The Joy of Vegan Baking - Holiday green gift guide for book lovers: part 3

Welcome to part 3 of Eco-Libris blog's green gift guide, the one that will help you find the best green books to give as gifts this holiday season.

Today I am very excited to bring you today the recommendation of Victoria E. For those of you who don't know her, Victoria E is a creatively versatile eco-powerhouse: she is a freelance writer, life-long model, on-camera personality, official U.S. spokesperson for Twice Shy Clothing and founder of the San Francisco Craft Mafia - a classic Renaissance woman and mistress-of-all-trades.

Starting as an outlet for updates about her freelance writing and modeling, her official website at http://www.victoria-e.com/ has quickly grown into a dependable source for a variety of information on green, crafty, and DIY living. You're welcome to check it out!

Victoria's recommendation for this holiday's gift is:

The Vegan Joy of Baking

Author: Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Publisher: Fair Winds Press

Published in: 2007

What it is about + Why it's a great gift: The holidays always make me want to slow down and spend more time in the kitchen, making delicious goodies from my friends and loved ones. I've been progressing to become a vegetarian for a few months now, and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's podcast, Vegetarian Food For Thought has been a wonderful outlet for learning about compassionate eating and actions.

Though I don't drink soy milk or even have any blocks of soy in my fridge, I've learned so much from her tips that even my meat-loving boyfriend has been enjoying our dinners even more as of late. Imagine my delight when I heard Colleen was coming out with her first cookbook, titled The Joy of Vegan Baking.

The thought of not baking with milk or eggs put me on edge right away, but after tasting some delicious vegan donuts and cupcakes recently, it was clear that no taste would be lost in the transition. There are oodles of preconceived notions about vegetarian and vegan foods, especially desserts, but after tasting some goodies that I made from these recipes, it is clear that those perceptions are wildly outdated.

Though I won't be able to spend any of the holidays with my family this year, I will be making treats from my best friend and boyfriend out this book. Will I tell them its vegan? Not until they eat 3 or 4 of them and rave about how tasty they are.

Any cook, experienced or novice, would enjoy The Joy of Baking - new food revolutions are on the horizon, and vegan baking is just one of them. "Featuring full-color photos and 150 familiar favorites -- from cakes, cookies, and crêpes to pies, puddings, and pastries -- this book will show you just how easy, convenient, and delectable baking without eggs and dairy can be."


This book is fresh from the oven - it came out on October 2007. Check out the book's website for sample recipes and of course to see where you can buy it. Thank you Victoria!

If you choose to give your friends or family this book as a gift on the holidays, you are more than welcome to balance it out with Eco-Libris, add its sticker to the book and make it the perfect green gift for the holidays.

And just a reminder on past recommendations on our series:

Part 1 - The Man who Planted Trees by Jean Giono

Part 2: Home Work : Handbuilt Shelter by Lloyd Kahn

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!

Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter - Holiday green gift guide for book lovers: part 2

Last week I started the weekly Holiday green gift guide for book lovers - the guide that will help you find the best green books to give as gifts this holiday season.

Today I am very excited to bring you the second part of the guide, which includes the recommendation of Nick Aster.

For those of you who don't know him, Nick Aster is the founder of Triple Pundit and media architect behind TreeHugger.com. He currently works for a major print and online magazine and occasionally blogs at Triple Pundit.

Nick's recommendation for this holiday's gift is:

Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter

Author: Lloyd Kahn

Publisher: Shelter Publications

Originally published in: 2004

What it is about: Building on the enormous success of his book 'Shelter', Lloyd Kahn continues his odyssey of finding and exploring the most magnificent and unusual hand-built houses in existence. Page after page, the book describes homes built from the soul, inventiveness free from social constraint, but created with a solid understanding of natural materials, structure, and aesthetics.

From yurts to caves to tree houses to tents, thatched houses, glass houses, nomadic homes, riverboats and more, each hand built dwelling finds itself at one with its environment, blending harmoniously with the earth, using organically sustainable material.

'Home Work' is featuring over a thousand photos, including three hundred line drawings, stories of real people building and living in their own houses, plus Kahn's recollections, reminiscences and observations gathered over the 30 years since his previous book, 'Shelter', was first published.

Why it's a great gift: Inspired guide to hand build homes and shelters. Everything from Strawbale to Yurts. I've spent hours paging through this book and fantasizing about what to do with the imaginary land I'd someday buy. A perfect book to put on display for guests.

I looked at the book at Google Book Search and it looks like a great book. Thank you Nick!

If you choose to give your friends or family this book as a present on the holidays, you are more than welcome to balance it out with Eco-Libris, add its sticker to the book and make it the perfect green gift for the holidays.

And just a reminder on past recommendations on our series:
Part 1 - The Man who Planted Trees by Jean Giono

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!