Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking

This is an early review--early because I've just received the book and want to provide my first impressions, though I haven't tried most of the recipes yet. I will update the review after cooking! (EDITED TO ADD: Now I have. See below.) Kittee Berns has written an exhaustive and updated book about Ethiopian vegan cuisine, the "fasting food" that has long been a part of Ethiopian culture. This is a gorgeous book that is well-laid-out and exudes the author's signature sense of homey style. It has tons of information without being fluffy or overwritten, features colorful and inviting pictures, and has common-sense explanations of how to execute traditionally-tricky recipes like injera--the teff-based Ethiopian sourdough that is the basis for the title of this tome. Ms. Berns has organized the book well and has tagged the recipes according to her categorization system; the reader/cook can choose from traditional Ethiopian recipes that form the basis of popular combination plates, quick-fix versions of traditional recipes, and "fusion" recipes with a twist of Ethiopian flavors, among other treats. She provides helpful information, such as how to store ingredients and finished recipes, and how long they will last in the fridge or freezer. Nutritional information is additionally provided, and the book is friendly to those with celiac or otherwise following a gluten-free diet. Every time I was about to ask a question about a recipe, I found the information I wanted in the instructions or footnotes. She demonstrates respect for Ethiopian culture and tradition while bringing her own flair to this style of cooking. "Teff Love" is clearly a labor of love, and--oh, please forgive me--Ajwain to say that I'm berbere glad shirote it. Edits and Updates (for anyone still reading after the bad puns): I don't think I ever previously cooked 6 recipes from a single cookbook in one 24-hour period, but I did so with Teff Love. I think Ethiopian cooking lends itself to a slow prep process: The first week you make your injera starter and make some of the seasoned oil and spice blends, then you start your injera, then you have on hand what you need to whip up most recipes in a snap. (Except the injera. I recommend finding it locally if you can, already made, due to the amount of time required to make the real thing.) I was worried about the spiced oil/butter recipe because it had lots of cinnamon and cloves and I don't like sweet mixed in with my savory, but the flavor of the oil is AMAZING. (I used a container of Earth Balance as the base.) I made a shiro recipe, mild lentils, mild collard greens, toasted injera, and the black-pepper blend. Everything was a winner, with complex and nuanced flavors. I did bother to seek out the specialty ingredients and it made a big difference in the authenticity of the flavors; the author helpfully provides ingredient names in Amharic and Hindi where necessary to help you locate the correct item in a specialty market. This book is a triumphant marriage of clear explanations and explosive flavor combinations. I can't wait to try more dishes!

First of all, I have never written an Amazon review before but felt compelled to share how excellent Teff Love is. This cookbook is visually very pleasing with multiple photo inserts of many of the dishes. The set up is functional with foundation recipes at the beginning. The chapters are then divided into different types of Ethiopian cuisine (Kay Wot, Alicha Wot, Shiro, Dumplings, etc) which makes it easy to plan a menu. Kittee has also included sample menus and advice / tips for parties and gatherings. I have absolutely loved everything that I have made so far. I debated about whether it would be worth it to make the foundation recipe ye'qimem zeyet (seasoned oil), but it adds amazing flavor to the dishes. The other recipes I've tried include: Dat'a (spicy green-pepper relish): Delicious. I'm going to make this all the time. I imagine it will be amazing on all sorts of grains and veggies or even as a dip. Ye'misser wot be 'timatim (red lentils in a spicy tomato sauce): Another great dish. It was spicy, savory and had a very authentic flavor. Ye'nech bakela alicha (creamy, garlicky white beans in an onion-tumeric sauce): This recipe was easy to throw together but tasted wonderful. I loved the rich garlic flavor combined with the seasoned oil. Tempeh salad: I know I will make this at least once a week. It reminds me of a combination of a savory waldorf salad and chicken salad. The apples, celery, and tempeh with a spicy sauce are genius. This is going to be a sack lunch staple for me. There are dozens more recipes that I cannot wait to try. You can tell that the author is very passionate and spent a great deal of time to make this cookbook perfect. I really appreciated her writing in depth about the different spices and which ones are optional versus essential for the flavor profile of the dish. I made one trip to a local Ethiopian market and now have all the basics to cook my way through this book. One final note - I have never met or had contact with this author prior to the cookbook release. I emailed her when I received my copy and asked her about the best place to find the specialized ingredients (we both live in Portland). She immediately contacted me with very thoughtful recommendations and even offered to meet me at the market to show me around. How awesome is Kittee?! I have several hundred vegan and non-vegan cookbooks, and Teff Love is in my top few. Highly recommended.

I have cooked many recipes from this book and loved how each is easy, straightforward, and tasty/spicy. The two basic spice blends take time and a lot of ingredients to make, but in the end, they keep for much longer than the book states. I've had mine over a year and just used it yesterday to great results. Once you have your stash made, the recipes themselves are all quick and easy to make. I find her vegan entrees are less fussy than most vegan cookbooks. Very few involve nut substitutes or textured vegetable protein, for example. My only wish- is that the flavor/spice combinations were more varied. I feel like the two main spice blends, while complex in flavor and very tasty, are the only options used for the majority of recipes. I like how her vegetable, legume and vegan protein options have a wide selection to choose from. I have so many of these already on hand, so it makes her recipes very budget friendly: lentils, grits, chickpea flour, chick peas, a majority of the flours. I had to buy/search a bit for 5 new ingredients: two core Ethiopian spices of Koseret (lemon bush) and Miten Shiro and which I ordered online, and then Berbere, nigella and teff flour which I found at my local grocery store. She has some interesting non-Ethiopian recipes to use up leftover Ethiopian ingredients. For example, Mocha Teff brownies using teff flour and coffee.

I love ethiopian food in a restaurant and now I can make it at home!. I have made a few recipes out of this book so far. The spiced oil is a must make, it really transforms the dish. I made the pepper blend for the wots, also a keeper recipe really easy to do and made a big difference in the dish. I also did the red lentil wot, and the green bean and carrot dish, both were really good, I found a local source for injera to serve them on. At a later date I also did the Ethiopian Roasted Brussels sprouts, those were amazing and I will definitely make those again. I didn't have all the spices but had quite a few of them, she is definitely correct, you can just leave out the really specialty ones you don't have.

This is my second Ethiopian cookbook, and it's definitely the better of the two. There's a really wide range of recipes, most of which are authentic and some of which are just imaginative re-inventions. I'm a cookbook lover, but this means that I can be very tough on cookbook authors. Kittee definitely delivers. The book: - Has well-tested recipes. I have had success with every one I've tried, which is often not the case with cookbooks these days (and certainly not the case with blogs!). - Draws on fewer exotic ingredients than you might think, given the subject matter. And once you buy a few unusual spices (provided you already have a decent herb/spice collection), you will be able to make a few spice mixtures that are used again and again in the book. Some of the more obscure ingredients are also optional. - Has a useful index that seems to be quite thorough. - Consists of mainly healthy recipes that are simple to make, with a few more indulgent and time-consuming recipes. The 'proper' injera, for instance, takes days to make, but Kittee offers a quick alternative. - Not only is this book vegan, but it is also almost entirely gluten free. - The book draws largely on traditional 'fasting' dishes which are naturally vegan, so you really are getting a quite authentic taste of Ethiopia. Like Kittee, I love Ethiopian but moved to a place where it isn't widely available. This book fills that empty space, and I know I will be using it again and again.

This book represents authentic and healthy cooking. I know the Ethiopian food quite well. This book has plenty of great tasting and spicy reciepts. Highly recommended to all people who love healthy and exotic food. For me as a rasta this is real food that fits our philosophy "Ital is Vital". We are all Ethiopians. Ethiopia is our home. We are all brothers and sisters. This knowledge of cooking should be spread all over the world. We say: One love for TEFF LOVE. Ital is vital. Respect for all the effort the author put into this masterpiece. People who are saying something different don't know anything about Ethiopian culture. This author is Ethiopian to the fullest - no matter what her colour is. She is African because she helps to spread this culture worldwide. Budena or Injera is the most powerful food I know. So no matter where you are from. This book will connect you closer to mother Africa because of the smallest green in the world. Our roots are there in Ethiopia. The vegan way is so helpful for everyone and everything. Environment, health, animals, mankind and climate. Let's spread some love with TEFF LOVE! One love.

Non mi risultano libri in italiano sulle cucine di Eritrea, Somalia e Etiopia (e questa è un po' una cattiva sorpresa); pochissimi sono i testi tutt'oggi reperibili in inglese. Tra questi ultimi, quello di Kittee Berns illumina il panorama grazie ad una grande versatilità delle ricette (quella dell'Injera, ad esempio), alle variabili, alla felicità dei piatti. Il libro è pieno di proposte intelligenti, e anche se accompagnate da poche tavole a colori, il formato e la grafica sono molto user-friendly, il che aggiunge piacevole rilassatezza alla lettura. Per gourmet dai gusti raffinati, non solo per vegani.

A whole new world of Ethiopian culinary adventure awaits in these lavishly illustrated pages, it's really excellent. The only caveat I would add is that these are not beginners recipes and require a certain level of skill. Oh also many of the ingredients required aren't going to be on the shelves of Tesco and you will have to hunt them down elsewhere. But generally if you've got hold of some Teff and some veg you're away. Anyway the results I've got from everything I've tried from this book have been extra yummy.