Customer Reviews

Short-Cut Vegan: Great Taste in No Time

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've long been a fan of Lorna Sass' work. When she started publishing her cookbooks, "vegan" was still considered a fairly odd cooking style, so all the book titles used the word "vegetarian." When I first discovered "Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen" was totally vegan, I snapped up a copy, and it's become a tried and true reference at our house. We've learned through experience that her recipes always work. This has been especially helpful to my husband, as he learns to cook. He's not an intuitive cook (he describes himself as a developing cook), but he can follow a recipe, so when recipes are good, his cooking is good. I like that! We actually own four of Lorna Sass' books.

The book I most recently acquired is a revised edition of "Short-Cut Vegetarian," now more appropriately titled "Short-Cut Vegan: Great Taste in No Time." This is really more than just a collection of quick recipes, it's a guide to setting up your kitchen with the supplies you need to create fast, healthy and delicious vegan meals. She gives detailed information on how to efficiently stock the pantry -- shelves, freezer and refrigerator -- with basic essentials. There is also helpful information information on kitchen tools, food storage and food prep. She gives recipes for preparing flavor-enhancing condiments to have on hand, but also recommends store-bought equivalents if you prefer to take the easiest route. The recipes are an assortment of inviting combinations such as "Orange-Scented Lentil Ragout, "Cabbage and Potatoes in Mustard Sauce," "Pasta With Broccoli Rabe and Olives," and "Pineapple-Ginger Ice." Each recipe is accompanied by personal commentary that expands and enriches it.

Because it was so horribly hot here in the Midwest when we received the book, we decided to try a few recipes that needed as little cooking as possible. All were colorful, delicious, healthy and easy to prepare. We sampled "Asian Slaw," "Quinoa-Corn Salad With Basil," "Moroccan Carrot Slaw" and "White Bean Gazpacho."

The book does not contain food photographs, so you will have to use your imagination as to what the final dishes look like, but if you are looking for a collection of tasty and interesting vegan dishes for every day or special occasions that can be prepared in short order, you might consider "Short-Cut Vegan" by Lorna Sass.

I'm so glad this book has finally come out again, and with the right
title. My copy of Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian (the former title)
is a wreck because I use it so much, and it took me a long time to
find it because I didn't realize at first that is was a vegan
cookbook. I have many favorite recipes, but the ones I really like
the best and even serve to company are Tex-Mex Quinoa Pilaf, The
Chickpea Curry in a Hurry, and the Bombay Braised Cabbage with Tofu,
Peas, and Corn. Ms. Sass really has a way to getting lots of flavor
into her dishes without using too many ingredients. Most of the
recipes take well under 1/2 hour start to finish. I'm planning to buy
a new copy for myself and a few for my friends.

My copy of "Shortcut Vegetarian" is in tatters after 10 years of constant use. Perfect timing for a re-issue. The recipes are delicious, fast, healthy, interesting AND easy to prepare. This is one of the only cookbooks I own where I have tried and enjoyed almost every recipe. Most recipes are followed by useful variations and accompanied by Lorna's friendly and useful comments. The preparation and storage tips for many of the ingredients are short and to the point. This slim and lightweight book is packed with great recipes and ideas!

The Short-Cut Vegan appears to be a re-issued book. I am glad that HarperCollins has decided to make it available as this book is a little gem.

I have been heading more and more towards being vegan, however, as I am an extremely lazy cook, the recipes cannot take very long or be too complicated or involved - enter Short-Cut Vegan cookbook.

This little cookbook is great, great, great! From its compact and convenient size, to its easy to read recipes, that are quick, fun and yum! tasty! I ended up making 7 recipes in the first few days I received it.

As mentioned, the recipes are super easy and quite fast to make and there is a very nice variety of vegan meals to select from. The Spinach with "Toasted Coconut and Black Mustard Seeds" was delish! and I loved "the Unlimited Waffle Mix" (try the Sunflower Seeds version).

The only thing I miss in this book were the pictures. There are no pictures of the "end result" which, for someone with my limited gifts in cooking, could use as a handy guideline to make sure that what I am making looks remotely like its suppose to!

Still, this is a great little cookbook.

This book is fabulous, I have been a Vegan for over 4 years and am always looking for cookbooks that are simple, with just a few ingredients (that I don't have to scour NYC to find!) and that are also tasty. I especially enjoy the desserts section. You can never, ever have enough Vegan dessert recipes! As a Latina Vegan I can modify all recipes, add a bit of cumin here, some cilantro there and Latinafy recipes as well.

Short cut vegan is loaded with practical and easy no meat-product recipes. I picked it up because my daughter and I have a serious milk allergy, so vegetarian cookbooks are often impractical and difficult to use due to a dependence on cheese. These recipes use foods that can be found in your grocery store, and the directions are easy to follow. I ordered a second book sent to my daughter. It took longer to arrive than I had hoped--long after her birthday--but she was thrilled to have it so....forgotten.

I bought this, although I am not vegan, because I do not eat dairy or eggs. Vegan cookbooks are gold to folks with food allergies. If you or those you cook for have many food allergies, there's two common ones out of the way. Just a couple tweaks if necessary, and you've got yourself a fine meal.
This is a great little cookbook that may just change the way you cook- and eat! I personally am eating a greater variety of delicious veggies since using this book- and not dirtying more dishes. Anyone, vegan or not, stands to gain from this cookbook. Lorna provides excellent tips for cobbling together healthy last minute meals, and easy prep to do when you have time when you'll be near(but not necessarily in) the kitchen. The recipes share prep ingredients (spice mixes, sauces, grains) and pantry staples. You can build yourself a little pantry and always be prepared.
You may actually say to yourself one night- "What would Lorna do?" I did!

BTW: No Vegan Frankenfood(fake dairy, dubious soy 'meat',etc.) in this book either

This cookbook is not that ground-breaking or impressive. I own a lot of vegan cookbooks, and I've checked every single one out of my local library, and this one doesn't offer anything special. It has your basic vegan foods, but it doesn't really offer anything that I didn't already know or that I couldn't find in any other cookbook. The food is pretty run of the mill, too. Also, I didn't feel that the recipes were any quicker or any more of a shortcut than most other vegan recipes I have--especially if you have canned beans on hand. However, the auther does preface each recipe with a story about the recipe or substitutions you can make, and I like this addition. It makes it more fun to read, and I feel a little bit more connected with the dishes. Honestly, I'd say check it out of your library and glance over it. You probably won't find anything that awesome.

I have not used all the recipes, but have really enjoyed those I have used. Easy instructions and ideas of what to do and how to use them. Have made several dishes multiple times. Good investment especially when you want something different and low calorie.

Never ate this kind of food and gave it to my friend. He cooked everything in thre and it was all delicious and I didn't even know that stuff was tofu. Great recipes.