Veganomicon Review

Sorry it’s been so long. Here’s a bit of fodder to keep the masses at bay. This is the review I did for our coop paper:

The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. Seriously. By Angie Pohlman

Every now and then, a book comes along that changes your life. It happened to me last October. Veganomicon is The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. I never expected to fall so hard for a cookbook.

I have a lot of cookbooks; you could say I collect them. I have read them each like a novel. I have favorite recipes in each one, favorite authors, and books I return to again and again. One of those books has been Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Moskowitz has teamed up with Terry Hope Romero in the past to create the classic Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, a cookbook entirely about cupcakes, with full color centerfolds. I really liked their work, and I frequent their website, The Post Punk Kitchen www.theppk.com So, naturally, when I heard that they had made another cookbook, I ordered a copy from the Bookmark as soon as it was available.

There it was, the new book smell and everything. On her website, Moskowitz said, “During the course of developing recipes we kept coming back to this phrase: Recipes you wish you’d grown up with.” I have never found a cookbook that from which I wanted to make every recipe. I can’t put it down; sometimes I just put it in a little cloth bag and carry it around the house.

Listen to the names of some of the recipes: Kasha Phyllo Pie, Hot Sauce-Glazed Tempeh, Jelly Donut Cupcakes, Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta Sandwich, Prospect Park Potato Salad, Autumn Latkes, Kabocha-Udon Winter Stew, someone stop me!

One of my favorite aspects of the book is that it has icons on each recipe that designate Low Fat, Soy Free, Gluten Free, Under 45 Minutes, and Supermarket Friendly (you can find the ingredients in almost every grocery). They have a section on menu planning, and a beginner’s guide to cooking in the front that I frequently reference. Veganomicon doesn’t focus on using fake meats or soy cheese, which too many cookbooks are dependant on. The authors have a gift of taking difficult sounding recipes and making them easy. They are hilarious, with pop culture, well, 80’s and 90’s pop culture, references throughout the book. Even the title is a take off the movie Evil Dead II’s book called Necronomicon (book of the dead). You don’t have to be an 80’s child or vegan to enjoy this book; I have wowed carnivores with these dishes. It is not just me raving; Veganomicon has been on amazon.com’s top 10 cookbooks for months. If you have been waiting for the vegan cookbook market to mature, prepare yourself. This is the vegan cookbook dreams are made of.

GreenTree now carries Moskowitz’s entire published works.

Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh

prep time: | cooking time: 20 minutes, plus an hour to marinate Makes 2 servings

This tempeh is spicy and succulent and would go well with mashed potatoes or baked sweet potatoes and some sautéed greens. If I’m using very thick pieces of tempeh then I like to boil it first to make it more tender and to get rid of the bitterness that is sometimes associated with tempeh. My favorite way to make this is grilled but if you don’t have a grill pan use the alternative broiling instructions.

Ingredients 8 ounce package of tempeh 1/2 cup wine (whatever kind you’ve got on hand, just nothing sweet, or use vegetable broth and a touch of wine vinegar) 1/4 cup hot sauce 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon) 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Directions Bring a pot of water to boil. Whisk all marinade ingredients together in a bowl large enough to fit the tempeh slices. Cut the tempeh in half widthwise then cut each of those squares diagonally to form 4 large triangles. When the water is boiling, add the tempeh, lower the heat and steam for 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove the tempeh and then immediately place them in the marinade bowl for 1 hour, flipping them every now again to cover with the marinade. Preheat a greased grill pan over medium high heat. To grease it, brush lightly with olive oil or if you have a spray bottle of olive oil, that works, too. (Get a spray bottle of olive oil already!) Grill each side for 5 minutes. When the second side is almost done, spoon some of the marinade over the tempeh and let cook for 30 more seconds. Alternative broiling instructions: Preheat the oven broiler. Place tempeh in a rimmed pan (I like to use my cast iron pan for such purposes). Spoon some of the marinade over it and broil for 5 minutes. Flip it and spoon some more marinade over it and cook for another 5 minutes. When the second side is almost done, spoon some of the marinade over the tempeh and let cook for 30 more seconds.

Tags: cookbook review, veganomicon