Going away gift - handmade cookbook

As a going away present for my bosses at work I decided to make them a little cookbook of some of my vegan and gluten free baked goods as well as some of my favorite vegan and vegetarian recipes. It's a topic often discussed at work so I think they will enjoy it. Something to remember me by.

I typed all of the recipes on my computer and printed each recipe on a thick matte paper so it looked extra nice. I also hand painted a front cover, to add a personal touch. Very simple, just some flowers to give a Spring feel. I'm no professional painter but I think it looks nice. To bind the book together I decided to use ribbon, to go with the Spring flower theme, instead of metal rings. All in all I think it looks great. A nice first "cookbook".

I broke the recipes down into five categories: Sweets, Vegetarian, Vegan, Seafood, and Drinks. In the Sweets section I included my granola bars, zucchini cake with lemon glaze, lemon poppy seed muffins, double chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies with maple glaze. All vegan and gluten free. And lots sweetened with agave nectar. Under vegetarian I included chipotle black bean soup, beet risotto, beet and orange salad, and mushroom flautas. I put these recipes under vegetarian because dairy/cheese could be added as a garnish or topping. I've put many of these recipes on my blog as vegan and just omitted the dairy. Delicious either way. But in the end I decided to catered the recipes more toward what I thought they would enjoy the most. For the vegan category I included olive and lentil burgers, stuffed mushrooms, and leek, artichoke, and mushroom crostini. 

Now I know what you are thinking. Seafood? That's not vegan or vegetarian. Yes, I know...but they eat lots of it, and they are moving to New Port RI, so I decided to add a great crab cake recipe that has coconut, corn, and other Indian flavors. The last section was drinks and I put the pomegranate lime ice tea and agave lemonade in the book.

Tomorrow I will share the recipe for stuffed mushrooms, which I included the book. These are really hearty, delicious, and a meal in itself. My family made them as a part of our Thanksgiving feast this past year. I also made a new apron, which was inspired by a dress from anthropologie that I really want! Until tomorrow... kb