Lane Gold - Vegan Junk Food: 225 Sinful Snacks that are Good for the Soul

Avon, Massachusetts

To Josh, Jaide, and Ethan for inspiring me to cook.
And to Jason for being you.

I dont know about you, but I suffer from snack attacks and midnight munchies. Sometimes I like my dinner deep-fried, and on occasion Ive been known to eat dessert first. And I know Im not alone. Whether youre a vegan, raw foodie, pescatarian, or strictly a meat-and-potatoes type, nothing appeals to our collective cravings more than tried-and-true junk food.

Unfortunately, vegan options for these soul-comforting goodies can be woefully lacking! I cant tell you how many times Ive read the label and had to put that delicious-looking box of cookies back on the shelf. Through my work feeding the vegan community, Ive found many of us are in the same boat: We feel left out while reading menus at popular restaurants, and thats just the beginning. Delivery pizza? Forget it. Holiday parties? Hope you like carrot sticks. Taco stands? Keep walking. Bakery windows full of cakes? Looks decadent, but sadly, not for us.

Well, now would be the time to wipe your tears because theres a vegan way around even our most gnarly snack conundrums. As a vegan for a decade and a personal chef for five years, Ive listened closely to my cravings and come up with creative ways to quell these hunger pangs using conscientious food choices. Until now, no book compiled junky recipes that are also animal-friendly and gentle on the planet (and by junky, I mean sinfully delicious!). With 225 mouthwatering recipes that span from savory to sweet and many that mix the two, theres no shortage of new goodies here for you to test out and enjoy. With the right recipe, you can turn black beans and caramelized onions into gourmet burgers, and make kale taste like nacho chips. Inside youll find a junk food fix for anything you fancy:

• Craving chocolate? Whip up a batch of .
• Hankering for a hot dog? How about Corn Dogs with a .
• Pining for pizza? There are a bakers dozen of options inside, ranging from the straightforward Spicy Onion and Sausage to the truly exotic .

As food manufacturers are beginning to heed the demand for vegan staples, its becoming easier to find vegan versions of common ingredients used in recipes. (See , that taste like the real deal. In yet other recipes, you can use what People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) calls an accidentally vegan snack like Oreos and transform them into a dessert that ends up being even more sublime.

In the end, Ive learned that we can still be addicted to ice cream; we just need to make it in our own kitchens. And Im thrilled to be able to show you how. So stock your pantry and scratch that itch. Succumb to your sweet tooth or your craving for crunchand know that youre in very good company.

Lane

P.S. Unlike other vegan books, here you wont find quotations around animal foods like meatball, cheese, egg, ice cream, etc. Thats because the whole book would be littered with them! Just rest assured that every recipe you find here is appropriately veganand in most cases, even more flavorful than the original.

In order to veganize nonvegan goodies, you need to become familiar with a whole host of ingredients thatll become your best allies in the kitchen. Heres a guide to the animal-friendly pantry items that help make your junk food taste oh-so-good. Many of these items can be purchased online at VeganEssentials (www.veganessentials.com).

For recipes in this book that specify using nondairy milk, any of the following unsweetened milks will work: almond milk, hemp milk, rice milk, coconut milk, or soymilk. Choose the one you prefer to drink. When soymilk is specifically listed as an ingredient, it is usually for the body that it lends to the finished product; rice milk tends to be a little more watery. Replace soymilk in a recipe with a milk equal in body such as hemp or almond milk.

Look for brands that are not hydrogenated and are trans-fat-free. When baking, opt for vegan margarine sticks, as they tend to have less water content and are easier to measure. One great brand to try is Earth Balance (www.earthbalancenatural.com).

While it does not impart any flavor, shortening is great for making pie crust because it is better able to coat flour than margarinea key to flaky pastry. For frosting it is also great as it doesnt melt at room temperature. I like the Spectrum brand shortening (www.spectrumorganics.com).

Heres the rundown on the different oils I recommend for your junk food recipes.

• Extra-virgin olive oilThis is best for sauting savory items, and it can also be used for baking where oil is called for, but it can impart a strong flavor.
• Canola or soybean oilIts neutral flavor is ideal for baking.
• Virgin coconut oilThis works best in desserts as it has a light coconut flavor and pairs well with chocolate. As with all oils, look for organic varieties. Nutiva is a brand to try (www.nutiva.com).

Table sugar, powdered sugar, and most brown sugar is not vegan because of the use of animal bone char to filter it. Most brown sugar starts as white sugar that has molasses added to it later, and powdered sugar starts as table sugar that is then ground into a powder with cornstarch. Alternatives to these sugars are many and include unrefined cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, beet sugar, date sugar, raw or turbinado sugar, and coconut sugar. Here are some one-to-one replacements:

• Table sugarUse vegan cane sugar, beet sugar, or granulated and dehydrated cane juice. Florida Crystals offers a vegan version: www.floridacrystals.com.
• Brown sugarUse Sucanat, a whole cane sugar.
• Powdered sugarUse powdered sugar that is made from organic sugar cane. One brand to try is Wholesome Sweeteners: www.wholesomesweeteners.com.
• Liquid sugarsUse in recipes where you dont mind the additional flavor and softened texture liquid sugars lend to baked goods. Barley malt syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, corn syrup (not to fear: Although this is a sugar, its not the same as high-fructose corn syrup), and pure maple syrup are good for baking and candy making. Raw agave syrup is a good replacement for honey. Organic Nectars makes a great agave syrup: www.organicnectars.com/products.html.

Fake meat is a big part of vegan junk food, so heres a rundown.

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP)Available in bulk bins at health food stores or in packages, TVP is a granular or chunk soy product that is cooked under high pressure and dried. Reconstituted it is an excellent meat replacer where ground meat or small meat chunks are called for. TVP takes on the flavor of whatever its reconstituted in.
• Seitan, or wheat meatMade from vital wheat gluten and flavorings, seitan has a chewy texture and can be flavored with seasonings to imitate many meat forms. Packaged in broth, prepared seitan is great for stir-fries and many other dishes that call for slabs of meat.
• Frozen meat crumbles and pattiesThe freezer section of your favorite organic grocery should be well stocked with all sorts of brands, including Gardein and Boca.