Sarah's Top Ten

Here are my faves:



1. Vegan with a Vengeance

I find the recipes all suit my taste, aren't 'weird' and feature 'normal' ingredients, with a few exceptions that enable me to try new things. I really like the focus on avoiding commercial products since they cost alot of money. I really like that it doesn't recommend soy cheese for many recipes. I didn't like cheese before going vegan, so I don't use fake cheese now.



2. Vegan Planet

I really like how there are like 400 recipes, and often vegan spins on traditional, normal fare. Again, pretty normal stuff in here that is tasty, and I've gone through the entire pasta section (may favourite!). I only had two bombs out of the 30+ recipes I've tried, so that's pretty good.



3. The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

Even though I don't have a little family to feed, I thought I'd like this book since featured non-weird items. Even though it's not totally vegan (many of the recipes are or often vegan options), it's good. I really like the muffin recipes and side dish recipes.



4. Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen

I use this cookbook with my pressure cooker, as it features instructions for using it or with regular saucepan method. It offers many recipes for cooking beans and grains.



5. Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

There are a few vegetarian slow cooker cookbooks out there, but this one is my fave. I make the Ratatouille, Vegetable Soup and Maple Squash recipes most from this one. Again, not entirely vegan, but all of the recipes I like are.





6. Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen/Vegan Italiano

Like Tracy, I like these books (I just got Vegan Italiano from Kyle for Xmas). Very focused on beans and grains compared to tofu/seitan recipes. When I cook from these, it feels a little more gourmet - like I've made something you'd find in a fancy restaurant.

7. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Love it! I like how pretty these can look (although I need a lot more practice with the icing part), and how they are in single servings, and easy transportable (especially in my new cupcake carrier from Tracy!).



8. Vice Cream

At first when I saw this cookbook, I was skeptical about making ice cream from ground cashews, but the recipes I have tried are great! Although the final product can be a little grainy, I find the added texture kind of nice. I've tried soy cream- and tofu-based recipes that do not compare to those in this book.



9. Great Good Desserts Naturally/More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts

Both of Fran Costigan's books are very good. I find the recipes very healthy despite being desserts.



10. Healthy Cooking for Kids

I got this cookbook a long time ago, since it appealed to my picky nature. It is completely vegan, and again, despite not having any kids around, I like the simplicity of the recipes, and everything I've tried has been really tasty - for instance, the stuffed shells, cookies, peanut noodles...

Tracy's Top Ten

If I was moving to another continent, or a little shack in the woods, and I had to limit the number of cookbooks I took with me, to say, ten, these are the ones I would pack:



Vegan with a Vengeance

For original flavourful recipes, and veganized versions of old-favourites, this cookbook beats all others, hands down. Most of the recipes require some effort and planning, but the cook is well-rewarded with a fantastic meal.



150 Vegan Favourites

This is a great book for “quicker” weeknight dinners. I’ve made most of the dishes and haven’t been let down (flipping through my copy, most of the pages have my note “Good!” written on them). Many of the recipes contain beans or lentils, which I love. There isn’t a lot of tofu in the book.



Vegan Planet

This must be the largest collection of vegan recipes in a printed volume, save my sister’s kitchen binder. I like how the flavours of different parts of the world are featured, and most things I’ve tried have come out well. This book is a great buy for the price.




Mangoes and Curry Leaves

This is a beautiful travel journal and cookbook in one, adorned with breathtaking photographs. While it isn’t completely vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter, the food from the Subcontinent is generally very vegan-friendly. The recipes call for oil instead of ghee, and the wonderful stories are worth reading, even if you ignore the recipes from the meaty chapters.



The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

My recent obsession with bread brought me to this book to learn artisan bread techniques. Most of the general bread recipes are vegan in that they use flour, water, salt and yeast, but I wish more of the recipes for holiday breads were vegan.



The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet

Again not all vegan, but great for weeknight dinners when you don’t have time to do a lot of chopping.



Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

This is not a vegan cookbook, but when I’m looking for how to cook something, or for a basic recipe that I might be able to veganize, I look here. Not everything I’ve tried from this book has turned out well, though. The Tortilla Soup was hotter than Hades.



Jump Up and Kiss Me

Not strictly vegan, but great spicy dishes and the ones I’ve made have been over-the-top fantastic.





Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen/Vegan Italiano

Some of these recipes were good, especially the pasta dishes. I couldn’t really choose between these two cookbooks, as for my palate, they are virtually identical. If pushed, I would choose Vegan Italiano first.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

This is a super dessert book, with cute cupcake photos. It would make a great gift for anyone. My only complaint is that eating cupcakes makes me gain weight.