The Eldamar Cookbook: Fine Vegan Cuisine

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

If you think that a strict vegetarian diet—excluding not only meat but
fish, eggs, and any form of dairy products—is unhealthy or
unappetizing or both, The Eldamar Cookbook may change your mind. Marian
Frances White’s focus is on both health and taste. White believes that
the healthiest diet consists of at least 50 percent raw (or “live”)
foods rich in enzymes and that a vegetarian diet for northern climes
should combine raw fruit, sprouts, nuts, and vegetables with cooked
foods that include grains, pastas, and legumes.

“Eldamar” is the fairy name for a magical place you call home.
White chose this name for her country home in the Avalon Peninsula in
Newfoundland, an area where berries and wild mushrooms grow in
abundance. It was there that she created most of the book’s recipes.

The recipes are grouped in four sections: soups, salads, and dressings;
breads, pastries, and pancakes; main dishes with trimmings; and
desserts. The latter, with local names such as Avondale Blueberry Dash
or Blueberry Blunt, look scrumptious. Soy “cream,” made from soy
milk, light oil, and maple syrup, accompanies many desserts. The
untraditional recipes in the Main Dish section feature protein foods
such as tahini (a spread made from fresh-ground sesame seeds), tofu, soy
milk, lentils, herbs, and vegetables. An attractive layout with colored
photos, glossary, and index complements the inviting and intriguing new
food ideas.