Ok, so my last blog reviewed Dreena Burton's Eat Drink & Be Vegan as my current FAVORITE vegan cookbook. I figured now would be a good time to mention my previous favorites!
La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer was my first FAVORITE vegan cookbook. In fact, I wanted the cookbook before I even thought about going vegan just for one recipe: Double Chocolate Muffins (pg. 236). My friend, Brandi, made them a couple times and I could never get enough. They were amazing! When I finally did become vegan, I bought this book. I can't remember if it was exactly my first, but it was definitely the first that actually got USED and abused like all good favorites do. I think this is the best cookbook for "beginners" because most of the recipes are very easy with common ingredients and there are TONS of comfort food recipes; a lot using vegan cheeses and mockmeats, which I think are vital to enjoying the first stages of the vegan transition. I have made so many dishes from this book that it would be nearly impossible to record them all. I might as well just say "buy the damn book and try them ALL for yourself!" but I'll at least list the BEST of the best that I've made:
-Freedom French Toast (pg. 37) YES!
-Claire's Macaroni and Cheese (pg. 125) this recipe, along with the cheese sauce alone, has become a staple in my diet. I have made so many delicious recipes based on this one! If you think you can't live without cheese, try this recipe first!
-Jay-Lo's Fried Chicken (pg. 167) Holy crap, can you believe it? This stuff tastes just like chicken strips! It's a little more complicated than buying a frozen veggie patty, but fun to make and well worth the effort!
-Eggplant Parmesan (pg. 145) I used a store-bought marinara. This was YUM!
-Jae's Peanut Butter Fudge (pg. 200) Holy crap, please make this. It is so good I can't even think about it or I will salivate all over myself
-Banana coconut pudding (pg. 206) Easy, yummy.
-Wolffie's B'nanner Bars (pg. 214) Easy, yummy also.
-Wolffie's Snickerdoodles (pg. 215) Cinnamon-sugar-liscious!
-Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies (pg. 218) magical!
-Stephanie's White Diamond Cookies (pg. 223) yes, these are incredible. Get vegan white chocolate chips from www.veganstore.com (my favorite ones), or www.veganessentials.com, or try Sidecar Grocery in the U-District (I saw some there once, but forgot to check back to see if they carry them regularly.)
-Double Chocolate Muffins (pg. 236) I already told you how these tempted me before I was vegan. Make them for yourself, and try a mixture of dark chocolate and vegan white chocolate chips!
-Basic Baking Powder Biscuits (pg. 271) these are so fast and easy and delicious.
-Yeast Free Pizza Crust (pg. 300) very easy and fast. I use this as the crust for all my homemade pizzas. Just top with sauce, toppings of choice (try basil and tomatoes) and vegan cheese. The trick is to get the cheese to melt: I like to cut the cheese into thin, flat square slices (instead of shredding it) and putting globs of it on the pizza. After the rest of the pizza has been cooked through, I like to then set the oven to broil, keep the door slightly open, and let it cook until the cheese gets all melty. Just keep an eye on it so the rest doesn't burn under that broil!
There are so many good recipes in this book, and still a ton that I have yet to try. I recommend this book to anyone with a sweet tooth and a comfort food tooth, especially those new-to-amazingly-delicious-vegan-cuisine peeps!
The other book that changed my life is The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Gourdreau. I got this one for Christmas from my boyfriend and it consumed me from then on! I have a major sweet tooth and LOVE baking. I get no greater pleasure than making something delicious--especially a vegan replica of an old favorite. This book is chock full of baked goods, especially desserts. There are recipes in here that I have yet to find better versions of anywhere else such as: vegan cinnamon rolls! vegan soft pretzels! vegan cheesecake! Caramel Popcorn! Horchata! And those are the ones I haven't tried yet! Here's some that I have made:
-Waffles (pg. 69) this is the only vegan waffle recipe that I have used and it is purely delicious
-Cinnamon Coffee Cake (pg. 84) I made these for Brian, but ended up eating most of it myself
-Vanilla Cupcakes (pg. 85) with Buttercream Frosting (pg. 231) another recipe made for the boyfriend but ended up in my tummy
-Mexican Wedding Cookies (pg. 114) yum!
-Lemon Bars (pg. 126) HOLY CRAP! This recipe (and the yet-to-be-made cinnamon rolls) is what put this book #1 on my Xmas wish list in the first place. Remember those ultra yummy-but-naughty lemon bars you make from a box? I do, and the thought that I could never eat them again nearly gave me a heart attack...then I saw this recipe and I really think my heart stopped for about a minute. And then I MADE THEM and I died. They were that good! Much healthier than that boxed crap, too. These are actually made with REAL LEMONS! Just go to the bookstore, pick up the book, flip it open to page 127, and look at the picture of these babies; you will swoon like it's Johnny Depp naked at your doorstep asking to borrow a cup of sugar.
-Mango with Sticky Rice (pg. 148) I used to get this dessert at my pre-vegan favorite thai restaurant. Magical!
-Baklava (pg. 162) these will make you say Uggh like Master P.
Wow, I get excited just thinking about these recipes.
While these two books, along with ED&BV are my ultamate favorites, there are a couple others worth mentioning (they just don't get abused quite as often as my three must-haves):
-How it all Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. Lots of good recipes. Similar style to LDV but not the same recipes.
-Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I feel like this one should get more use but for some reason, I just haven't gotten around to making many of the recipes. There are more comfort food recipes here than you can shake a stick at; sushi, mac n four cheeses, philly cheesesteak, enchiladas, etc etc etc!
-Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. I got this one really cheap and Half Price Books and it was well worth it. While it doesn't get much use (sometimes the vast number of recipes in this book feels a little too intimidating) it is a great resource and I am happy to own it.
-Vegan Fusion World Cuisine by Mark Reinfeld and Bo Rinaldi. I've only made a couple of the recipes (maple ginger cookies, cheesecake) but a lot of them look really good. The recipes come from the Blossoming Lotus Restaurant. I've been to the one in Portland, OR (which was delicious...vegan soft serve ice cream!) and there is also one in Hawaii.
My favorite RAW cookbooks are also worth mentioning. Eating more raw foods is something that I find very important. Sometimes I get phases where I make a ton of "Raw Gourmet" meals. When the craving strikes, these are the books I use:
-Natalia Rose's two books, Raw Food Life Force Energy and The Raw Food Detox Diet are the books I use to find the simplest, purest, most cleansing recipes. About half are completely raw, most others are cleansing, vegetarian dishes, and she also includes a few fish recipes and recipes including raw goat cheese. (Read my reviews of these books HERE, for RFLFE, and HERE for TRFDD.)
-Raw Food Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melgailis is the book I use when I want to make something exciting, unique, and (usually) a little more complicated and fancy. This book has so many delicious recipes and amazing desserts. A must have for the Raw food lover!
-Rawvolution by Matt Amsden. This was my first RAW cookbook and is a steady favorite. I like all of the recipes (except for the soups; I'm very picky about raw soup) that I've tried and always rely on this one if I want something simple. The best recipe from this book is the Creamy Italian Dressing. I have made my own adaptation of this dressing by increasing the amount of basil and oregano, and calling it "Green Sauce." Green Sauce is good on everything from salad, veggies, and pasta to chicken (my Brian's FAVE!) I love the simplicity of these recipes and they taste wonderful.
So there are my FAVES. Here's what's on my wish list:
-Vive Le Vegan and The Everyday Vegan both by Dreena Burton.
-Vegan Express by Nava Atlas
-Get it Ripe by Jae Steele
-Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, all by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
-My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky
-The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak
-Sweet Gratitude by Matthew Rogers and Tiziana Alipo Tamborra (raw desserts)
YUM!!!
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