The Book: Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Published by Marlowe & Company; New York. 2007.
The Claim: The ultimate, all-purpose vegan cookbook.
The Punk
Already Internet-famous for their Post Punk Kitchen (PPK) website and their New York City cable TV show, Isa and Terry have long allowed vegans a place to satisfy their inner foodies. Veganomicon is the third book after Isa’s Vegan with a Vengeance and the collaborative Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. These ladies tell it like it is - and it is entertaining. But don’t pick up this book if you are offended by minor curse words like damn or hell. There is no censoring here.
Audience
Veganomicon is not complicated, but some preparation is required. Kitchen gadgets like blenders and oven-safe pots are required. Most recipes provide enough background information for newbie cooks, like How to Bake a Potato included alongside Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes (page 60).
A section explaining common vegan ingredients (great for beginners wondering what-the-heck is Vegenaise?) and a section on cooking basics are useful extras.
Scope and Style
Veganomicon is avant-garde, even for a vegan cookbook. Instead of following ye olde carnivorous style (main dish, side dish), the Punk ladies break it up (or break it down?) with a vegan-appropriate format including new categories like casseroles, one-pot and stovetop meals, and sauces and fillings. “Mix and Match” includes the “holy trinity” of tofu, tempeh and seiten for those who miss the meat-potatoes-vegetable triad. Everything is covered, from “sammiches” to dessert.
Helpful icons help readers categorize recipes, though the low fat/reduced fat icon seems to represent an educated guess rather than calculated nutritional information. The “supermarket” icon (no specialty store shopping) might be appropriate for New Yorkers, but less so for the rest of the world. If your grocer carries Vegenaise, this icon will probably be useful.
With 250 recipes, perhaps saving space was the rationale for not placing each recipe on its own page. Constantly flipping pages with batter-coated fingers; however, does not make for a very Zen cooking experience.
The Recipes
Though the authors tout their creations as “recipes you wish you grew up with”, Veganomicon is not just homestyle cookery. Comfort food (like Brooklyn Deli Macaroni Salad, page 91) sits next to exotic creations like Creamy Asian Pear and Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing (page 90). For everyone but established cooks with large pantries, almost every recipe will require a trip to the store. Does anyone actually keep both mustard seeds and ground mustard?
Veganomicon reflects the variety enjoyed by modern food aficionados. From Black Beans in Chipotle Adobo Sauce (page 122) to Chickpea-Noodle Soup (page 139), the gaggle of recipes feels unfocused at times, but so do the diets of New Yorkers.
The Food
Veganomicon recipes are economical – save that fancy grade maple syrup for special occasions. Gratuitous use of beans and the minimal use of vegan “junk food” like processed fake meats (even the “holy trinity” is limited) makes Veganomicon fare inherently wholesome and nutritious – Isa and Terry should not worry about their food being low-fat.
Staying true to its “think of me as your friend” style, however, Veganomicon makes some mistakes. Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita Crisps (page 177) sounded good but typos made it impossible to decipher. More than one recipe in this book could be improved by clarifying the directions.
Creations like Ancho-Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple (page 137) and Cheater Baked Beans (page 122) salvage the errors with flavours that stand out without being overwhelming or too new, and the ingredients are listed properly. Rumnog Pecan Cookies (page 238) are a unique creation enjoyed by everyone who tried them. From authors who wrote a whole book dedicated to cupcakes, expect egg-free, dairy-free desserts to be a highlight.
The Bottom Line
With eclectic flavours ranging from classic to contemporary flavours, the food from Veganomicon is good and good for you. Whole food ingredients don’t just substitute for meat – they create the new genre than vegan cooking should be, but don’t expect any 30-minute meals. This book is like having a spunky new friend in the kitchen, whose passion is getting you hooked on vegan cuisine. As the authors suggest, practice cooking with Veganomicon recipes, then make them your own. You might end up with food the next generation of vegans will be happy to grow up on.
 |
 |
