La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy [Paperback]

Sarah Kramer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

Sarah Kramer is a vegan cooking superstar. Her first two books, How It All Vegan! and The Garden of Vegan, co-authored with Tanya Barnard, have sold well over 100,000 copies; How It All Vegan! won the Veggie Award for favorite cookbook of 2004 by VegNews magazine, and Herbivore magazine, in a cover story on Sarah, called her “The World’s Coolest Vegan.”

Sarah returns with her first solo cookbook, featuring more of the delectable, easy-to-prepare recipes that vegans around the world have come to adore. For Sarah, vegan cooking—which eschews all animal products, including butter, milk, and cheese—can be an adventure in dining, without a lot of investment in time or money. In fact, most of the recipes in La Dolce Vegan! can be prepared in 20 to 30 minutes or less. From soups and salads to entrees and desserts, they are sure to inspire both committed and part-time vegans alike.

At the heart of the book is Sarah’s wholehearted commitment to the vegan lifestyle that has changed her life completely—from a childhood plagued with health problems to an adulthood filled with the pleasures and joys of living vegan. For Sarah, an animal-free diet will make you happier, healthier, and more content with the world around you.

In addition to the wonderful recipes, there is a fun do-it-yourself section of vegan tips and non-food items. Learn to live the sweet life of veganism and you’ll never look back!

Recipes include: Beauty and the Beet Borscht, Mocked Clam Chowder, Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta, Sloppy Janes, Blessed Broccoli Stir-Fry, Apple Pie Pancakes, Carob Almond Truffles, and Tomato Soup Cake.

Sarah Kramer is the co-author of How It All Vegan! and The Garden of Vegan. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with her husband, where she manages a tattoo shop in addition to creating her vegan masterpieces and maintaining her popular website www.GoVegan.net.

Editorial Reviews

Review

More than any other vegetarian cookbook author, Kramer has charmed the whole of a movement with her accessibility and mystique.
—VegNews Magazine (VegNews Magazine )

This book is not only a treasured collection of recipes, but is also full of imaginative treatments for living life in the happy zone.
—Vegetarians in Paradise (Vegetarians in Parad )

This is one of the best vegan cookbooks I've seen, and one of the most joyous and spirited.
—vegsource.com (vegsource.com )

Every self-respecting vegetarian should own at least one book by Sarah Kramer. She's a venerable vegan kitchen goddess who knows that eating cruelty-free doesn't mean sacrificing taste. If you're already a vegan and you don't own this book, buy it now.
—The Memphis Flyer (Memphis Flyer )

La Dolce Vegan! offers fabulous recipes, most of which can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.... many readers will be thrilled to get their hands on her recipe for Vegan Marshmallows!
—The Vegetarian Journal (Vegetarian Journal )

About the Author

Sarah Kramer is the author or co-author of four previous bestselling cookbooks, How It All Vegan, The Garden of Vegan, La Dolce Vegan, and Vegan à Go-Go! She lives in Victoria, BC with her husband, where she manages a tattoo shop in addition to creating vegan masterpieces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551521873
• ISBN-13: 978-1551521879
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Kramer is a vegan cookbook superstar!

Combining her love of food and her love of animals into a home-made cookbook zine to give to friends and family as x-mas presents. Reaction to the zine was so overwhelming that she realized that she was on to something special and her aspirations to do something with her life that made a difference in the world soon became a reality.

This tiny little zine grew into the best selling cookbook How It All Vegan (which has sold over 150 000+ copies and is often referred to by fans as "The Vegan Bible") only to be followed by it's triumphant sequel The Garden of Vegan and La Dolce Vegan both of which are hot on HIAV heels as best sellers.

Sarah's newest book Vegan A Gogo! hit bookshelves in '08.
Sarah's newest work is a 2010 Calendar that hit shelves in the summer of '09.

HIAV has also been awarded the 2003/2004 Veg News Veggie award for Best Veg Cookbook. Sarah was awarded Veg News Veggie award for favourite cookbook author in 2005 and a M-Award in 2006 for Favourite Book for LDV.

Sarah is known for her sassy vintage style and layman's approach to Veganism, and has been joyfully spreading the Vegan gospel to anyone who will listen. Appearing on national TVg9vlKD4o shows like Canada AM and W-5 as well as local shows like New Day Live, Breakfast Television and Go Magazine, she has also appeared as a guest on numerous radio stations such as CBC and NPR. Sarah also does live cooking appearances at festivals such as Word on The Street, Earth Save events and Vegetarian Conferences throughout Canada and the United States.

A self confessed web junkie, Sarah created a safe haven at her website GoVegan.net for Vegan and curious Vegans to meet and talk about issues. She has written columns for Herbivore Magazine and Veg News as well as running The Tattoo Zoo with her husband/artist Gerry Kramer. When she's not at the tattoo shop, or working on her photography she's in her kitchen working hard on perfecting recipes for her cookbooks.

Herbivore Magazine Sarah was born and bred in Regina, Saskatchewan and hopped on a train in 1988 and headed west for Victoria BC, where she has lived ever since. She enjoys long walks on the beach. She laughs loudly during movies...even when nobody else is laughing. She loves puppies and kittens and is scared to go into the basement by herself. She lives with her husband Gerry and Fergus the Dog, on a nice street somewhere near the beach in Victoria.

Sarah believes that Veganism is not just about food, but is a positive compassionate lifestyle choice. She believes the choices we make, however small (from the food that we eat to the shoes that we choose to buy) have a direct impact on how the world turns. Never one to bash people over the head with an aggressive message, Sarah believes that it only takes one tiny spark to start a fire and she has a pack of matches and is ready to burn!

Visit www.GoVegan.net for more info

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cook book perfection, October 5, 2005

By 

Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy (Paperback)

Le Dolce Vegan, the third cookbook by Sarah Kramer is a true joy. I have over three hundred cookbooks, but Sarah's blow my socks off. They're also some of the ones I use the most, even when cooking for non-vegans. Why?

Her books are not only full of the most delicious, mouthwatering recipes ever, but they are also full of cook cooking tips, nifty crafts, pop culture, and humor. This and the two preceding books she did with Tanya Bernard I have read though and through before I ever cooked out of them, just because they're fun! Sarah is also down to earth, and her books aren't preachy like other vegan books. No guilt trips here. Just good food. How good?

Wow! Not only is this book full of many yummy general recipes, the deserts in this book are to die for. Yum! Sarah also tells us how to make our own faux meat from scratch, so no more having to buy the pricey stuff from the heath food store. 95% of the ingredients used are simple things every grocery store has, and when something even semi-exotic is used, a common counterpart that can be substituted is named. Most of the recipes make 4 small or 2 large helpings, and can be made in 20-30 minutes. I appreciate this so much!

I know that I'm ranting on and on, I just literally can't say enough about Sarah or this book. If you or someone you know is vegan, or even if you want to eat healthier, I can't recommend this book enough! It's just too much fun!

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy and Deeeeee-lish., November 11, 2005

By 

Dustin G. Rhodes (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy (Paperback)

There are lots of reasons to love this cookbook: the aesthetics, the fashion tips, the motivational text. But the real reason you should own this cookbook---and the two previous volumes as well, which were co-authored by Kramer---is the fact that the recipes rock: they are simple, creative, easy and delicious. So many cookbooks are inaccessible in that they are unrealistic: yes, the recipes might be wonderful, fanstastic, even inpirational, but most of us want fast and simple. There are some "complex" recipes in here, too, but for the most part, these are dishes that are in the 30-minute- or-less range. Sadly, a lot of the better vegan cookbooks out there are very involved, time-consuming and full of obscure ingredients.

That said, this cookbook is not perfect. It could stand one more good editing. I could list all of the small mistakes I found (such as places where ingredients were listed, and then not mentioned in the actual part where you assemble/cook the recipe). But these omissions are minor, and there aren't many of them. Little mistakes in cookbooks can spell disaster, but the oversights, at least the ones I've found, are all obvious and inconsequential.

My biggest suggestion for this cookbook would be more tips on how to improvise some of the dishes (Vegan With A Vengeance is full of suggestions on how to alter recipes based on what's sitting around in the refrigerator). Several of the recipes I've made lend themselves to a multitude of variations. This would have made an already good cookbook great.

53 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skip this book., February 11, 2007

By 

John Annechino "John" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy (Paperback)

As an enthusiastic fan of How it all Vegan and Garden of Vegan, I'm sorry to say I was very disappointed with this book. La Dolce Vegan is overloaded with stirfrys and other simple recipes you could pretty much figure out for yourself. There are also a lot redundant recipes for the same dish, and just silly fluff like chocolate-covered pretzels that nobody needs a cookbook to make. There may some gems in this book, but they get lost in a sea of what seems to be filler.

Also, I would have to agree that it is pretty obnoxious that there are more pictures of Sarah Kramer being cute and quirky than there are pictures of the actual food, especially since many of the recipes are credited to other people.

I was once told that a cookbook is a good purchase if you find just a handful of recipes that you enjoy enough to start making regularly, but I didn't find any such recipes with this book. I didn't even pick up any useful cooking tips. Pick up the first two books from this author if you like, but skip this one.