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Nov 13, 2007

Lisa rated it:

Well, for some reason I thought that this was going to be more like a thorough vegan Joy of Cooking type book but it isn’t quite so comprehensive. However; it is great, and I didn’t end up being disappointed.

Only cons:
1. all the photos are in the middle of the book vs. on the recipe pages
2. for my taste too long vegetable steaming times given (although possibly they & I are thinking of different sized pieces of veggies)
3. and most importantly: the authors don’t hav More...

4 comments like (12 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2007

melissa rated it:

Veganomicon is the grown-up version of Vegan with a Vengeance. Not its momma but the grown-up post punk herself. Still the same intelligent, clever and witty writing and the same mind-blowingly creative recipes but this time there is some very helpful information on kitchen necessities, both cookware and pantry staples, basic information on how to prepare different types of produce, some very grown-up and organized menus and the layout is beautifully refined. Much like I am trying to be in this More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2010

jess rated it:

My wife & I have been working through this cookbook for a year now. Finally, I am going to write my review of it. Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a vegan foodie sensation. If you make vegan food regularly, you know there are basic techniques and styles we all rely on, and every once in a while, some sort of revolution sweeps through the vegan cooking world, and suddenly everyone is looking at their tofu a little differently. Veganomicon is that moment.

We are busy people who love to cook de More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 25, 2007

Ellen rated it:

First, the recipes are very well written and explained. The authors don't leave out any details, and include things like "when you bake this cake, it's really really important to not open the oven for at least 45 minutes no matter how tempting it is". They include lots of variations for most recipes. Most importantly, the recipes are very weeknight: A lot of them are pretty quick to prepare, very tasty, and don't necessarily involve a billion different steps and sub-recipes.

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1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2008

Devery rated it:

This is a phenomenal cookbook for anyone who likes to cook and eat delicious food, vegan or vegetarian or BBQ-snarfer. The whole section on how to cook vegetables is worth the price alone (I had no idea how amazing roasted green beans were, for example) and the Simple Seitan recipe is a streamlined (and yummier) version of the one in Vegan With A Vengeance.

So far I have made the Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits, the Chestnut Lentil Pate, the Kalamata Dip, the Seitan Piccata, t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 20, 2009

Christopher rated it:

This is a great cookbook for both dyed-in-the-wool vegans and those omnivores who want to mix it up a little. Myself, I'm a longtime vegetarian who considers himself a vegan-wanna-be (I love vegan food to death but I still can't give up ice cream, cheese or cream cheese) and this book makes me really think I could make the leap and keep my taste buds happy. After I finish this pint of Rum Raisin, that is...(ahem).

ANYway.

The book is written with a breezy sense of humor th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2011

Ashley rated it:

I purchased this cookbook on the recommendation of a friend who is a devout vegan. I have a family history of heart disease, and have always kept an ear out for the latest on heart health research. As the research on the heart benefits of plant based diets stacked up, I figured I'd dip a toe into vegan world.

I've been a virtual vegetarian for years, based simple on taste preferences. No matter how hard I try, I cannot cook meat. And I don't mean that I look at it and cry because More...

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Oct 01, 2011

Melissa rated it:

I've had this book for going on a year now. I made my first recipe from it last night---Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping. Cashew "Ricotta" is my new favorite thing. Omnivore hubby (who does not like ricotta cheese) had a big serving then helped himself to seconds. To me that is always the highest recommendation for a vegan or vegetarian recipe. If you like lots of pictures with your cook books you will be disappointed in that respect (although there is More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Jessica rated it:

As a rule, vegan cookbooks tend to be less dry and clinical than their omnivore or educational counterparts. Despite this, I was not expecting Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook to be as entertaining of a read as it ultimately became. I received it in the mail and intended to give it a quick thumb-through; instead, I ended up curled on my couch reading it nearly cover-to-cover. The authors' descriptions and personal anecdotes are charming, the recipes themselves are worded so precisely tha More...

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May 09, 2011

A rated it:

I was first introduced to the wit and flavor of Isa Chandra Moskowitz through www.theppk.com, her blog. I picked up a copy of Veganomicon after reading a lot of the website and I have to say that I absolutely love this cookbook. Not only does it have a lot of helpful cooking tips and instructions, it breaks down what items are useful for a well-stocked vegan pantry and has really inspired me to do a lot of food exploring. I love the symbols by each recipe that tell you pertinent info such as whe More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2010

Michael rated it:

God, I wanted to love this cookbook. Picked it up when it was brand new, as Vegan with a Vengeance is one of my favorites. I appreciate the idea behind it - so many vegan cookbooks are thin paperbacks that it's a cool idea to try to up the game with a nice solid hardback. But in my opinion, this is a middle ground cookbook - too highfalutin for daily use, but not quite polished enough for special events.

Other than a few standbys, I rarely use this cookbook because it is chock o' block More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 19, 2010

Bryn rated it:

This is an unusual book - a cookery book that you can sit down and read. it's written with style and humour, full of thoughts about the theory and reality of cooking as well as recipes. I found it a very inspiring read.

I'm not a vegan. I'm not planning on becomnig a vegan but I consider this book a very valuable addition to the shelves because it will help me broaden my repertoire (I'm vegetarian) and reduce my dependence on animal products.

There are a lot of good, quick, More...

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May 14, 2009

Jen rated it:

Oh Isa and Terry! Where have you been! I am new to this dynamic duo of vegan cooks, but I am now a superfan.

My introduction came through a friend that pulled a cupcake recipe from their web site and made it for a BBQ. Between the 2 families, we have serious food restrictions (allergies for some, special diets for others) and so making a dessert that everyone could enjoy was a serious challenge. After devouring one of the best cupcakes I have ever had (not simply best 'vegan' but More...

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Aug 22, 2008

Von rated it:

This is a really great vegan cookbook. Everything I've made from here has been delicious, except for the potato enchiladas, which were tasty but more work than they were worth (although I didn't have toasted pumpkin seeds handy, which MAY have added whatever made it worth the more than 2 hours it took to make ...)
All in all, great cookbook. Really well written recipes, and very well organized.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 07, 2011

Ryan rated it:

There will never be such a thing as an exhaustive cookbook, but this one does a superb job at compiling an extensive variety of vegan recipes. Interested in the health benefits of a vegan diet, I was admittedly concerned about not finding vary many, if any, recipes that I would like. With sections devoted to just about anything (breakfast, sauces, snacks, appetizers, casseroles, desserts, etc.), including complete meals for themes, my wife and I found many delicious recipes that we've tried and More...

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Apr 16, 2011

Joëlle rated it:

I love this book. It's not really for beginners though, so if you are, you might find it intimidating. The authors' style is quirky and fun too, and I've only had it a couple of weeks and have used it a dozen times. I really like it. You either need to be willing to plan ahead (for ingredients) or have a very well-stocked pantry, which I do. I love this book.

P.S. Okay, after reading other reviews, I see that perhaps this IS good for beginners. But I guess what I meant is not that begin More...

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Dec 02, 2008

Trena rated it:

Many of my friends have loved this cookbook so I figured I should check it out. I think the praise is well-deserved. It contains a lot of imaginative recipes way beyond the usual (I stopped buying cookbooks several years ago because there was never anything really new in them). Most of the recipes can be made with items found in a regular grocery store, though there is a little reliance on specialty items that I'm sure are easy to locate in NYC but not so much for the rest of the US. I reall More...

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Aug 28, 2010

Ela rated it:

This book came recommended by my local coffee shop hero. A long time vegan, he said he had a truly boring food life because he couldn't cook. He credits this book with teaching him how to make a killer vegan meal.

This is a great book for a beginner, there are sections on how to cook grains or prep/roast different vegetables. I think it's an awesome step in the learning to cook direction.

As someone who is a little more well versed in the ways of the kitchen, I still fin More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Kathleen rated it:

definitely worth owning--even though joe and i are vegetarians, not vegans. some really great recipes in here. everything i have tried was great.
one thing i could do without is all the identity-claims the author felt compelled to make. i don't care that she fancies herself a bit counter-culture. i don't need her to reference bands from the early 80s or the fact that she doesn't have/doesn't know what a hedge fund is. i got this book because i wanted some more ideas about what i could More...

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Dec 16, 2010

Unwisely rated it:

This was another book I picked up for possible T-day recipes. I'm not vegan or anything, but I'd heard of it and it was actually in at the library on the day we hiked down to look.

It was fun to flip-through - the tone is sort of fun conversational, like you were hanging out with a hip friend of a friend who is walking you through cooking vegan. On the other hand, I thought it suffered from the depressingly common "let's try to make non-vegan stuff vegan". Some of this I ca More...

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Jan 01, 2012

Red rated it:

everything I've made from this has been delicious, every time. it has tons of recipes for all kinds of things, and while it does get crafty and creative with how to eat vegan (it's not all salad), it also sticks to actual food. it uses some mid-level esoteric ingredients, which was really obnoxious the first half-dozen times I picked it up to make something from it, but now I really appreciate that I have tamarind and pomegranate molasses on hand. I do find the recipes somewhat fussy and assume More...

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Jan 27, 2011

Kristen rated it:

I've made 3 recipes from this book and they have all been extremely tasty: Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans and Pineapple Salsa, Collard Greens with a Smoky Marinade, and Seitanic Red a& White Bean Jambalaya. Plus I read through the beginning of the book which offers tips on how to cut out some of the fat even in your vegan diet and the opening chapters provide tips on cooking everything from different veggies (like how to roast eggplant or cook your greens) to cooking whole grains like quinoa More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Nancy rated it:

Going to have to buy this one. Ready to run out to the grocery store and start cooking!! Lots of yummy sounding things. Eggless crepes seem a little weird, and I did skip over the tofu/seitan section, because that is some kooky ooky stuff, and the family won't eat it.

All in all, though, it's a solid book that I think most anyone would eat out of. Easy to get a hold of ingredients, relatively fast cook times (range from 20 mins to 2 hours), even the longer cook times were "hu More...

1 comment like

Jan 23, 2012

Starlight rated it:

Great book for a starter vegan foodie. If you cook a lot already, and are newly vegan looking for a slew of recipes that you'll "recognize" and go "oooh, it didn't occur to me I could make that" this is a great book. I tore thru dozens of recipes in the first month of having it and they're all solid.

I would say that the cooking techniques could use a bit of finessing - these girls steam their veggies for days! Other than that, it was a great foundation builder fo More...

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Mar 16, 2010

eq rated it:

I wasn't really enticed by any of these recipes. Nothing popped out and said, EAT ME! I think a good portion also had to do with the photography, which was a tad on the cyan side and made me gag a little. Perhaps it's just the vegan lifestyle... No! I take that back. I've read and tried alot of different vegan recipes in my time and I think focusing on the simplicity of the elements within the recipe should be the focus. Clearly, not the case with this cookbook.

Check out <a hr More...

2 comments like

Jan 28, 2009

Sarah rated it:

Quite possibly my all-time favorite cookbook. Not only did practically every recipe sound appealing, the accompanying descriptions made me LAUGH. The two Brooklyn-based authors of blog world Post Punk Kitchen fame have a witty free style and aren't afraid to poke fun at themselves or veganism in general. Even die-hard carnivores are sure to enjoy the majority of their vast array of soups, salads, pastas, sandwiches, deserts, and more. This is by no means a low-fat, sprouts only tome, the authors More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 25, 2010

Tracy rated it:

I agree with another reviewer who said that the tone comes off as snarky (or sometimes arrogant -- I mean really, bragging about all the fawning letters you get asking for your beauty secrets?). The recipes are hit and miss, and sometimes leave out important details like, um, when to add certain ingredients listed in the recipe. As an experienced vegan cook, I didn't have many problems. It's given me ideas to break out of the baking rut I've been in. However, I think it's telling that after maki More...

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Feb 21, 2011

Sara rated it:

Easily one of the most approachable and versatile vegetarian cookbooks I've encountered. I am not vegan (I'm lacto-ovo), but I prepare each recipe as-written; they are delicious and diverse in flavor for all dietary persuasions. There's a great range of simple menu components, some of which have become staples for me (chickpea cutlet, anyone?), and more complex meals. There's also a section on optimal methods for cooking vegetables solo, if you've never roasted your own red pepper, for exampl More...

1 comment like

May 29, 2010

Scotty rated it:

I am a meat-eater...a carnivore first-class. I was raised on the tenet: Son, if it ain't got meat it's a snack. Seriously. That having been said, this book has taught me to loves me some vegetables! A feat that many thought impossible!

Granted, some of the main dishes in this book get relegated to side dishes but the deliciousness still remains.

If you've ever wanted to know more about veggies et al...this book is a MUST. In fact, I'd go so far to say that this should be in More...

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Jan 24, 2010

Ryan rated it:

I did read through this pracitcally cover to cover, and, while the author's are annoying, a lot of recipes look good. Tracy and I have tried maybe half a dozen with mostly good results (especially the bbq sauce and collard/black-eyed pea roll-ups), but don't abandon your own culinary knowledge and tricks in the face of their instructions.

The many little "Tip" boxes are actually helpful--such as the one advising us to boil tempeh first--and, along with the introduction, woul More...

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