Dada Eats Love to Cook It: 100 Plant-Based Recipes for Everyone at Your Table

Dada, host of Cooking with Samah Dada on the Today show online, puts her personal touch on a diverse array of vegan dishes in this inviting debut. “Little pieces of my heart and soul” is how she refers to the recipes, which are inspired—as explained in breezy autobiographical passages—by the Indian cuisine of her parents, salad days at UC Berkeley, and adventures in London and New York. In a section dedicated to dips and spreads, hummus comes together with avocado for “hummucado” toast. Pomegranate seeds are tossed with cayenne pepper and coconut sugar in a piquant yet sweet “Spice Up Your Pomegranate” salad, while Indian seasonings enliven American fare in options like turmeric cornbread and masala scrambled eggs. A standout chapter of pasta entrees includes cheese-free masala mac and cheese with a sauce of cashews, sweet potatoes, and nutritional yeast, and cashews play another starring role in a veggie twist on the Italian favorite carbonara, employed in a creamy garlic sauce with smoked paprika and cumin. Chocoholics will devour the dessert chapter, which serves up numerous cocoa-forward fare, including a vegan chocolate chip tahini cake and date caramel fudge brownies. This turns the idea of healthier cooking into an indulgent affair. Agent: Anthony Mattero, Creative Artists. (June)