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Vegan cookbook must haves

Posted August 29, 2007 at 02:00 PM by James Flesher

Section: In The News, His Health, Physical Health, His Inspiration, Books, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Diets, Vegetarian / Vegan

Whether you are a vegetarian, a vegan, an enthusiastic omnivore or a reluctant carnivore who is grudgingly trying to fit some greens into your diet, these two cookbooks are must haves for every kitchen in America:  Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the Wold:  75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  I have several other cookbooks as well, including another by Ms. Moskowitz, but these are the two that have well-thumbed pages stuck together with peanut butter-cream frosting and vegetable broth.

Vegan Planet is more a tome than a cookbook, with 400 recipes broken into twenty chapters, shattering the myth that we vegans sit unsatisfied in kitchens and restaurants, quietly nibbling carrots and trail mix.  It is a compendium of recipes so exhaustive that “Soups that Satisfy” warrant a separate chapter from her stew and chili recipes.  Perhaps the best part about this cookbook is that I have yet to come across any complicated instructions or unusual ingredients.  Ms Robertson asks us to bake and boil, even to poach, but never to blanch anything or to “fold in the batter.” Better yet, her recipes force you to expand your spice rack and your palette, always a positive, but without sending you on a wild goose chase through Chinatown for rare and exotic produce, spices or herbs.

And now to our favorite course: dessert.  Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World has everything a dessert lover could want and more.  Anyone who has tried to “veganize” a baking recipe can tell you that it takes someone with heavy duty baking experience (and perhaps a doctorate degree in chemistry) to alter a recipe and still have it turn out successfully.  As they say, cooking is an art, but baking is a science.  In this indispensable book, Ms. Moskowitz and Ms. Romero absolutely nail the art and the science of delicious desserts.  They even provide a kitchen essentials list and a trouble shooting guide for cupcakes that fail to rise, are too moist, etc.  However, some of the more exotic ingredients and extracts may require a trip to a specialty or gourmet store, but most recipes require only items you can get at your local grocer.

Recipes range from your run of the mill vanilla and chocolate to more unusual fare such as margarita cupcakes (the icing calls for tequila!), chai-latte cupcakes with a powder-sugar topping, or the truly exotic pistachio rosewater cupcakes with a rosewater “butter”-cream frosting.  Another plus to Vegan Cupcakes is that for any people with Celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities it also provides recipes for “gluten freedom” chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.  As long as you have a working knowledge of fractions you can easily convert any recipe in the book with ease to be gluten free, and still totally delicious.  With no eggs, no cholesterol, and half the saturated fat compared to butter (at least when a non-hydrogenated vegan margarine is used) these cupcakes are practically guilt free.  But wait, it gets better!  You can choose to mix 50/50 unbleached white flour and whole wheat flour, or even use 100% whole wheat pastry flour without sacrificing taste or texture.  Yes, you can eat these cupcakes (in moderation) to help make it to your 25-39 grams of daily fiber!

Research sources and for more information: [Vegan Planet]; [Amazon.com]

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Tags: book, cookbooks, isa chandra moskowitz, robin robertson, terry hope romero, vegan, vegan book, vegan cupcakes take over the world, vegan literature, vegan planet, vegetables

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