Product Description

This book introduces a world of delicious choices to the millions of Americans who are vegans, vegetarians looking to move away from dairy, or non-vegetarians who have food sensitivities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14113 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

From Publishers Weekly
With 400 recipes, this is probably the biggest vegan (no animal products-meaning dairy- and egg-free) cookbook on the market. It's also one of the best. Robertson (The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook) is a likable guide to possibly unfamiliar ingredients such as flaxseeds and sea vegetables, and the recipe choices are almost overwhelming. Robertson relies on the usual trick of digging into ethnic cuisines (Thai-Style Leaf-Wrapped Appetizer Bits, Baked Sweet Potato and Green Pea Samosas are among the appetizers) for vegetarian options, but she also innovates in clever ways, as with Here's My Heart Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette with hearts of romaine, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and celery hearts. Some of the most versatile options appear in a chapter dedicated to sauces and dressings, such as Eggless Hollandaise and Vegan B,chamel Sauce. Chapters on breakfast ideas, sandwiches, wraps and burgers-with six different veggie burger options-ensure that all bases are covered. Occasionally, Robertson relies on packaged products like the soy sausage and mozzarella that appear in "Sausage" and Fennel Cannelloni, but most of these recipes simply make the best of vegetables, legumes and grains. A cogent foreword by Barnard (president of the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine) reports the startling fact that Americans-apparently misled into believing that switching from red meat to white will improve their health-now eat one million chickens every hour.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This ambitious new cookbook from the author of The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook offers dozens of imaginative vegan recipes inspired by a wide range of cuisines, from Five-Spiced Portobello Satays and Lebanese Fattoush (bread salad) to Cajun-Style Collards and Moroccan Fava Bean Stew. There are also vegan versions of such meat dishes as shepherd's pie and chili, as well as sandwiches like Curried Chicken-Less Salad and Seitan Reuben. Robertson's style is more down-to-earth than Crescent Dragonwagon's in Passionate Vegetarian, but Dragonwagon's book, which includes recipes made with eggs and dairy products, complements Robinson's. For most collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
When a vegetarian graduates to the more advanced status of vegan, all dairy products, eggs, and animal products disappear from the table. Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson appeals to the novice vegan with its simplified approach and whimsical typeface. She advocates that vegans be aware of nutritional issues such as incomplete versus complete proteins. She offers a surprising list of vegetables that originate in the world's oceans. Robertson understands the importance of using multiple and varied spices to prevent the vegan diet from becoming dull, boring, and tasteless. She uses plenty of seitan, a wheat gluten product that simulates meat's texture. Robertson even proposes a block of seitan stuffed with chestnuts and cranberries for a vegan Thanksgiving dinner. Bakers will recognize the vegan possibilities inherent in breads as Robertson offers a hearty multigrain yeast loaf as well as simple skillet combread and pumpkin biscuits. She finds a way to improve candy's general lack of nutrition by substituting ground dates for refined sugar in Chocolate Macadamia Clusters. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Hardly planetary
It is hard for me to understand how a book with the title Vegan Planet totally ignores the planet's predominant vegetarian tradition. The Buddhist vegetarian practice has been going strong for well over two thousand years, with far more practitioners and much greater experience than Western vegetarianism. Rooted in Hindu vegetarianism, Buddhist vegetarianism, also called su vegetarianism, forgoes not only all animal products, but also the fetid vegetables: garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, and so forth. Buddhists know that these rancid vegetables hold back progress in meditation; long before Buddhism arrived, Chinese doctors knew that these are bad for your health.

Unfortunately, Robertson has not bothered to look into this rich experience, so many of the menus in this book would not be considered vegetarian in Asia. Needless to say, there are many great recipes to be found here, and you can just remove the offensive foods from most menus, although I don't know what to do with the three onion pie or scallion pancakes.

I personally believe that Western vegetarians would do well to see if they can't learn something from the su vegetarian experience. There is more to the planet than the North Atlantic.

Delicious and adventurous recipes
I've had a lot of fun with this cookbook. Even my omnivore sister loves this one. In fact, she's often requesting that I come over, with supplies, and the book to prepare dinner for her and the kids. ^_^ I'm glad that they enjoy it as much as I do. I think it's because the recipes are so unusual, and at times what they consider "exotic"... My favorites are the stromboli recipe, and the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas (which EVERYONE likes apparently)... and omg, the desserts and smoothies will RUIN you. MUST RESIST MAKING THEM ALL THE TIME. <3

Just so-so
This was my first vegan cookbook. It's functional and has some pretty good recipes (my favorites are the smoothies and breakfast foods), but overall I'm disappointed. Some recipes that sound fabulous, like the Cool Cucumber Soup with Cilantro and Lime, turn out unpalatable no matter how many times I try them. And many of the recipes I've tried have come out bland and, consequently, not very tasty. That said, it is a huge cookbook and there are still many recipes I have not tried (the problem is that I'm not inspired to try them!). If you're looking for a great vegan cookbook, I suggest Vegan with a Vengeance.