Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero Book Review 2009

Title & Publisher: Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Published by DeCapo Press, 2007.

First impressions: This sturdy book is definitely up for some hard use in the kitchen. The book will stay open to the recipe you want and the thick paper can take some splatters from the stove. The pages are laid out in a way that makes the recipes easy to follow. And on a purely aesthetic level, the book is just really pretty!

Number of recipes: There are roughly 240 recipes arranged by course and by dish (ie, "breads" and "one-pot meals"). Many of the recipes include suggested variations, and a section at the back of the book gives sample menus. The sample menus are handy for entertaining or when you're craving something in particular, like Chinese take-out!

The other stuff: While the focus is definitely on the recipes, there are also tips for cooking techniques, explanations of ingredients or equipment, and bits of interesting trivia sprinkled throughout the book.

The angle: Browsing through the recipes, it's surprisingly easy to forget that this is a vegan cookbook. And that's kind of the authors' point - a vegan diet doesn't have to be something mysterious or full of strange ingredients you'd never eat otherwise. It's completely normal and can definitely be delicious!

Strengths: If this were just a book of recipes, it would already be pretty darn good. But what makes it a great book, in our opinion, is the way the authors welcome you in. It's as if our older, cooler big sister decided to write us a personal cookbook that happened to be about eating vegan. They make hard techniques sound easy and throw in an explanation just when we were going to ask. Their enthusiasm is infectious and by the time we were paging through the desserts, they already had us thinking, "Yeah, we could totally do this vegan thing!"

Recipes for right now: Acorn Squash and Black Bean Empanadas, Creamy Asian Pear and Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing, Cauliflower and Mushroom Potpie with Black Olive Crust, Curried Udon Noodle Stir Fry (recipe coming tomorrow), and Caramel-Apple-Spice Cupcakes

Recommended? Yes!

Why? Whether you're completely vegan or just want to incorporate more vegan recipes into your diet, this book will inspire you and make you hungry.

Buy the book: Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, $18 on Amazon.com

(Image: Amazon.com)

Those empanadas our one of my favorite all-time recipes. Well worth the time they take and very adaptable.

posted by forked on October 6th 2009 at 11:19am
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The seitan piccata is soooooo good. One of my favorite cookbooks.

posted by sddullanty on October 6th 2009 at 11:51am
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I LOVE this cookbook. My husband wanted to go vegan (we were both vegetarian) and I had no idea how to cook vegan. I was newly vegetarian as it was and Betty Crocker taught me meat, starch and vegetable was a meal. SOo...

pg. 98 Black Bean Burgers

pg. 255 Lemon Pound Cake...probably the tastiest thing I've ever made. If I go anywhere and have to bring some food to take, I take this. Easy and no fail.

pg. 133 Chickpea Cutlets

pg. 182 Cholent Stew

pg. 249 Apple Galettes

pg. 200 Curried Udon Noodle Stir-Fry

These are just a few. It's such a great book, and like it said in the article, there are so many good tips and you'll want to read them all because they're fun(ny) and really great ideas.

posted by sarahc123 on October 6th 2009 at 12:14pm
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Veganomicon is one amazing cookbook.

The leek and bean cassoulet with the biscuit topping is one of my favorites. I've been using the topping recipe in many other pot-pie style recipes... it's so simple, yet so delicious! All of the recipes I've tried in the "Casseroles" section of the book were absolutely delish.

And I totally agree with sarahc123 - the pound cake is super tasty. And moist.

posted by 0rchid on October 6th 2009 at 12:32pm
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This book is my kitchen bible. I'm vegetarian but if food is good, who cares if it's vegan? Good food will always knock your socks off and I've read reviews from plenty of omnis who also love this vegan cook book.

It's loaded with easy to follow recipes, most ingredients are common or you can find them at Whole Foods, and the copy can actually be pretty funny at times.

My favorite recipes are apple spice cupcakes, cinammon pinwheels, low-fat choco cake, banana bread, spicy peanut and eggplant soup, kale and potato enchiladas (omg, so good!), their bean "meat" balls with spaghetti, and so on. The whole book is pretty much amazing and just has good food period.

posted by graciela on October 6th 2009 at 12:51pm
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I'm a vegetarian who cooks for an omnivore with lactose intolerance, so a really great vegan cookbook is exactly what I'm looking for. So glad to hear people chime in with endorsements. I've collected some wonderful vegan recipes over the years but a great book? Nope, still looking. This is in the Amazon cart. The resident omnivore will look askance but eventually be grateful.

posted by cmcinnyc on October 6th 2009 at 1:09pm
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The chickpea cutlets from this book are one of our staples now. We also love the chickpea noodle soup, ice cream, and smlove pie.

posted by mollyjade on October 6th 2009 at 1:37pm
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I cook out of this book every week.

posted by spookiefish on October 6th 2009 at 2:16pm
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I was vegan for 10 years (until recently) and this is one of my top cookbooks for anyone, vegan or not. I'll second the chickpea cutlets. Make the mustard sauce to go with them. They are so freakin good. I would eat them every day if I could.

Also, the recipe for Not-Tella will knock your socks off. Vegan Nutella? Yes please! And, it's not full of HFCS!

So I would wholeheartedly and emphatically recommend this book to any cook.

posted by ratheartsbikes on October 6th 2009 at 5:28pm
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I LOVE the blueberry corn pancakes. They're amazing!

I'm not super keen on the recipes that include vital wheat gluten (like the various cutlet recipes). But on the whole, we've liked what we've tried.

posted by anmar on October 6th 2009 at 6:02pm
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