Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (3 page)
Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online
Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero
Tags: #food.cookbooks
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?
1
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?
1
No, no, it’s none of those. It’s just the doorstop of a cookbook that you hold in your precious hands—over 250 of our new favorite, most-requested recipes—and a big vegan cookbook needed a big vegan name. (But just to be safe, don’t read this cookbook backward at the stroke of midnight.)
This is the book that was the proverbial flax-egg before the unchicken. That is, it’s the epic, master guide we’ve 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 doesn’t hold back any punches. But don’t be scared; she’s quite a softy compared to her punk-rock older sister. She’s 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 cooking—its diverse, delicious flavors and limitless possibilities.
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 doesn’t hold back any punches. But don’t be scared; she’s quite a softy compared to her punk-rock older sister. She’s 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 cooking—its diverse, delicious flavors and limitless possibilities.
But enough with the pop-culture references; what the heck is it, really? Well, it’s a good old-fashioned, all-purpose cookbook. And when we say “all-purpose” we mean it—you’ll 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 entrées that make the best use of tofu, tempeh, and homemade seitan. And, even after an entire book of cupcakes, there’s still plenty of dessert to go around.
Many of the recipes were written for everyday meals, in hopes that you won’t 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 you’re 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, we’ve included lots of basic cooking information. Maybe you already know how to roast pumpkin, soak beans, and toast millet. In that case—awesome! (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 can’t be bothered to memorize grain-to-water cooking ratios or the baking time for sweet potatoes. So we’ve 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, we’ll never guess.) Instead, be content in knowing that we are tireless and slightly obsessed foodies. There‘s not a vegetable we don’t adore (except a certain so-called baby corn), nor a spice that doesn’t 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 can’t help but be inspired by it. It’s what we’re 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 we’re 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 doesn’t already).
During the course of developing recipes, we kept coming back to this phrase:
Recipes you wish you’d grown up with
. These aren‘t necessarily restaurant masterpieces, although we bet lots of these dishes rival the $26 entrée 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 we’re 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 TEMPEHRecipes you wish you’d grown up with
. These aren‘t necessarily restaurant masterpieces, although we bet lots of these dishes rival the $26 entrée 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 we’re 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.
We didn’t make this cookbook alone. Well, by definition, we wrote it together so already we weren’t 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 it’s been since you’ve stopped eating hamburgers—be it eight months or eight years—the 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?
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?
This book owes a huge debt to our secret fleet of recipe testers scattered across the globe like poppy seeds on a bagel. Thanks to the miracle of this Internet, we’ve had the support of this tireless bunch of testing maniacs cooking and giving us feedback for many months during this book’s development. Each recipe has been tested by several people, from new cooks to old hands, from teenagers to grad students to dads to grandmothers. Their feedback and guidance informed this cookbook every step of the way.
VEGAN FOOD = NORMAL FOODAnd there is a larger reason why we wrote this book. Our mission in life is to prove that vegan food doesn’t have to be repetitive, difficult, or inaccessible. So let us bore you for a few moments with our culinary philosophy.
People tend to think that the way we eat is the way it always has been and the way it always will be. But food is in constant flux, traveling all over the world and taking root from one continent to the next. The foods that are available to us influence our entire culinary identity, and that identity is ever-shifting. For example, we think of Italian food as loaded with tomato-y goodness, yet the tomato was not widely used in Italy until the eighteenth century, which in the grand scheme of things is a pizza throw away from present times. Just like that, our definition of what makes a complete, satisfying meal can forever change. In today’s world, average folks are evolving and learning that dinner need not be defined by a big ol’ chunk of meat surrounded by a few bits of overboiled vegetables.
The beauty of this culinary whippersnapper (vegan cuisine) is that it draws influences from every part of the world to create an entirely new way to eat. And we explore the dickens out of that in the
Veganomicon
: stuffing samosa filling into baked potatoes, throwing apples into green chile, tossing lemongrass into risotto. Tradition always starts somewhere, and we hope that something in these pages will inspire a few new seedlings of tradition to take root.
Veganomicon
: stuffing samosa filling into baked potatoes, throwing apples into green chile, tossing lemongrass into risotto. Tradition always starts somewhere, and we hope that something in these pages will inspire a few new seedlings of tradition to take root.
With love from Queens & Brooklyn,
Terry & Isa
Terry & Isa
ABOUT THE ICONS
Y
ou might be wondering what all those cute little icons right at the beginning of each recipe mean. Behold, the mystery revealed! With just a flick of the eye muscle you’ll know if a recipe is gluten free, low fat, or soy free. You’ll also know whether you can just shop at Giganto-Mart or need to make an additional stop at the Organic Natural Wonderland grocery, before cooking dinner—plus an approximation of how long things will take once you’ve procured all your ingredients.
SOY FREEou might be wondering what all those cute little icons right at the beginning of each recipe mean. Behold, the mystery revealed! With just a flick of the eye muscle you’ll know if a recipe is gluten free, low fat, or soy free. You’ll also know whether you can just shop at Giganto-Mart or need to make an additional stop at the Organic Natural Wonderland grocery, before cooking dinner—plus an approximation of how long things will take once you’ve procured all your ingredients.
Recipe doesn’t contain tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy sauce, or any other soy-derived product.
No wheat, vital wheat gluten, or other gluten-containing flours or grains, such as rye. We can’t vouch for ingredients that might contain gluten on a very small scale (for celiacs who require a strict gluten-free diet), but all of the major gluten offenders have been accounted for in these recipes. Several recipes marked gluten-free call for soy sauce; be sure to use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
Usually less than 2 tablespoons of oil in the entire recipe, so we figure it’s got to be low fat (or lower fat).
We’re experts at the 2-hour recipe, but we know that you busy types want to know how long it will take you to do something. Of course, the 45 minutes doesn’t include time spent yapping on the phone and running into the living room to watch some television. Many recipes with this icon take just 30 or even 15 minutes to prepare.Other books
Forsaken Skies by D. Nolan Clark
Hunger by Harmony Raines
The Banana Split Affair by Cynthia Blair
Blood Gold by Michael Cadnum
The Fox by Radasky, Arlene
In Death's Shadow by Marcia Talley
Maddie Hatter and the Deadly Diamond by Jayne Barnard
Interzone Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine #223 by TTA Press Authors
All Souls by Javier Marias
El regreso de Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle