Check Out These Cookbooks!

Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining & Every Day by Lauren Ulm was the very first vegan cookbook we bought, six months before we made the transition. The recipes we've tried are quite tasty and easy to follow, and the pictures are gorgeous. Many of the recipes are super quick. Dinner in 20 minutes? Don't mind if I do!

Favorite Recipes: Weekend Pancakes Made Easy (Our favorite vegan pancake recipe!), Rainbow Rice and Beans, Tahini Lemon Rice and Beans, Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup, Seven Spice Udon, and Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta




 
Veganomican: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero is fantastic. We also purchased this cookbook months before making the transition to veganism and found so many excuses to cook from it. The recipes and descriptions are easy to follow and witty (!). The cookbook's lack of pictures is more than made up for in the great number of interesting and innovative recipes. This is the basic, comprehensive cookbook that every vegan needs in their collection.

Favorite Recipes: Banana-Nut Waffles (These waffles are off the chain!), Southwestern Corn Pudding , Seitan in Mole Sauce, Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry, Mushroom Gravy (Thanksgiving Hero!) and Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies 


Favorite cookbook of the moment? Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Each chapter features a color or two, and the recipes within each chapter are organized by type of dish. I think it's safe to say that we cook out of this gem of a cookbook more than any other on our shelf. And that says a lot, we're constantly trying out new recipes and acquiring new cookbooks.

Favorite Recipes (and there are LOTS): Apricot Red Lentil Stew, Potatoes and Eggplant (Aloo Baingan), Beet Burgers, Cajun Red Beans and Rice, Orange-Glazed Tempeh, Garlicky Greens with Pasta, Green Tea and Pistachio Cupcakes, Blackberry Breakfast Bars, Jewel Yam Ramekins, Peanut Pumpkin Soup, Lemony Pan-Fried Chickpeas with Chard, Cashew and Red Lentil Burgers, Banana Oat Date Cookies (Felicity's favorite treat)


What a title! The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions: Veganize It! Foolproof Methods for Transforming Any Dish into a Delicious New Vegan Favorite by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman is a fun find. I was initially attracted to this little book in the library because it looked useful for figuring out how to make substitutes in my cooking as we get into this vegan-eating thing. Not only does the Completely Guide to Vegan Food Substitutes provide replacement suggestions and show you how to veganize most any recipe (at least that's what they claim!), there are so many great recipes and cooking ideas to try out. I say try out because we don't actually own a copy and so haven't been able to cook that many recipes. It's on our wish list.

Favorite Recipes (short because we haven't been able to try many recipes): Creamy Eggplant Stew, Southwestern Polenta, Nacho Queso Sauce, and Tortilla Soup.

I tested many vegan cupcake recipes out of several books looking for the perfect cupcake, and every recipe I've tried from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes That Rule has been amazing. Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero are cupcake goddesses.These recipes produce cupcakes that are moist, delicious, rise beautifully, and you would never know they're vegan. Seriously - ask my omni friends! Everything we've made has been delicious except for two of the frosting recipes with soy powder in them (but this may be a product of a sub-par soy powder, I'm not sure).

Favorite Recipes: Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake, Chocolate Cherry Creme Cupcakes, Toasted Coconut Cupcakes, Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Coconut Pecan Fudge Frosting, and Peanut Buttercream.

Not yet found a vegan cheese that tastes good? We hadn't (at least outside of a gourmet vegan recipe in Manhattan, and who can afford that on a regular basis?). We were given a copy of Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner for Christmas. We deeply regret letting it sit unloved on the shelf for three months and have just finished making our first yogurt cheese (so yummy!) and are currently working on rejuvelac for to make some harder cheeses. We'll update with favorite recipes as we work through this lovely book.

Favorite Recipes: Basic Yogurt Cheese

Pie, anyone? Vegan Pie in the Sky: 75 Out-Of-This-World Recipes for Pies, Tarts, Cobblers, and More by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (yes, the cupcake goddesses I mentioned above) have your back. Okay, I'll be honest, I'm still so wrapped up in cupcakes that I haven't made as many pies as I've wanted to. But the few that we've cooked up have been delish.

Favorite Recipes: Curried Macaroon Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Maple Pecan Pie