HEY VEGANS!

[rmd]

I'm looking to get a cookbook to provide an overview of vegan cooking for someone. Besides Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" (which I understand has some vegan recipes and suggested vegetarian->vegan recipe alterations included) and the "Veganomicon", what should I be looking at?

My stepmother will have vegan guests for a week or so this summer, and she's not even sure what supplies to lay in, so she asked me for a cookbook recommendation.

Comments

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

My brother and his wife went vegan (for health reasons, so they can hop off the wagon as long as they hop back on). They swear by the Veganomicon.

tamidon got them another vegan book in addition to that, which I know they like; I'll try to remember to ask her when she's done running errands.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

For just a week, I think Veganomicon will suit her just fine on its own, actually. Does she have any specific desires in terms of types of things she wants to make? Bittman's is a good book, but if your mom already knows how to cook in general and doesn't need basic technique lessons, I don't think it'll be as useful as Isa's stuff.

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

http://be-well.ilk.org/~knorwood/recipes/cookbook.html

This is my personal on-line cookbook. The vegan chili recipe and the Boston Globe vegan cocoa beet bread (basically vegan chocolate cake) are my standbys.

[goingdriftless.livejournal.com]

I'm not vegan, but I am allergic to dairy and egg, so I use vegan cookbooks regularly and eat a lot of vegan dishes. I love pretty much anything by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I particularly like "Vegan With a Vengeance." I got "Appetite for Reduction" for Christmas, and what I've tried is good... but I'd recommend Vengeance over it. I love, love, love "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World," but you have to be pretty devoted to cupcake making. There are desserts in Vengeance that are great. And truthfully, you if you just add "vegan" to any google search for any baked goods, you will find a lot of stuff out there.

She'll want to get a milk alternative. Soy milk or almond are good. If you get the "plain" kind, you can just do a direct sub for milk wherever you use it. For butter, I use Earth Balance spread or sticks. You can get it at Whole Foods... and I can get the spread at Trader Joe's, too. Many of the other margarines actually contain caesin and so aren't truly dairy free. As far as egg substitutes, I've found the Ener-G Egg Replacer to be easy and reliable. I've tried to use flax eggs before (google for how to make them), but mine always end up a mess. A friend swears by them, though. You can also use banana for an egg sub if it's being used for binding.

I also really love this cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Students-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Revised-Recipes/dp/0761511709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304471332&sr=1-1
It's not vegan, but many of the recipes are very easily vegan-i-fied. The author has a vegan one that I also have, but I don't like the recipes nearly as well. The veggie cookbook has great stuff in it, and easy and made with practical, "normal" ingredients. It's got a shopping guide, too.

Hope that's helpful...

[qbaz.livejournal.com]

Lord knows I'm neither veggie nor vegan, but I cook a lot of veggie dishes from Heidi Swanson's all-vegetarian 101 Cookbooks, http://www.101cookbooks.com/, most of which she mentions how to easily turn vegan. She's got a really good sense for flavor. (and, I believe, a new cookbook out. Her site could easily provide a week's worth of ideas, though.)

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Strictly on the "supplies to lay in" point, I find almond milk to be WAY WAY WAY better than soy milk in a variety of ways. I'm not even vegetarian, and I'll voluntarily drink almond milk (but not soy milk), so this is something we get a supply of when we have vegan guests, because I know that (unlike soy milk) any leftover won't be wasted.