hostmelissa
06-24-2009, 08:33 AM
Top 10 Favorite Vegan Cookbooks
Very often, I get asked about suggestions for cookbooks from people that are interested in including more vegetarian and vegan meals in their diet. I thought I would write a top ten list of my absolute favourite vegan cook books.
1. Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton
This is my all time favourite vegan cook. Why do I love it so much? The staples of this cook book are nuts, whole grains and legumes. No meat or cheese substitutes, and soy only in moderation. The other reason why I use this cook book most often is because Dreena is a real Mom with three kids and a life. These are recipes I can make lickety split any night of the week. Dreena is definitely the queen of the vegan cookies, with no butter and very little sugar, they are to die for. My absolute favorite recipes in this book include: sesame mustard tahini sauce, creamy hummus, broccoli-mushroom-walnut phyllo pie, brown rice pizza, spring rolls, moroccan chickpea patties, pumpkin-seed-coated lentil patties, sweet curry chickpea casserole, apple phyllo strudel, fudgy brownies, peanut "better" cookies (as good as my Mom's) and homestyle chocolate chip cookies.
2. Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson
It was hard to choose the order of the first two. This is the second most reached-for cook book on my shelf. These are super-easy healty home-cooked meals that are ready in less than 30 minutes and packed with flavor. The book is divided into appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, skillet suppers, pasta dishes, oven baked meals, slow cooker, sauces and easy desserts. I find this feature makes it really easy to cook and plan meals seasonally. I'll skip over the oven baked section in the summer and choose meals that won't heat up the kitchen or house. My favorite recipes include: herbed mushroom crostini, tapenade pastry twists, cream of pumpkihn soup, quinoa salad with roasted asparagus, white beans and red peppers, ginger sesame noodles with broccoli, linguine with edamame pesto, five-minute slow-coker chili (it really does only take 5 minutes!), and tropical mango pastry purses.
3. Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton
I love Dreena's quick and easy yet flavorful recipes. This is her more recent cook book and it is well used at our house. True to her style these recipes are healthy and nutritious and include some of the newer nutritional power house's on the block such as tempeh, nutritional yeast, and hemp seeds. Like me, Dreena has a sweet tooth and the desserts chapters definitely lives up to her reputation. Favorite Recipes include: celestial cream (which I tested for her in the initial stages), raspberry chocolate chip scones, black bean and orange hummus, peanut sesame hummus, roasted red pepper and almond hummus, tamari roasted chikpeas, warm and cheesy white bean dip, cocoa coconut chili, veggie tempeh muffuletta, broccoli cashew teriyaki stir fry, moroccan infused phyllo rolls, "spicoli" burgers, thai chick-un pizza, chocolate pumpkin pie, macadamia white chocolate chip cookies, nice krispie squares, drink your greens smoothie, hot coco-cocoa, and ginger immunity tea.
4. Enlightenend Eating by Caroline Dupont
This book is written by another fellow Canadian (Dreena is also Canadian). What impresses me most about this book is the way that Caroline has created tasty and satisfying recipes based on macrobiotic and ayurvedic principles. Caroline offers great ideas on how to include an abundance of living, raw foods into our diet and to consume food in its natural life and health giving state. If you want ideas on how to eat more raw veggies and salads in your diet, this is your book. My favorites include: banana bread (definitely the best banana bread EVER!), barley mushroom soup, cashew corn chowder, cabbage delight (who knew cole slaw could be so good?), chinese cabbage salad, kale avacado salad, tamari cream gravy, cashew carrot loaf, and enchiladas.
5. The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick Goudreau
I wrote about this book in my last newsletter. All I can say is if you are going to entertain or have people over at all, you need this book. Last weekend I created a super yummy father's day menu from this book which included roasted asparagus soup with thyme, pasta primavera with fresh veggies and herbs, and delightful date truffles. I'm thinking of purchasing this book for family members so they don't have to have panic attacks about what to feed us when we go to their houses for meals.
6. The Dao of Harmony Dawn Cooking by Nicola Lawrence
Anybody who has been on retreat with me knows all about Nicola's delicious home-cooking. One of the highlights of anybody's stay at Harmony Dawn is the tasty, wholesome, and gratifying food. Harmony Dawn is a place of balance and equilibrium where the philosophy of harmony extends to every aspect of living including the dinner plate. Nicola Lawarence lovingly prepares meals in a way that both nurtures and nourishes our bodies, minds and souls. With her delicious cooking and recipes Nicola demonstrates that the choices we make about food are powerful tools not only for inner transformation but also for sustainable living. Harmony Dawn cooking allows us to connect our inner values of loving kindness and compassion to our actions and offers an example of how to live with honesty and integrity as global citizens. My favorite recipes include: granola, tapas, brown rice and beet salad, mediterranean chick pea salad, harmony dawn greek salad, lentil dhal (the best dhal I've ever had - and I don't even usually like it that much), chili with cashews, chocolate earth cake, and harmony dawn two bit brownies. I think you can only get Nicola's cook book at Harmony Dawn or through her website so here it is: http://www.harmonydawnontarioretreat.com/zen-cart/
7. The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry
My friend Kelly, who visits California more than is humanly fair, really, introduced me to this cook book. She has had the privilege of eating at the restaurant, well daily, when she is in the area, while I have recreated a number of gems from this cook book at home. The recipes in this book take a little more time to prepare, but they are worth the extra effort. My favorites include: multi grain quick bread (which isn't really that quick, but no yeast), five spice carrot cashew butter, chicken style seiten (we call it chi-can't in our house), tempeh meat loaf, and baked spelt macaroni with cashew cheddar cheese.
8. Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker
This is a great cook book for the winter... although it is wonderful in the summer too because you can put it on outside and it won't heat up your house. Robin Robertson's recipes are big on flavor and with this cook book she shows that slow cookers are not just for meat eaters. My favorites are: creamy tomato soup with isreali couscous, chili, chili and more chili, vindaloo vegetables, and no hurry vegetable curry.
9. Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
This is a new cook book on my shelf. Those of you who know Isa from Vegan with a Vengance, Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes will love the favorful recipes for brunch in this book. I haven't tested too many in this book yet, but perfect pancakes and vegan crepes are already favorites in our house. Can't wait to try: mom's morning casserole, chili cashew dosas with spiced apple cider chutney, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin french toast, potato spinach squares, toasted coconut and mango muffins, coffee cake (7 different kinds to choose from!), scones (both sweet and savory)and of course, the bloody moskowitz ;)
10. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Who doesn't love cupcakes? These ones are even better and cuter because they are vegan. Basic chocolate cupcakes and sexy low fat vanilla cupcakes with berries as frequently made recipes in this book. Some of the more adventurous cupcakes include gingerbrea cupcakes with lemony frosting, gream tea cupcakes, chai latte cupcakes, lychee cupcakes, and mucho margarita cupcakes. The butter cream frostings are to die for but there is also a super natural agave icing. You could buy this book for the pictures alone because I don't think there is anything more adorable than a cupcake.
Very often, I get asked about suggestions for cookbooks from people that are interested in including more vegetarian and vegan meals in their diet. I thought I would write a top ten list of my absolute favourite vegan cook books.
1. Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton
This is my all time favourite vegan cook. Why do I love it so much? The staples of this cook book are nuts, whole grains and legumes. No meat or cheese substitutes, and soy only in moderation. The other reason why I use this cook book most often is because Dreena is a real Mom with three kids and a life. These are recipes I can make lickety split any night of the week. Dreena is definitely the queen of the vegan cookies, with no butter and very little sugar, they are to die for. My absolute favorite recipes in this book include: sesame mustard tahini sauce, creamy hummus, broccoli-mushroom-walnut phyllo pie, brown rice pizza, spring rolls, moroccan chickpea patties, pumpkin-seed-coated lentil patties, sweet curry chickpea casserole, apple phyllo strudel, fudgy brownies, peanut "better" cookies (as good as my Mom's) and homestyle chocolate chip cookies.
2. Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson
It was hard to choose the order of the first two. This is the second most reached-for cook book on my shelf. These are super-easy healty home-cooked meals that are ready in less than 30 minutes and packed with flavor. The book is divided into appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, skillet suppers, pasta dishes, oven baked meals, slow cooker, sauces and easy desserts. I find this feature makes it really easy to cook and plan meals seasonally. I'll skip over the oven baked section in the summer and choose meals that won't heat up the kitchen or house. My favorite recipes include: herbed mushroom crostini, tapenade pastry twists, cream of pumpkihn soup, quinoa salad with roasted asparagus, white beans and red peppers, ginger sesame noodles with broccoli, linguine with edamame pesto, five-minute slow-coker chili (it really does only take 5 minutes!), and tropical mango pastry purses.
3. Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton
I love Dreena's quick and easy yet flavorful recipes. This is her more recent cook book and it is well used at our house. True to her style these recipes are healthy and nutritious and include some of the newer nutritional power house's on the block such as tempeh, nutritional yeast, and hemp seeds. Like me, Dreena has a sweet tooth and the desserts chapters definitely lives up to her reputation. Favorite Recipes include: celestial cream (which I tested for her in the initial stages), raspberry chocolate chip scones, black bean and orange hummus, peanut sesame hummus, roasted red pepper and almond hummus, tamari roasted chikpeas, warm and cheesy white bean dip, cocoa coconut chili, veggie tempeh muffuletta, broccoli cashew teriyaki stir fry, moroccan infused phyllo rolls, "spicoli" burgers, thai chick-un pizza, chocolate pumpkin pie, macadamia white chocolate chip cookies, nice krispie squares, drink your greens smoothie, hot coco-cocoa, and ginger immunity tea.
4. Enlightenend Eating by Caroline Dupont
This book is written by another fellow Canadian (Dreena is also Canadian). What impresses me most about this book is the way that Caroline has created tasty and satisfying recipes based on macrobiotic and ayurvedic principles. Caroline offers great ideas on how to include an abundance of living, raw foods into our diet and to consume food in its natural life and health giving state. If you want ideas on how to eat more raw veggies and salads in your diet, this is your book. My favorites include: banana bread (definitely the best banana bread EVER!), barley mushroom soup, cashew corn chowder, cabbage delight (who knew cole slaw could be so good?), chinese cabbage salad, kale avacado salad, tamari cream gravy, cashew carrot loaf, and enchiladas.
5. The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick Goudreau
I wrote about this book in my last newsletter. All I can say is if you are going to entertain or have people over at all, you need this book. Last weekend I created a super yummy father's day menu from this book which included roasted asparagus soup with thyme, pasta primavera with fresh veggies and herbs, and delightful date truffles. I'm thinking of purchasing this book for family members so they don't have to have panic attacks about what to feed us when we go to their houses for meals.
6. The Dao of Harmony Dawn Cooking by Nicola Lawrence
Anybody who has been on retreat with me knows all about Nicola's delicious home-cooking. One of the highlights of anybody's stay at Harmony Dawn is the tasty, wholesome, and gratifying food. Harmony Dawn is a place of balance and equilibrium where the philosophy of harmony extends to every aspect of living including the dinner plate. Nicola Lawarence lovingly prepares meals in a way that both nurtures and nourishes our bodies, minds and souls. With her delicious cooking and recipes Nicola demonstrates that the choices we make about food are powerful tools not only for inner transformation but also for sustainable living. Harmony Dawn cooking allows us to connect our inner values of loving kindness and compassion to our actions and offers an example of how to live with honesty and integrity as global citizens. My favorite recipes include: granola, tapas, brown rice and beet salad, mediterranean chick pea salad, harmony dawn greek salad, lentil dhal (the best dhal I've ever had - and I don't even usually like it that much), chili with cashews, chocolate earth cake, and harmony dawn two bit brownies. I think you can only get Nicola's cook book at Harmony Dawn or through her website so here it is: http://www.harmonydawnontarioretreat.com/zen-cart/
7. The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry
My friend Kelly, who visits California more than is humanly fair, really, introduced me to this cook book. She has had the privilege of eating at the restaurant, well daily, when she is in the area, while I have recreated a number of gems from this cook book at home. The recipes in this book take a little more time to prepare, but they are worth the extra effort. My favorites include: multi grain quick bread (which isn't really that quick, but no yeast), five spice carrot cashew butter, chicken style seiten (we call it chi-can't in our house), tempeh meat loaf, and baked spelt macaroni with cashew cheddar cheese.
8. Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker
This is a great cook book for the winter... although it is wonderful in the summer too because you can put it on outside and it won't heat up your house. Robin Robertson's recipes are big on flavor and with this cook book she shows that slow cookers are not just for meat eaters. My favorites are: creamy tomato soup with isreali couscous, chili, chili and more chili, vindaloo vegetables, and no hurry vegetable curry.
9. Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
This is a new cook book on my shelf. Those of you who know Isa from Vegan with a Vengance, Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes will love the favorful recipes for brunch in this book. I haven't tested too many in this book yet, but perfect pancakes and vegan crepes are already favorites in our house. Can't wait to try: mom's morning casserole, chili cashew dosas with spiced apple cider chutney, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin french toast, potato spinach squares, toasted coconut and mango muffins, coffee cake (7 different kinds to choose from!), scones (both sweet and savory)and of course, the bloody moskowitz ;)
10. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Who doesn't love cupcakes? These ones are even better and cuter because they are vegan. Basic chocolate cupcakes and sexy low fat vanilla cupcakes with berries as frequently made recipes in this book. Some of the more adventurous cupcakes include gingerbrea cupcakes with lemony frosting, gream tea cupcakes, chai latte cupcakes, lychee cupcakes, and mucho margarita cupcakes. The butter cream frostings are to die for but there is also a super natural agave icing. You could buy this book for the pictures alone because I don't think there is anything more adorable than a cupcake.