The Voluptuous Vegan: More Than 200 Sinfully Delicious Recipes for Meatless, Eggless, and Dairy-Free Meals

I am writing this because of the person who said the recipes were bland -- i couldn't believe it! So far I am not only impressed with this book, but genuinely thrilled to have found a really gourmet cookbook for balanced, healthy vegan meals. If I'm having people over they don't even notice there's no meat. It's so elegant, and the ingredients come from across the globe (you do have to carry a lot of groceries for some of them!). The issue I think someone would have is, one must have access to good health food and specialty stores and special produce. You have to have a food processor, blender, spice grinder etc. and the recipes have many elements so it takes a while to complete. But the results for me, so far, are wonderful. I wonder if the person who found it bland was using old spices and substituting ingredients? I am a trained chef, and I think the recipes are somewhat complicated, so can imagine that the average cook might find some of them time-consuming to reproduce adequately. If that is the case, my advice is, make sure you've got the necessary equipment, get fresh organic produce, grind your own spices (or use brand-new ones) and leave yourself an entire afternoon to do it right.

Anyone, vegetarian or carnivore, who is looking for a useful and delicious collection of recipes should own a copy of this book. I eat a broad range of foods and didn't think I'd be that interested in exclusively vegan dishes, but I've been pleasantly surprised. Every dish I've tried from this book has been incredibly rich-tasting and delicious. Last night I served the Caribbean Black Bean soup at a gathering and it was the hit of the party; it had amazing depth of flavor. Despite the complexity of tastes in these dishes, the recipes are all very easy to follow, and every step is explained clearly, so even if you're a novice cook, you shouldn't have any problem creating incredible meals. There are lots of cool cooking tips, and the book is actually quite fun to read. It's also beautifully laid-out and designed, and the cover is a knock-out! The Voluptous Vegan would make a great gift for anyone who wants to avoid animal products, who is allergic to dairy, who is trying to eat healthier, or who just wants to learn how to prepare scrumptious, delicious meals and desserts. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Like many Americans, my early culinary history included prodigious quantities of meat. If it walked, crawled, could fly or swim, and could be subdued long enough to be thrown onto a grill or tossed in a pot, we ate it. I never realized how unhealthy and boring my diet was until I experienced a meal at a vegetarian restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the amazing fat-free combinations of grains, vegetables, beans, sprouts, fruits, nuts and seeds that made me feel more healthy and alive than I ever had before. After moving to New York, my taste for vegetarian food soon led me to Angelica's, where I indulged on the exotic yet simple cuisine of Myra Kornfeld and the other chefs who have made the corner of 2nd Avenue and 13th Street a mecca for all vegetarians. After feeding us so well for so many years, Myra has finally shared her secrets in this wonderful book. More than a collection of recipes, the book tells us a philosophy of food and its preparation that is so enjoyable, you almost forget how healthy it is. Myra lays out the ground rules of vegan cooking in a simpler, less intimidating and more elegant way than I have ever seen before. Myra divides her recipes into three logical sections that make using the book a pleasure. Soups and desserts are treated as separate chapters (which is smart). Everything else (entrees, side dishes, salads and accompaniments) is arranged in a series of meals that are perfectly combined (from a nutritional standpoint), complimentary (taste-wise), balanced in terms of difficulty (each menu contains one challenging and two easy-to-prepare dishes) and regional in flavor (with menus that evoke the tastes of Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa). By arranging contents into meals rather than individual dishes, Myra ensures that we will always get the right result (no weird combinations). And the recipes themselves are amazing. Trust me, the African Groundnut Stew is worth the price of the book all by itself. Add in Myra's glossary (which discusses ingredients and cooking techniques in detail), resource list, drawings and elegant writing style make this book the second most enjoyable thing about the vegan experience. The first, of course, is the food itself.

I attended a book signing and dessert tasting hosted by Ms. Kornfeld at a local bookstore this past weekend. Her desserts are amazing! Rich, delicious, sinful; you'd never know they're made without dairy or eggs. I tried the Chocolate Coconut cake, the Chocolate Mousse cake, Apple Spice Streusel, and the Peanut Butter Mousse cake; all were eye-rolling good. The main courses also look delicious. The book is nicely laid out and the recipes explained in enough detail that you don't need to be a professional chef to understand them. Even if you're not a vegan, you'll love this food.