Veganize This! Translating Omni To Vegan.
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Jenn Shagrin, author of Veganize This!, admits that her goal in cooking is to make really delicious food very easily. Her favorite foods from omnivore days include a lot of meat – chicken, beef, lamb, fish – and eggs and cheese. So it’s natural that the majority of the recipes in this cookbook include what she calls “faux meats”: tempeh, seitan, tofu, as well as egg substitutes. She includes recipes for making seitan (various flavors – chicken, beef, pork chop, veal…), tofu variations, and faux eggs. Even has a “vegan egg mix” and a “vegan egg yolk mix”. And let’s not forget the cheeses – recipes for every type cheese you might want to include in your cooking are here, along with recommendations on commercial varieties.
Beyond the focus on animal product substitutes, Shagrin brings her personality to the chapter headings, revealing her focus: “Hail Seitan – and his followers”, “Recipes guaranteed to get you laid”, “Satisfying the vegan munchies”, “Vegan holiday survival kit”, “Grillin’ and chillin’”, and “Get baked”. Capitalizing on her name she frequently offers “shaggy kitchen tips”. This is not your everyday cookbook.
The recipes are laid out with ingredients in a shaded box on the left, instructions on the right. The recipes run one after another, so some start near the bottom of the page and continue on the next. Full-color pictures of many of the creations are included in a batch in the middle of the book. Very pretty pictures they are, too.
Instructions appear to be thorough and clear. I have not yet made any of them but look forward to trying the peanut butter dream pie in particular, along with some of the seitan recipes. Shagrin has a love affair with one commercial product: MimicCreme, a heavy cream substitute. For those who cannot obtain this ingredient, she offers recipes for substitutions. Interestingly, she includes it where one might not think it appropriate – like in the seitan recipes. She swears by it, so she must know something.
This is some serious eating, substantial and innovative. Shagrin says her meat-loving friends like these dishes as much as she does. Even if you are not a fan of garden meats or cheeses you might want to have this cook book on the shelf for special occasions.
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