"The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus" by Bryant Terry (Da Capo Lifelong Booms, $19).

When you start to cook vegan ingredients the same way you have traditional ones, you just may fall in love with the sophistication and flavor that can result.

Take "The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus" author Bryant Terry's stew of smoky tomatoes, roasted plantains and crumbled tempeh.

First, you cook onion and a fat chipotle pepper you've finely diced in olive oil for 10 minutes and then add 10 cloves of garlic that you've peeled and roughly chopped for five additional minutes. You are stirring to bond throughout.

Soon, you're adding your new specialty to a tomato puree you've whipped up and pouring it back into a saucepan for 10 minutes of further togetherness to cook it down to a thick consistency. Next to jump in are the stock and tempeh causing a further thickening for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, you'll cozy up to, season and cook the plantains for 30 minutes. And simmer another five minutes, even after adding the last touch of fresh cilantro you just chopped.

Multiply this by about 100 recipes, and you'll see that it would be just about impossible not to get deliciously attached to your food. This builds appreciation and skills that just can't be simulated in less intense ways. This is what makes Terry's thoughtful book one of my all-time-favorite vegan (eschewing animal products completely) guides.

Your additional payoffs from Bryant, an award-winning chef who has penned "Vegan Soul Kitchen" and "Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen," are charming full-course menus (i.e., his inspired dishes) to share with your loved ones (treasured family and friends). There is much anticipation for his just-about-to-be-published book "Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed."

Bryant clearly believes that seasonal vegan eating should be a party every night. There are enticing cocktails to start every menu, as well as appetizers that no one will realize are vegan, like Cajun-Creole spiced mixed nuts, candied cashews and bright-black fingerling potatoes with fresh plum-tomato ketchup. Desserts, like gingered black sesame seed brittle and rice wine-poached Asian pears, are close to perfect.

The atmosphere is further fueled by outstanding soundtrack suggestions for each menu, such as music by Wynton Marsalis. They prove to be just as thoughtful as the classic recipes.

COCONUT QUINOA

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon (preferably coarse) sea salt

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

2 tablespoons dried coconut

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

In a medium-sized saucepan over high heat, combine the coconut milk with the water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Add the quinoa and dried coconut, and bring back to a boil. Immediately lower the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and steam with the lid on for 5 minutes, then lightly fluff with a fork.

SMOKY TOMATOES, ROASTED PLANTAINS AND CRUMBLED TEMPEH

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced red onions

1 large chipotle canned chili, chopped finely (see Note)

10 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

3 1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes, or 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained

2 bay leaves

4 cups homemade or store-bought vegetable stock

(Preferably coarse) sea salt, to taste

1/2 pound, which is 1 (8-ounce) package, tempeh, crumbled

2 ripe plantains, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Yields 8 servings.

In a medium-sized saucepan, over high heat, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the onions and chipotle and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Lower the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the tomatoes and puree until smooth. Pour back in the saucepan, add the bay leaves and stir constantly over medium heat until cooked down to a thick consistency, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock and 1 teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste if necessary.

Add the tempeh, bring to a boil, cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the stew has thickened somewhat.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the plantains, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Toss well. Transfer the plantains to a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking.

Carefully remove the bay leaves and transfer the roasted plantains to the stew. Add the cilantro and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Good served over coconut-flavored quinoa.

Note: Experts recommend wearing latex gloves when handling chilies and not touching your eyes during or afterward.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After-Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.