitioned to vegan after discovering your delicious food?

After 18 years with two well-loved organic vegan restaurants, I have heard from many people that yes, indeed, after eating my food and experiencing how delicious and satisfying it was, they became motivated to change their diet to a plant-based one.

Your children are also featured in the book. Can you talk a little bit about what it’s like to bring up vegan children?

At my house, my kids are vegan.  At birthday parties, or other social occasions at their friend’s houses, they eat vegetarian.  We allow them to eat these “non-vegan” foods from time to time, NOT to supplement their vegan diet as there are no supplements to an already ideal diet, but rather allow them joy, comfort and participation in their childhood social settings. My kids get plenty of protein from beans, legumes, nuts and seeds and soy foods. I love it that they prefer Soy Cheese to cow’s cheese any day.

What are some of your favourite vegan foods and why?

I love every kind of vegetable and I am always satisfied eating them.  I especially like any king of squash roasted as this brings out the true sweet flavor of each type of squash.  I love soba noodles (hot or cold) with a spicy peanut sauce.

Time is precious but even more importantly; your good health is priceless. Spending time in the kitchen preparing good food for yourself is well worth it.

What does your typical daily diet look like?

Right now as the weather is warming up, I start my day with a smoothie and my Super Hippie Granola, which is one of my favorite recipes in my new book.  You might say I am obsessed with it.  Most days, I keep it pretty simple by rotating for either lunch or dinner with a freshly squeezed vegetable juice or a soup with a  big salad or I’ll go for a combo of whole grains, beans or tempeh, vegetables and leafy greens.  Every few nights, I’ll make something more exotic like my lasagna rolls or something Tex-Mex such as my Pinto Bean Enchiladas. Every few days, I indulge in a great fabulous vegan dessert. I’m a cake or a cookie girl.

If someone was thinking about becoming vegan, what advice would you give them?

To be patient and kind to themselves. Changing the way you eat is a process. It takes time to really change your diet, because to change your diet, you ultimately have to change your mindset and lifestyle. A plant-based diet encourages creativity in the kitchen. Prepare the best local and seasonal ingredients with a variety of cooking methods, and you’ll come up with more interesting and diverse flavors, textures, and colors on your plate.  Think about balancing your nutrition intake across the week, and don’t get hung up on making every meal a feast. Instead, focus on preparing a few recipes that will keep your cooking simple and your time in the kitchen enjoyable.

Super Hippie Granola

Granola has long been thought of as hippie food. I call my granola “Super Hippie” because it contains superfoods like goji berries and Hunza mulberries, which make it even more nutrition-packed than the original (for more on superfoods, see page 8).

The best granola has just the right amount of sweetness and crunchiness and has been baked to a golden brown. For perfectly balanced sweetness, cut the maple syrup with rice syrup. Rice syrup is also essential to the texture, as it helps create clusters, which granola-lovers know are key to exceptional results (ideally, granolas are equal parts loose ingredients and small clusters).

If you don’t have coconut oil on hand, using an unflavored neutral cooking oil is fine. Granola makes a great snack on its own and is delicious served with any nondairy milk, including homemade nut milk.

Makes 6 cups
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup raw Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup raw shelled sunflower seeds
½ cup raw whole almonds, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons melted unrefined coconut oil (see Cooking Tip)
½ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup dried apricots, diced
¼ cup dried goji berries
¼ cup dried Hunza mulberries
¼ cup golden raisins

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large, heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the oats, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Heat the coconut oil in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the maple syrup, rice syrup, water, and vanilla, and whisk just until blended and heated through.

Drizzle the syrup mixture over the oat mixture, and stir with a whisk to coat. Spoon the granola mixture evenly over the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the granola for about 40 minutes, or until it is golden brown and clusters form. As the granola bakes, gently stir it about every 15 minutes with a fork to ensure it cooks evenly but being careful not to break up the clusters. Add the dried apricots, goji berries, mulberries, and raisins and continue baking for 10 minutes longer.

Set the granola aside to cool (it will become crunchy when cool). The granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Cooking Tip: You’ll need to melt the coconut oil before measuring it. In a small saucepan, place 2 generous tablespoons of solid coconut oil over the lowest heat and melt. Once it’s liquid, measure to 2 tablespoons of oil.

Variations: It’s fun to experiment with some of the superfoods, but don’t let these unusual ingredients or their unavailability turn you away from making granola: While they are easily found in many areas in natural foods stores, you may choose to substitute dried coconut, cranberries, cherries, dates, or figs. Golden raisins add a beautiful color, but any black raisin or currant will do. Feel free to use your favorite nuts and seeds; I often use walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.

—From Vegan Family Meals by Ann Gentry/Andrews McMeel Publishing