Table of Contents
PRAISE FOR ISA CHANDRA MOSKOWITZ AND TERRY HOPE ROMEROS
VEGAN CUPCAKES TAKE OVER THE WORLD
Completely dishes sharp-as-a-tack writing, stunning photography and design, simple yet delicious recipes and a manifesto for world domination.
VegNews
Instead of lumpy, penitential scones and muffins (the usual vegan baked goods), [Moskowitz and Romero] produce insanely fetching cupcakes with mousse fillings, butter cream frostings, chocolate ganache icings and sprinkles galore.
New York Times
Packed with 75 dairy-free recipes and lush photos aimed at making vegans and omnivores drool.
Washington Post
Written chattily and supportively for even the most oven-phobic... reading this is like having a couple of fun, socially conscious post-punk pals over for a slumber party. Each page of this cookbook contains an irresistible delight.
Bust
PRAISE FOR ISA CHANDRA MOSKOWITZS
VEGAN WITH A VENGEANCE
Plenty of attitude, and killer recipes to back it up. Watch out Betty Crocker.
Vegan.com
Good, honest vegan recipes with broad appeal.
Associated Press
The vegan iterations... so closely approximate the traditional versions that even the pickiest eaters would happily trade one for the other. [Features] dairy-free desserts that are tasty enough to fool most omnivores.
Publishers Weekly
Creative, inventive, and yummy.
Herbivore
INTRODUCTION
Veganomicon. What does it mean? Is it the economic theory of eating tofu-dogs? Maybe an all-meatless convention? Or was it from that movie... that book Bruce Campbell finds in the woods and accidentally reads aloud, and then his dead girlfriend is flying around laughing inside the cabin, and he suddenly has a chainsaw instead of a hand?
No, no, its none of those. Its just the doorstop of a cookbook that you hold in your precious handsover 250 of our new favorite, most-requested recipesand a big vegan cookbook needed a big vegan name. (But just to be safe, dont read this cookbook backward at the stroke of midnight.)
This is the book that was the proverbial flax-egg before the unchicken. That is, its the epic, master guide weve wanted to write for years, back when Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World was just a twinkle in our eyes and long before Vegan with a Vengeance packed up her things, flew the nest, and moved away to attend community college. Our new baby, the Veganomicon , is a big, bold vegan cookbook that doesnt hold back any punches. But dont be scared; shes quite a softy compared to her punk-rock older sister. Shes like a love song (80s power ballad, with some light 70s rock and a touch of post-punk angst) to our favorite things about vegan cookingits diverse, delicious flavors and limitless possibilities.
But enough with the pop-culture references; what the heck is it, really? Well, its a good old-fashioned, all-purpose cookbook. And when we say all-purpose we mean ityoull find everything from savory sauces and flaky potpies to luscious pastas and fabulous finger foods... there are nourishing soups; amazing salads that step way beyond mixed greens; and protein-packed entres that make the best use of tofu, tempeh, and homemade seitan. And, even after an entire book of cupcakes, theres still plenty of dessert to go around.
Many of the recipes were written for everyday meals, in hopes that you wont even need to look at the recipe again after making it a few times. You know, the kind of chow you can whip up any night of the week with your pantry staples and some seasonal produce. But you can also trust this cookbook when youre looking for an extravagant spread to impress, say, your in-laws, or the mayor of your town when she stops by.
Besides just giving you recipes, weve included lots of basic cooking information. Maybe you already know how to roast pumpkin, soak beans, and toast millet. In that caseawesome! (Then you can just be like, Shut up, Isa and Terry! and move on to an adventurous casserole.) But we also wrote this book with the beginner cook in mind, or maybe just the forgetful cook who cant be bothered to memorize grain-to-water cooking ratios or the baking time for sweet potatoes. So weve included simple preparation guides for beans, grains, and veggies (see pages 24-44).
RECIPES WE WISH WE GREW UP WITH
How do you come up with a recipe? is a question we get time to time. (Why nobody believes us when we mutter things about sacrificing beets under the full moon, well never guess.) Instead, be content in knowing that we are tireless and slightly obsessed foodies. Theres not a vegetable we dont adore (except a certain so-called baby corn), nor a spice that doesnt take up precious real estate in our spice racks.
It also helps that we call the greatest city in the world our home. New York City is a supermarket of almost every flavor of ethnic cuisine. We cant help but be inspired by it. Its what were thinking about when munching on crispy yet soft scallion pancakes or tucking into a saucy eggplant rollatini, when digging into a sub sandwich bursting with tangy barbecued seitan or scooping up that last bit of hummus with freshly baked pita bread. We get flashes of inspiration after finally putting down that huge canvas bag on the kitchen floor; the one filled with gorgeous Brussels sprouts still on the stalk, creamy yellow ears of corn, or voluptuous butternut squash from the farmers market, all grown within a few dozen miles of the city and lugged home for a few more on the subway.
It may sound a little New Age, but we spend so much time thinking about food that ideas for recipes often strike when were nowhere near a kitchen... walking down the street or running after a bus. Hang with us for any length of time and it will probably happen to you, too (if it doesnt already).
During the course of developing recipes, we kept coming back to this phrase: Recipes you wish youd grown up with . These arent necessarily restaurant masterpieces, although we bet lots of these dishes rival the $26 entre at many vegan eateries. These meals were not born in spotless, stainless-steel, made-for-TV kitchens. The recipes that await you in Veganomicon were created by two women who cook, live, and eat in real, urban kitchens. Since were both apartment dwellers, these are lessons learned from waging wars with temperamental gas burners, moody ovens, and tiny little cabinets bursting with pots, gadgets, and groceries. This is food made while chatting with significant others, gossiping with friends, and shooing nosy pets off the countertops. In other words, this is kind of food you make and eat while life happens.
LET THEM EAT TEMPEH
We didnt make this cookbook alone. Well, by definition, we wrote it together so already we werent alone. What we mean is, the results are a combination of many things: years of being out there in the field, talking to, meeting, and eating a bazillion meals with vegetarians and vegans of all stripes, taught us lots. It seemed that no matter how long its been since youve stopped eating hamburgersbe it eight months or eight yearsthe common question seemed to be, What else is there for dinner/lunch/breakfast/midnight snack/Groundhog Day party?, besides tofu hot dogs or pasta and jarred sauce? Fans of The Post Punk Kitchen and Vegan with a Vengeance were hungry, and they let us know. They were starved not just for new ideas to prepare whole foods, but also for new takes on old favorites ranging from tastier tofu and tempeh, to cheeseless mac n cheese, to what-in-the-world-do-I-do-with-all-this-zucchini?