Friday, September 26, 2008

my favorite vegan books

i love to read. it's hard to have a fun vegan life without really good vegan cookbooks. these are my die-hard faves.
many say this is the only vegan cookbook you'll ever need, but i disagree. don't get me wrong--it's hard covered, full of mouth watering recipes, and contains some awesome banter from isa and terry. i just need more than one cook book. i can't afford this one right now, but i think chanukkah harry is getting me this one for the challadays. for now, i have it on loan from our public library.
this was one of the first vegan cookbooks i ever read, and i read it from cover-to-cover! my BFF jawzie tried to be vegan once, decided it didn't work for her, and recently sent it to me which was really nice of her. so now i have my very own copy. favorite recipes: punk rock chickpea gravy, fronch toast, waffles, pancakes....well you get the idea, right? props for the food porn.

this was the second vegan cook book i read. i really enjoy sarah kramer's books. the recipes are super easy, and i like the extra stuff included on how to make your own household cleaning items, etc. aside from the gorgeous cover, there are no food porn pics and i must say i don't like that at all. my favorite recipe are the big ben lentil burgers and the yeast free pizza crust is super easy. i also don't own this one.
I also enjoyed la dolce vegan quite a bit. why no food porn, sarah? you are gorgeous and i appreciate all the pictures of you and your friends, but i want to see the food. again, i don't own this one either.








honorable mentions....
vegan freak: being vegan in a non-vegan world- this is good for anyone to read regardless if they are vegan, contemplating veganism, or love someone/is friends with/or related to a vegan. lots of helpful info, namely being responsible for one's own food, and not being a vegan douchebag. there are times where i sensed some elitism which made me frown, but there wasn't so much of it that i hated the book. i was surprised to know that most condoms aren't vegan.
vegan lunch box- very inspiring meal plans for your kids, or for your inner kid. i'd also like to own this book
i'd like to see some of us vegans who keep regular blogs come up with a collaborative cook book, wouldn't that be neat?

5 comments:

Chelsea said...

If you love the food porn pics, you should definitely check out Vegan World Fusion Cuisine from the folks of Blossoming Lotus. There are gorgeous photos of food, artifacts, monuments, and nature, and just a strong sense of the interconnectedness of life. I haven't cooked much from it, but it's one of my favorites.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I agree; I love HIAV, but would love some photos.

Oh my gosh, the chocolate pecan pie from that cookbook is beyond amazing!

Anonymous said...

I think I'm a bigger fan of VWAV than I am of Veganomicon, but they both come in pretty handy. I also like Sarah Kramer's books, but I agree with chocolatecoveredvegan in that they need pictures. Vegan Lunch Box is a lot of fun and everything I've made from it has been delicious.

One cookbook that I really like is Vegan Planet. The recipes are hit and miss, but the same can be said for most cookbooks.

VeganCowGirl said...

I too love garden of vegan!! And v-con is my bathroom staple.

I also really really love love robin robertson's vegan planet. Have cradled it like a baby in my vegan arms since 2004

Bianca said...

I felt the same elitism reading Vegan Freak. I couldn't even finish it, though I think it'd be wonderful for someone starting out...I keep it on hand as a reference guide though.

And I love Sarah Kramer books too! Though I'm also perplexed about why there's no food porn. I know it's cheaper to produce books without a few high-glossy porn pics. But damn, I'd pay extra for porn.

As for the Isa & Terry empire, well, I think I speak for all vegans when I say, they freakin' rock!