Vegan with a Vengeance: Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock

BE Revolution!!! Being VEGAN is the only true and powerful revolution!!! Do not waste one momemt! BE the Revolution!!! BE VEGAN!! NOW!!!

When I first checked this book out from the library I did something that I've never done with a cookbook before--I sat down and just read it. The author is so entertaining, witty, and engaging that I just liked reading the recipe descriptions, punk points, tips from Fizzle the cat, and litte vignettes that are woven into the book. Then I started cooking. Oh, the scones! Amazing! The TLTs (tempeh, lettuce, tomato)! Wonderful! So many recipes, so little time. So of course I returned the book to the library and bought my very own copy to drool over and treasure and love and sleep with under my pillow. OK, so I exaggerate, but not much. The only downside is that many of the entrees call for tempeh, seitan, or tofu, and I don't use those products very often. But when I do, I know that Isa will give me a good recipe. But there are enough other recipes that I think it's balanced overall. And Isa convinced me to try roasted brussels sprouts on pizza. Crazy, I know, but it was SO GOOD. Yesterday I also got Isa's newest book, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It's also wonderfully entertaining and I can't wait to start baking. I'm thinking of buying Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes for all of my friends this Christmas--and none of them are vegan. No matter! Our vegan vengeance and cupcakey goodness will take over the world!

I love this cookbook! I am not a cook (I do most of my cooking using the microwave) and I don't really know what I'm doing, but I still love this book! The directions are really simple and straightforward, and there's a section on stocking the vegan pantry, which is something that has always escaped me. Now that I have onions, garlic and potatoes handy, I can actually make some of these recipes without going shopping. I think that is the greatest beauty of this book--the ingredients are usually relatively cheap (although spices cost a bit at first if you don't already have them) and most of them aren't very exotic. I live in a rural-ish area and our mega-grocery has most of the ingredients that appear in the book (the other ingredients are within a 30-minute drive, so we're good to go). Moskowitz keeps cheap and simple in mind, so even if the recipe calls for fancy kitchen equipment, she'll often give a punk rock alternative so you can make the recipe without having to spend a lot of money at a yuppie kitchen store. The only things about this book that I'm not crazy about are: 1) There are a couple of typos or inconsistencies that leave you wondering which you're supposed to follow, although I'm sure you can figure it out if I can. 2) For microwave professionals like myself, it can be hard to decide what a "medium onion" or "large russet potato" looks like. Now that vegetables are genetically altered, the classic medium potato looks kind of shrimpy. I like having ingredients listed in standardized measurements. 3) Possibly due to problems related to item 2, I made the falafel (the uncooked falafel tasted rockin!), but it didn't stick together in the cooking oil. So I had this dough that took a couple hours for me to make, and I put it in the oil and it disintegrated. I couldn't eat it! I think I used a genetically altered onion that was bigger than it was supposed to be, so the falafel was too wet. I don't know! But it was tragic. (In related news, the tahini was a-mazing. I think I made it three times in one week, it was so good.) I'm still giving this book 5 stars because I think a lot of the problems are my own, and it's so good otherwise that it makes up for it. The chocolate pudding is *(#@$(* great! The only thing is that you have to wait for it to chill (can't eat it warm), or it doesn't taste so good. I've never had a cookbook that I really, actually used before, but this one is already beat up and discolored! There are ingredients all over it! I'm so proud of myself!!! Great book! :D

This is a brilliant, brilliant book. I'm getting all excited just writing a review for it. I love this book to pieces and I'm not even vegan. The tone - Hilarious and awesome. Kind of like listening to Grandma's stories if Grandma was a crazy punk in New York during the 80s. Her tales are one of the reasons I bought the book (they're fun to read while waiting for cakes to bake!). Isa's style is always chatty and fun, never preachy. My favorite part is in the beginning, when she tells the reader that it's cool if they spill food and sauces all over the book, because then they'll remember all the awesome food they've made. The whole book has that fun, messy, DIY spirit. Needless to say, my book is well-loved. The recipes - Brilliant. Inventive and delicious. I can't do justice. Omnis and veg*ns love it. And, best of all: IT IS NOT ONLY TOFU. AND THERE IS NOT A SINGLE SALAD RECIPE TO BE FOUND. Which means more room for fun stuff like Chickpea & Spinach Curry (*best ever*), Falafel (constantly requested by my meat-eating family), and Fresh Mango Summer Rolls (forget seconds--we went to fifths and sixths!). Best of all, Isa's recipes are flexible, and she gives you various tools (low-cal/fat replacement sections, etc.) to fix them exactly the way you want them. Every time I have made her recipes, the food has turned out absolutely delicious--and even better, it stays delicious, even with modifications for dieting family or picky friends. So yeah this is pretty much a love letter at this point. I would totally ask this cookbook to marry me were it, you know, sentient. And human. But I'm just being silly. Buy this book. It will make even the pickiest eater love fantastic, homemade, healthy food--which just so happens to be vegan. It's the best :)

I am a relatively new vegan, and I dove in head first and purchased a TON of vegetarian/vegan cookbooks so that I would not get bored and frustrated with my new lifestyle. Of all of the cookbooks I own, I have been disappointed with many, impressed by some and awed by only one - Vegan with a Vengeance. The recipes are creative, flavorful, and are enjoyed by my meat-eating friends/family as much as by me! Plus, the book covers a lot of ground - from breakfasts/brunches to desserts, soups, sammiches, etc. I love the additional commentary and advice in the book, regardless of the fact that the other and I don't have the same views on many issues! I keep going back to this cookbook frequently and my many others are starting to collect dust. An absolute must have for any vegetarian or vegan library, and highly recommended for anyone else who wants to eat a little healthier and more varied as well.