Have you ever been hungry, looked in the pantry and declared, “there is nothing to eat!”? I do this more often than I would like to admit. Now, thanks to Robin Robertson and her newest book, Cook the Pantry, that cry might be forever stifled. As Robin states in the introduction, “every good meal begins with a look in the pantry for inspiration.” One of the very first vegan cookbooks we got when Ethan first went vegan was Robin Robertson’s 1000 Vegan Recipes. While we have not made all 1000 recipes, we have a made a few of them. In fact, her carrot cake and cream cheese frosting recipes are Ethan’s go-tos when he wants carrot cake. In Cook the Pantry, Robin has over 100 recipes that go from pantry to plate in 20 minutes or less. These recipes are ideal for when you are short on time or simply don’t feel like cooking, but don’t want to sacrifice taste or nutrition. To order take and pick it up or order delivery and wait for it to arrive would take longer than it would to prepare most of the recipes in Cook the Pantry. When you can have a delicious home cooked meal in less than 20 minutes, ordering out seems like a waste of time and money. In fact, not only will your meals be better than take out, they will be cheaper too! Cook the Pantry is about all about saving time and money without sacrificing taste or nutrition. By using canned, boxed and bottled ingredients, along with fresh produce, Robin shows you how quickly and easily you can eat well.
To be sure that you will have everything you need to cook any recipe in the book, Robin provides a “pantry list” for guidance. The list is broken into 3 sections: shelf/non-perishables, refrigerator/perishables and freezer. With a well stocked pantry and Robin’s easy to follow recipes, a good meal is always just minutes away. In fact, most of the recipes don’t even require turning on your oven, as they are made on the stove top. If you are a college student with only a hot plate, into camping and cooking with only a butane stove, or you simply don’t want to heat up your entire kitchen, these recipes are great. Thanks to Cook the Pantry, now when you come home after a long day at work you don’t have to stress about cooking dinner, just open your pantry and a great meal is only 20 minutes away.
The recipes in Cook the Pantry are divided into 6 sections with everything from soups to desserts. If you are still not convinced that Cook the Pantry is right for you, check out two of the things you can make:
(Recipes © Robin Robertson, Cook the Pantry,Vegan Heritage Press, LLC., October 13, 2015, reprinted by permission. Photos by Annie Oliverio)
If you’ve listened to any of our cookbook reviews on the Our Hen House podcast, you know we often refer to recipes as being, “Jasmin friendly,” meaning they are easy to prepare and don’t require any specialty ingredients. Every recipe in Cook the Panty is 100% “Jasmin friendly. Cook the Pantry is a must have if you want delicious home cooked meals in minutes.
