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Veganize It!: Easy DIY Recipes for a Plant-Based Kitchen
Vegan pantry staples plus enticing recipes in which to use them
This is the ultimate DIY pantry book, doing double duty with recipes for vegan staples, plus ideas on how to use them as building blocks in both new and classic recipes. Many cooks prefer to make their own basics rather than buy expensive store versions, which are often loaded with additives and preservatives. These easy recipes make it easy to stock a home pantry. Enjoy milks, cheeses, bacon, burgers, sausages, butter, and vegan Worcestershire sauce in your favorite dishes, and then try delicious recipes using the staples. Sample Bahn Mi, Sausage Biscuits, Meaty-Cheesy Pizza, Milk Shakes, Jambalaya--even Jerky and Lemon Meringue Pie. With more than150 recipes and 50 color photos, this will become an indispensable cookbook for vegans--and everyone else who enjoys animal-free food.
This is the ultimate DIY pantry book, doing double duty with recipes for vegan staples, plus ideas on how to use them as building blocks in both new and classic recipes. Many cooks prefer to make their own basics rather than buy expensive store versions, which are often loaded with additives and preservatives. These easy recipes make it easy to stock a home pantry. Enjoy milks, cheeses, bacon, burgers, sausages, butter, and vegan Worcestershire sauce in your favorite dishes, and then try delicious recipes using the staples. Sample Bahn Mi, Sausage Biscuits, Meaty-Cheesy Pizza, Milk Shakes, Jambalaya--even Jerky and Lemon Meringue Pie. With more than150 recipes and 50 color photos, this will become an indispensable cookbook for vegans--and everyone else who enjoys animal-free food.
304 pages, Paperback
Published March 7, 2017
About the author
Robin Robertson
40 books63 followersAn experienced chef and consultant, Robin Robertson worked for many years in restaurants and catering in northeastern Pennsylvania and Charleston, South Carolina before she began writing cookbooks. In 1988, she left the restaurant business and became vegan for ethical reasons. She then rededicated her life to writing and teaching gourmet vegan cooking.
Over the years, she has fine-tuned her plant-based diet into an eclectic and healthful cooking style which she thinks of as a creative adventure with an emphasis on the vibrant flavors of global cuisines and fresh ingredients.
The author of more than 20 cookbooks, including the bestselling Vegan Planet, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, Vegan Fire and Spice, Vegan on the Cheap, and Quick-Fix Vegan, Robin also writes “The Global Vegan” column for VegNews Magazine and was a contributing editor and columnist for Vegetarian Times. She has also written for Cooking Light, Natural Health, Better Nutrition, Restaurant Business, and other magazines.
Robin Robertson has the professional experience in classic, contemporary, international cuisines to show you how to use plant-based ingredients to make the family favorites you grew up with and learn the secrets of exotic international cuisines, too.
Robin lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with her husband Jon and their cats Gary and Mitzi.
Source: http://robinrobertson.com/about-me/
Over the years, she has fine-tuned her plant-based diet into an eclectic and healthful cooking style which she thinks of as a creative adventure with an emphasis on the vibrant flavors of global cuisines and fresh ingredients.
The author of more than 20 cookbooks, including the bestselling Vegan Planet, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, Vegan Fire and Spice, Vegan on the Cheap, and Quick-Fix Vegan, Robin also writes “The Global Vegan” column for VegNews Magazine and was a contributing editor and columnist for Vegetarian Times. She has also written for Cooking Light, Natural Health, Better Nutrition, Restaurant Business, and other magazines.
Robin Robertson has the professional experience in classic, contemporary, international cuisines to show you how to use plant-based ingredients to make the family favorites you grew up with and learn the secrets of exotic international cuisines, too.
Robin lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with her husband Jon and their cats Gary and Mitzi.
Source: http://robinrobertson.com/about-me/
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 5, 2017
I didn’t really think I’d be a huge fan of this cookbook because I prefer naturally vegan foods, especially when it comes to savory dishes. I’ve enjoyed most of the vegan cookbooks by this author though so I wanted to check it out. I’m glad that I did but it definitely wasn’t a favorite. So many “current vegan fad” ingredients were included, even for sweet dishes. Coconut, vinegar, many ingredients that I don’t enjoy. It is a well organized cookbook and has some helpful sections before the recipes sections, including on nutrition, pantry basics and other ingredients, and on hidden animal ingredients. I appreciate the short section on “What’s in a name?” (page 21-22) because I know there is controversy over using animal names for animal derived ingredients free dishes. I don’t remember reading a book before now where this issue was addressed.
The book is relatively comprehensive when it comes to types of dishes/substitutions.
Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Vegan Basics
Chapter 2: DIY Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Too
Chapter 3: Plant-Based Meats
Chapter 4: Vegan Charcuterie
Chapter 5: Instead of Seafood
Chapter 6: Vegetable Steak-Out
Chapter 7; Global Condiments, Sauces, and Dressings
Chapter 8: Sweets from Scratch
Acknowledgements
Index
I had to read the start of chapter 4 to see what charcuterie means: from the French for “cooked flesh” – ugh!
Even though this book was not my cup of tea I did find a relatively few recipes that looked worth trying. (I’m wondering if some appeared in her previous books because some looked familiar to me.)
They are: from chapter 2: chickpea flour omelets and vive la French toast; from chapter 3: marinated baked tofu, best bean burgers, mama’s meatballs; from chapter 5: no-meat loaf; from chapter 6: baked eggplant Italian style; from chapter 7: avocado crema, great brown gravy, basil pesto, over-roasted tomato sauce; from chapter 8: homemade pasta, cheesy crackers, scratch biscuits, pizza dough, loaded polenta pizza, cranberry-walnut scones; from chapter 9: date-caramel sauce, ganache, veganized marshmallow fluff, lemon meringue pie, strawberry shortcake, chocolate-chocolate chip brownies.
I’ve been reading this cookbook for weeks. It just wasn’t the right one for me. I’ll still look forward to future books by this author. She’s written many.
For people who can’t or don’t want to eat flesh, eggs, dairy, etc. animal dervived foods but enjoy them, and have fewer foods they dislike than I do, the recipes contained here might be ones they enjoy, and for some people this might be a must have book.
For me it was just okay. There are literally hundreds of vegan cookbooks I like better.
The book is relatively comprehensive when it comes to types of dishes/substitutions.
Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Vegan Basics
Chapter 2: DIY Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Too
Chapter 3: Plant-Based Meats
Chapter 4: Vegan Charcuterie
Chapter 5: Instead of Seafood
Chapter 6: Vegetable Steak-Out
Chapter 7; Global Condiments, Sauces, and Dressings
Chapter 8: Sweets from Scratch
Acknowledgements
Index
I had to read the start of chapter 4 to see what charcuterie means: from the French for “cooked flesh” – ugh!
Even though this book was not my cup of tea I did find a relatively few recipes that looked worth trying. (I’m wondering if some appeared in her previous books because some looked familiar to me.)
They are: from chapter 2: chickpea flour omelets and vive la French toast; from chapter 3: marinated baked tofu, best bean burgers, mama’s meatballs; from chapter 5: no-meat loaf; from chapter 6: baked eggplant Italian style; from chapter 7: avocado crema, great brown gravy, basil pesto, over-roasted tomato sauce; from chapter 8: homemade pasta, cheesy crackers, scratch biscuits, pizza dough, loaded polenta pizza, cranberry-walnut scones; from chapter 9: date-caramel sauce, ganache, veganized marshmallow fluff, lemon meringue pie, strawberry shortcake, chocolate-chocolate chip brownies.
I’ve been reading this cookbook for weeks. It just wasn’t the right one for me. I’ll still look forward to future books by this author. She’s written many.
For people who can’t or don’t want to eat flesh, eggs, dairy, etc. animal dervived foods but enjoy them, and have fewer foods they dislike than I do, the recipes contained here might be ones they enjoy, and for some people this might be a must have book.
For me it was just okay. There are literally hundreds of vegan cookbooks I like better.
February 22, 2020
4.0 out of 5
Find my full review on my blog, Simply Arden.
**MILD CONTENT & RECIPE SPOILERS :) **
Quick Review
- Straightforward, easy to understand writing style.
- The book is sectioned into eight parts: vegan basics, dairy-free, “meats”, “charcuterie”, “seafood”, “steak”-out, sauces, flours, and desserts.
- Overall the book is organized well, although sometimes a referenced recipe comes after the recipe you are reading, which I found strange.
- The recipes cover many traditionally non-vegan staples and foods that fall more on the decadent and rich side of the spectrum.
- Would be a great book for a beginner or transitioning vegan, or a vegan looking to veganize common comfort foods and staples.
- Nothing in this book is overly complicated or fancy (except maybe a few of the ingredients) making it easy for all skill levels to utilize the information and recipes.
- Gives a wide range of options for food replacements, including an egg replacement list and alternative thickeners.
- Has a brief section about ingredient and allergy sensitivity replacements that was not adequate.
- Includes mention and use of aquafaba even though the book is written in 2017 and aquafaba wasn’t used at all until 2014, and probably not widely until 2016.
In Depth Review
If you are the kind of person who’s heart screams “Yes! Yes! Yes!” when making meals and foods absolutely, positively from scratch, spending a lazy Sunday afternoon AND evening in the kitchen, making your own milks, cheeses, sauces, etc. then this book was made for you (and me!). Veganize It! has two main types of recipes: vegan components that replace foods that are not typically vegan, such as cheese and bacon, and the recipes these components are used in, which also would not typically be vegan, such as “Bacon-Topped Mac Uncheese”.
This cookbooks seems to include most of the normal recipes that would be in a (American-style) non-vegan’s diet, except they’ve been veganized! This is a book filled with comfort condiments, sauces and foods so that you won’t have to feel left out at dinners, parties, and during the holidays.
This cookbook would be an absolutely terrific book for the beginner vegan who likes to cook things from scratch as it outlines a lot of basics such as equipment, ingredients, substitutions, proteins, baking basics, hidden animal ingredients, and may introduce a person to many vegan foods that aren’t as common in everyday diets such as seitan, tempeh, aquafaba, dulse, etc. It also includes a lot of recipes for foods that are typically eaten in a non-vegan diet, to make someone’s transitions fun and much easier.
Recipe Review
These recipes are legit; they are especially legit considering how forward-thinking they are for the time period this cookbook was written in. For sure this cookbook would have blown my mind, but I’ve already been vegan and very interested in vegan cooking and baking for the last two years. It has a lot of my favorite types of recipes and very similar formats and ingredients to the recipes I already know, love, and regularly use.
The recipes all appear simple, straightforward, well balanced, and fairly well flavored. I do prefer a bit more spice in some of my personal recipes, such as for mashed potatoes, but I feel certain that these recipes would all be delicious and could easily be adjusted to individual tastes. I would consider them terrific base recipes to build upon and experiment with.
Even with my familiarity with the formats and ingredients of the recipes, I have earmarked 43 of them to try that are different and new! I am very excited about the staple-food recipes such as butters, cheeses, and sauces. It’s always fun to play around with someone else’s take on veganizing these items.
GLUTEN-FREE/ALLERGY NOTE: I do wish that substitutions were given within each recipe for allergies and gluten sensitivities, this is always something that I appreciate as someone who cannot eat gluten. Many of the recipes use soy, gluten, and different nuts and flours. While some are easy to substitute, vital wheat gluten is not one of them, as well as some other ingredients, making many of the recipes inaccessible to me, especially the plant-based meats, flour, and dessert chapters (not surprisingly).
I will return to review the recipes once I’ve had a chance to try all or most of the ones I’ve marked.
Look
NOTE: I read a paperback copy of the book that I checked out at my local library (I also own an eBook copy).
- Medium sized square book, seemingly a standard cookbook size that lays flat fairly easily except for the very front and back pages.
- Has a full-color glossy front and back cover with matte-touch fold-outs on the front and back describing the book and author.
- The pages are a thicker stock with a bit of texture that is easy to grip and is a bright white.
- Printed using a medium sized, strong and contrasting black, san-serif font that makes reading very easy.
- The book is formatted well, with modern text and photography: the chapter title pages are full-page spread close-up illustrations, the recipes are clearly labeled, and the servings size and ingredients are clearly listed, with page references to related recipes.
- Most, but not all, recipes have full page, professional illustrations that really give the book a “high-quality” feel.
Favorite Quote
“With these veganized recipes using vegetables…there’s no reason why eliminating animal products from your diet should mean giving up great taste or the familiar flavors you grew up with and enjoy.”
Musical Suggestions
I would suggest pairing this book with some mellow, Parisian, or coffeehouse jazz.
* I enjoyed this book while listening to the shuffled playlist “Parisian Cafe (Instrumental)” by inspirationstearoom and “Paris Cafe Jazz” by gym377 on Spotify.
View all my reviews
Find my full review on my blog, Simply Arden.
**MILD CONTENT & RECIPE SPOILERS :) **
Quick Review
- Straightforward, easy to understand writing style.
- The book is sectioned into eight parts: vegan basics, dairy-free, “meats”, “charcuterie”, “seafood”, “steak”-out, sauces, flours, and desserts.
- Overall the book is organized well, although sometimes a referenced recipe comes after the recipe you are reading, which I found strange.
- The recipes cover many traditionally non-vegan staples and foods that fall more on the decadent and rich side of the spectrum.
- Would be a great book for a beginner or transitioning vegan, or a vegan looking to veganize common comfort foods and staples.
- Nothing in this book is overly complicated or fancy (except maybe a few of the ingredients) making it easy for all skill levels to utilize the information and recipes.
- Gives a wide range of options for food replacements, including an egg replacement list and alternative thickeners.
- Has a brief section about ingredient and allergy sensitivity replacements that was not adequate.
- Includes mention and use of aquafaba even though the book is written in 2017 and aquafaba wasn’t used at all until 2014, and probably not widely until 2016.
In Depth Review
If you are the kind of person who’s heart screams “Yes! Yes! Yes!” when making meals and foods absolutely, positively from scratch, spending a lazy Sunday afternoon AND evening in the kitchen, making your own milks, cheeses, sauces, etc. then this book was made for you (and me!). Veganize It! has two main types of recipes: vegan components that replace foods that are not typically vegan, such as cheese and bacon, and the recipes these components are used in, which also would not typically be vegan, such as “Bacon-Topped Mac Uncheese”.
This cookbooks seems to include most of the normal recipes that would be in a (American-style) non-vegan’s diet, except they’ve been veganized! This is a book filled with comfort condiments, sauces and foods so that you won’t have to feel left out at dinners, parties, and during the holidays.
This cookbook would be an absolutely terrific book for the beginner vegan who likes to cook things from scratch as it outlines a lot of basics such as equipment, ingredients, substitutions, proteins, baking basics, hidden animal ingredients, and may introduce a person to many vegan foods that aren’t as common in everyday diets such as seitan, tempeh, aquafaba, dulse, etc. It also includes a lot of recipes for foods that are typically eaten in a non-vegan diet, to make someone’s transitions fun and much easier.
Recipe Review
These recipes are legit; they are especially legit considering how forward-thinking they are for the time period this cookbook was written in. For sure this cookbook would have blown my mind, but I’ve already been vegan and very interested in vegan cooking and baking for the last two years. It has a lot of my favorite types of recipes and very similar formats and ingredients to the recipes I already know, love, and regularly use.
The recipes all appear simple, straightforward, well balanced, and fairly well flavored. I do prefer a bit more spice in some of my personal recipes, such as for mashed potatoes, but I feel certain that these recipes would all be delicious and could easily be adjusted to individual tastes. I would consider them terrific base recipes to build upon and experiment with.
Even with my familiarity with the formats and ingredients of the recipes, I have earmarked 43 of them to try that are different and new! I am very excited about the staple-food recipes such as butters, cheeses, and sauces. It’s always fun to play around with someone else’s take on veganizing these items.
GLUTEN-FREE/ALLERGY NOTE: I do wish that substitutions were given within each recipe for allergies and gluten sensitivities, this is always something that I appreciate as someone who cannot eat gluten. Many of the recipes use soy, gluten, and different nuts and flours. While some are easy to substitute, vital wheat gluten is not one of them, as well as some other ingredients, making many of the recipes inaccessible to me, especially the plant-based meats, flour, and dessert chapters (not surprisingly).
I will return to review the recipes once I’ve had a chance to try all or most of the ones I’ve marked.
Look
NOTE: I read a paperback copy of the book that I checked out at my local library (I also own an eBook copy).
- Medium sized square book, seemingly a standard cookbook size that lays flat fairly easily except for the very front and back pages.
- Has a full-color glossy front and back cover with matte-touch fold-outs on the front and back describing the book and author.
- The pages are a thicker stock with a bit of texture that is easy to grip and is a bright white.
- Printed using a medium sized, strong and contrasting black, san-serif font that makes reading very easy.
- The book is formatted well, with modern text and photography: the chapter title pages are full-page spread close-up illustrations, the recipes are clearly labeled, and the servings size and ingredients are clearly listed, with page references to related recipes.
- Most, but not all, recipes have full page, professional illustrations that really give the book a “high-quality” feel.
Favorite Quote
“With these veganized recipes using vegetables…there’s no reason why eliminating animal products from your diet should mean giving up great taste or the familiar flavors you grew up with and enjoy.”
Musical Suggestions
I would suggest pairing this book with some mellow, Parisian, or coffeehouse jazz.
* I enjoyed this book while listening to the shuffled playlist “Parisian Cafe (Instrumental)” by inspirationstearoom and “Paris Cafe Jazz” by gym377 on Spotify.
View all my reviews
September 11, 2020
This vegan cookbook is one of my favorites! A lot of great, easy, and tasteful recipes for any season of the year. Everything is simplified and explained such as the ingredients and substitutes. I will be buying another book to gift to close friends/family.
April 20, 2022
I'm not a strict vegan but this is a great cookbook. The sauces alone are well worth the read. Lots of creative recipes and traditionally egg or cheese heavy dishes are presented in a delicious vegan way. Recommended.
September 23, 2022
Yum have several books of Robin Robertson's and this one was a very fun date night book. As well fun for family events when you had something you weren't sure how to Veganize she showed you how in easy steps.
September 7, 2017
3 recipes looked promising - might be a little adventurous for someone new to vegan cooking/looking for time-saving alternatives.
December 6, 2018
Learned a lot about food substitutes and how to made comfort food for the vegan.
January 2, 2020
4.5/5 stars - wonderful cookbook i would recommend to anyone looking to try to be more plant based (or of youve been vegan for awhile). great sauces and approachable flavors
June 1, 2020
Accessible and yummy recipes from what we've tried so far
February 5, 2023
Some good basics. The recipes are simple enough that they are not overwhelming.
February 1, 2024
A really good cookbook that offers methods for veganizing almost any dish.
March 11, 2024
Basically trying to mimic animal products. I was looking for something to embrace vegan foods, not tons of extra steps to try and copy animal
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews