Name: Spiced Pomegranate Lemon Lassi
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3/4 cup frozen or fresh pomegranate arils (plus extra for garnish); 1/2 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk or dairy milk); 1/2 cup plain 2 % Greek yogurt; juice from 1/2 fresh lemon; 2 teaspoons honey; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger; pinch of sea salt; 1 teaspoon pine nuts (for garnish); ice (for serving)

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Delicately spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger this Spiced Pomegranate Lemon Lassi, inspired by The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, is nourishing, refreshing, and absolutely delicious. I think you’re going to love them both!

Lightly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger, this Pomegranate Lemon Lassi is a nourishing and refreshing addition to your day!

Disclosure: I was provided a free copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible to share and review with my readers. I did not receive any financial compensation to write this review, and, as always, my thoughts and opinions shared with you are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you purchase through my link.

The Vegetarian Flavor Bible is a must have for everyone who wants to get creative in the kitchen, preparing simple, delicious, and nourishing plant based meals.

The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, by Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg, is not like any “cookbook” you’ve ever owned.To be honest, it’s not really a cookbook, at least not in the traditional sense, but rather a cook’s book, that will inspire you to get creative with plant based recipes in your own kitchen, whether you’re an omnivore, flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan.

And with 1000’s of cooking “equations” {both to create and to choose from} melding complimentary flavors, aromas, and textures, ethnic cuisines, and nourishing, wholesome ingredients, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible will become your definitive answer to that question we all ask ourselves from time-to-time, what’s for dinner tonight?

“The essence of good cooking is to bring these five tastes {sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami} into balanced harmony to create deliciousness. It’s that simple-and that difficult.” ~Karen Page, author of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible

But, pssst.

I’ll let you in on a little secret…

Once you pick up a copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible and start experimenting and having fun in the kitchen, you’ll realize that creating nourishing, simple, healthful, and delicious plant based meals, really isn’t that difficult at all.

Promise.

As a matter of fact, I created this Spiced Pomegranate Lemon Lassi in under 10 minutes, including not only the time to let my creative cooking juices flow, but the time to make it as well!

This Spiced Pomegranate Lemon Lassi is nourishing, refreshing, and absolutely delicious!

I’ll share the recipe with you shortly, but first let’s talk a little bit more about how The Vegetarian Flavor Bible works, and then I’ll share some of my favorite tips from the author and expert creative vegetarian flavor matchmaker, Karen Page, herself.

Highlights of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible

Quick Guide to Plant Based Eating. The introduction of the 554 page book, starts with a guide to the health and environmental benefits of eating a plant based diet, or, if you’re an omnivore, or flexitarian {like me} the benefits of including more plant-based meals in to your diet.
History of Vegetarian Diet. The next section is an interesting timeline of notable events in vegetarian history, starting in ~3000-2000 BCE, all the way up to present day. Something I found fascinating, was that Herbert Hoover, the head of the U.S. Food Administration at the time, launched “Meatless Mondays” along with “Wheatless Wednesdays” {who knew??} in 1917, after the United Sates entered World War I, as a way “to inspire Americans to reduce their consumption of these staple foods to help increase exports to starving allies in Europe.”
Tips for Maximizing Flavor. Next up is a quick intro into maximizing flavor {FLAVOR = TASTE + MOUTHFEEL + AROMA + “The X FACTOR”} in any recipe you create, and is the perfect lead in into the next section of the book, and the heart and soul of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, Vegetarian Flavor Matchmaking.
This is where you get to play and have fun!! Vegetarian Flavor Matchmaking takes you all the way from “A” for Acai, all the way up to “Z’ for Zucchini Blossoms, and everything plant based and delicious in-between. You’ll be able to cook and create to your heart’s content, utilizing the book’s tips and suggestions, including, but not limited to, expert chef recommended flavor pairings, ethnic cuisine suggestions, seasonal ingredients, nutritional profiles, gluten-free recommendations, and more. Much, much more.

The best way to describe Vegetarian Flavor Matchmaking, is to give you a sneak peak inside the book, and let you take a look at the inspiration for my Spiced Pomegranate Lemon Lassi, not only based upon the flavor pairing recommendations in the book, but also on the ingredients I had on hand.

A peek inside The Vegetarian Flavor Bible for vegetarian flavor "matchmaking" Ideas with pomegranates.

This is just a partial listing of all the delicious flavor pairings with pomegranates. For my lassi recipe, I started with pomegranate because I had a bag of frozen arils in my freezer. From there I added lemon, yogurt, honey, and cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom which were all highlighted in bold in the book, as being top flavor pairing suggestions by expert chefs. Then I added a pinch of sea salt, just because it enhances the flavor of everything IMO. The icing on the lassi, so to speak, was pouring it over ice! 🙂

I’m almost ready to share the recipe with you, but first I’d love for you to learn more about getting creative in the kitchen from Karen herself!

Q & A with Karen Page, author of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible

What advice would you give to the home cook who wants to get creative in the kitchen, as opposed to following an exact recipe all of the time?

Have fun! Don’t be afraid to experiment — but you can dramatically improve your chances of success if you get familiar with flavors that pair well together.

As the creative process can start with literally anything, you’ll find list after list of possible inspirations – cuisines, seasons, flavors, ingredients, techniques, and more.

One inspiration (say, summertime) will lead to another (say, grilling), which will lead to the selection of an ingredient (say, eggplant). That primary ingredient will lead to a secondary ingredient (e.g., basil, bell peppers, chiles, garlic, olives, tomatoes) which should be compatible with the first. Any tertiary ingredient added to a dish (e.g., capers, cilantro, curry spices, dill, ginger, soy sauce, tahini) should be compatible with the first two selected – and indeed, every subsequent ingredient should be compatible with every other ingredient.

THE VEGETARIAN FLAVOR BIBLE helps to steer the reader toward compatible flavors and flavor affinities that will enhance their successful experimentation in the kitchen.

Can you share a couple of your own personal favorite flavor combinations? Maybe one that’s expected, along one that’s unusual, but delicious?

I love the deep, rich flavor of smoked paprika, which is probably my most-used spice. I especially love it with legumes and in dishes like split-pea soup, where I find it adds a similar smoky note as did the ham I used to add when I ate meat (as I’ve been eating vegetarian since May 2012).

Any thing else you would like to share with my readers?

There’s a kitchen waste crisis going on in the United States right now, with 31% of all food going to waste. THE VEGETARIAN FLAVOR BIBLE is a book that will help you eliminate waste at home by giving you ideas on how to use anything you might find in your refrigerator — along tips on how to make it taste absolutely delicious!

The New York Times recommended cooking with THE FLAVOR BIBLE this week as a remedy for eliminating food waste, and you can read writer Kim Severson’s entire article here.: Starve a Landfill-Efficiency in the Kitchen to Reduce Food Waste.

Thanks so much Karen! I absolutely love The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, along with your tips for getting creative in the kitchen and cutting back on food waste, which is so important for all of us to take part in.

Want to purchase your own copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible? I’ll show you how in a minute, but first here’s that Spiced Pomegranate Lemon Lassi recipe you’ve been waiting for. Cheers!

Learn more about The Vegetarian Flavor Bible & purchase your own copy {I promise you will love it!}..

Purchase on Amazon

Have you heard of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible? Do you own a copy? What are some of your “go-to” flavor pairings? Has this post inspired you to get more creative in the kitchen???

Thank you so much for reading this post! I’d love to chat with you more, so leave a comment, share a tip, or ask a question! And, if you think your friends would enjoy this post, I’d truly appreciate you sharing with it them too!