Veganize It!

December 19, 2016
Robertson (Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker), food writer, teacher, chef, and author of 20 cookbooks, provides user-friendly recipes for plant-based versions of foods usually made with animal products. An acclaimed authority on vegan cooking, Robertson created these recipes so that vegan home cooks would be able to make their favorite recipes using homemade ingredients. Many vegan products, she observes, are expensive, highly processed, and full of preservatives. To remedy this, she offers easy-to-make, inexpensive vegan alternatives that remain true to the original tastes and textures, including cream cheese, sour cream, coconut milk, and butter. She devotes ample pages to these veganized staples and then offers up a wealth of recipes that incorporate them. Dishes such as bacon-topped “mac uncheese,” fish-free tacos, and cheesy steak-out sandwiches are appetizing options that readers will relish. Staple recipes go beyond dairy products to include meats, charcuterie, seafood, condiments and sauces, and desserts. Sweet treats include whipped coconut cream, meringues, luscious lava cakes, and chocolate peanut butter milkshakes. This appealing collection provides vegan cooks with the tools they need to create homemade ingredients and enjoy the flavors of classic dishes while still following a plant-based diet.

Starred review from February 15, 2017

Store-bought meat and dairy substitutes can be expensive and highly processed. With an eye toward economy, vegan cooking authority Robertson (Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker) demonstrates how many of these products--including cashew cream cheese, tofu ricotta, mushroom bacon, whipped coconut cream, and more--can be easily made at home. Her smart and flavorful staples are building-block ingredients for more than 150 recipes (e.g., handcrafted lasagna, cassoulet, buffalo cauliflower with ranch dressing, and lemon meringue pie). VERDICT Robertson's vegan alternatives to popular foods will draw even nonvegans. She touches on all the latest trends, such as aquafaba (bean liquid), and explores topics rarely covered by similar titles, including vegan charcuterie and seafood.

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