Go vegan with recipes from 5 great cookbooks

October 30, 12:35 PMSeattle Vegan ExaminerVirginia Messina, MPH, RD

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Going vegan is easy and fun with great cookbooks like these.

It’s easy to find delicious vegan recipes. The selection of vegan cookbooks just keeps getting better and better. No matter what your culinary needs—gourmet, family-style, or super fast—there is a book that will deliver. If you are new to vegan cooking—or just want to invigorate your recipe repertoire a little bit—these five cookbooks will give you everything you need.

Vegan Yum Yum. Founder of the award-winning www.veganyumyum.com, Lauren Ulm is well-known for her creative vegan dishes as well as her superb food photography. This new book boasts recipes that are “decadent but doable.” They truly are luscious and gourmet without taking tons of time or cooking know-how. Recipes include Squash Stuffed with Cherry Almond Couscous, Sugar and Spice Snap Peas, Coconut Lime Tofu, Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Icing, and Miniature Baked Doughnuts. Many of the recipes take fewer than 30 minutes to prepare and each is accompanied by a gorgeous photograph. There is plenty here for family meals, but this is especially nice for foodies who are worried that going vegan means giving up gourmet meals. It doesn’t, and this cookbook proves it!

Vegan Comfort Food. This brand new cookbook comes from vegan food expert Alicia Simpson who blogs at www.veganguineapig.com and www.vegansofcolor.wordpress.com. Alicia grew up on meals that took their inspiration from California’s southwestern flavors as well as those that drew from the southern soul food of her father’s family. In this book she shares tips for stocking a vegan pantry and offers 150 “down-home” recipes including Banana Pancakes, Onion Rings, Pecan Crusted Seitan Cutlets, Tacos Pecadillo, and Sweet Potato Pie. This is cozy comfort food at its best—all vegan and all delicious.

Quick Fix Vegetarian. With her background as a chef, caterer and cooking teacher, Robin Robertson knows vegan cooking and she has produced 19 vegan cookbooks. They are all excellent, but this one is perfect for the vegan-in-a-hurry. Each of the 150 vegan recipes can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. This book has tips for cooking shortcuts and a list of products to keep on hand for when you need to give quick pizzazz to simple meals. Offerings include Chutney Rice Salad with Pineapple and Peanuts, Beat-the-Clock Spinach Lasagna, Rockin’ Reubans, and Pineapple-Apricot Couscous Cake. They are truly fast and easy, and all as good as they sound.

Vegan Brunch. It doesn’t matter whether you “do brunch” or not. Any of these recipes from renowned vegan cook Isa Chandra Moskowitz, will be perfectly at home for supper, too. There are scrambles, omelets, and muffins, of course. And also Creamy Avocado Potato Salad, Potato Spinach Squares, Jalapeno Garlic Grits, Cherry Sage Sausages, and Beer-Battered Tofu. Isa’s writing style is entertaining so, in addition to enjoying the recipes, you'll have fun reading this book.  

Tofu Cookery. This is the 25th anniversary edition of the classic guide written by Louise Hagler, aka The Tofu Queen. Louise has been introducing tofu to western palates for more than 35 years. These days, she uses many of her recipes in her work with Plenty, International, a nonprofit organization that funds projects related to food security and nutrition. Recipes in this cookbook include Tofu Paprikash, Crunchy Tofu Cutlets, Chinese Sweet and Sour Balls, and Tofu Pot Pie (a recipe I’ve been using since the first edition of this book was published in 1983.) There is lots of information about buying, handling and measuring tofu. If you love tofu—and you should!—this is a must-have book.