Customer Reviews

Simply Vegan: Quick Vegetarian Meals

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Not being someone who is a natural cook, I find this cookbook very helpful! I use it almost every day. Almost all the recipes have only small amounts of simple ingredients and do not require a lot of preparation. They are simple, easy, creative and very filling...not to mention delicious! This is a wonderful cookbook for people who hate to cook but love to eat!

While I was initially very excited about this book, I found that a lot of the recipes needed some help in the taste direction. It was one of my first vegan cookbooks, and after 7 years as a vegan, I know that we can do better than this. Some things in it I still use, like the veggie patties, but even those I had to add some salt, spices and garlic to get them to taste as delicious as I'd like (always my goal). Plenty of other books will give you recipes that need less tampering and more YUM. For die-hards only, as part of our collective veggie-dues.

Although I don't eat exclusively vegetarian, I have been eating more and more meatless meals. I always thought that if I ate vegetarian I would spend so much time chopping vegetables that I would become discouraged. I figured that I would go back to cooking frozen dinners after the first week. This book has proven to me that I can fit vegetarian cooking into a busy lifestyle. Wasserman has a knack for combining just the right 4 or 5 ingredients to make a vegan meal that is both filling and delicious. If you're interested in a more varied diet, and you don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, this is definitely the book for you.

I found this cookbook at a used bookstore (perhaps it was the copy that one of the other reviewers sold?) and it's gotten more use than any of my others. The recipes are simple and quick; most make use of only a small number of ingredients. More importantly for me - a student living alone - very few of the ingredients are overly expensive or exotic, and most appear in more than one recipe. So you won't find yourself with a cupboardful of blackstrap molasses and quinoa wondering what to do with them now that you've cooked the single recipe in your collection that called for them. If you have a decently-stocked pantry and a handful of different fruits and vegetables in the fridge, you'll have no trouble finding several dishes you'll be able to make.

Contrary to what another reviewer wrote, I found most of the recipes to be quite flavourful; those that weren't, could easily be revived by a few extra spices. I did find the desserts to be a bit lacking, however, and have had more success by veganizing familiar recipes from other, non-vegan sources. (A third of a banana for each egg has saved many a cookie recipe of mine!)

this book had a good nutrition index located in the back, but the cuisine is very "veganish" only a few appealed to my newly veg sister...I think it only suits pallets that have been vegs for awhile, but other than that I found it delightful for "experienced" vegans. My favorite recipe was the fruit whiz.

Most of the recipes are easy, quick, and VERY good ! Don't miss "hearty macaroni dinner" ;=) It's my most-used vegan cookbook, personally.

Great-tasting recipes, quick, and with ingredients that you won't have much trouble to find. I love it !

The recipes in this book contain very few ingredients, which are all common, and they also take very little time to prepare, which is a plus for busy college students. The recipes that make this book worth the buy are: Chickpea Sauce on page 89 (goes over pasta... confession time... I couldn't help myself; I've devoured the sauce without pasta on many occasions. I suggest using a real onion instead of onion powder), Curried Tempeh and Rice Dish pg 95 (hint: add a can of corn and use fried rice for an even tastier experience with even more substance), Curried Chickpeas pg 74 (this is what I cook when I am feeling my laziest. It is delicious and takes no effort).

Out of the 224 pages, only 100 pages are (rather large print) recipes. The other pages are basic, common sense information, including the definition of foods like strawberries, etc. Ridiculous! It is more of a nutrition guide than a recipe book. Most of the recipes involve tofu (yuck!). Lots of beverage recipes.

The recipes are simple, I give it 1 star for that, but there's nothing in the book I can't make off the top of my head. Very basic recipes. I wouldn't bother with this book. Get "The Voluptuous Vegan" instead.

This was the first vegan cookbook I acquired nearly nine years ago, when I first made the decision to become vegan. Before my veganism, when I had been lacto-ovo vegetarian, I had not been an especially proficient chef/cook so I was pretty pleased with this book. Wasserman's recipes are indeed simple and quick and I was able to produce many nutritious and satisfying meals all thanks to this cookbook. However, now that I've been vegan for nearly a decade, I can assess this book in a different kind of light - it is pretty deplorably basic. Upon reviewing some of the recipes I think, "Uh, well no duh you can put those four ingredients together? Did this really merit a mention in a cookbook?!"
I own the 1997 version so I can only comment on it. When I initially became vegan, I found the appendix including the basic nutritional breakdown, informational articles and sample menus to be invaluable as I was not personally acquainted with any other vegans and I was not particular proficient at utilizing the internet as a vegan resource.
There are some recipes in this book that produce more complex-tasting foods (I'm sorry I'm unable to name specific examples, I haven't made anything aside from the "Lemon Rice Soup" in eons) and will wow the belt buckles off your omnivore friends. I would highly recommend purchasing this book if you've just transitioned into veganism and you aren't a particularly inspiring chef to begin with. However if you have a pretty intermediate level understanding of spices, oils, and flavors - this cookbook will definitely disappointed. Personally I'm fairly satisfied with this book, even now, because I fell out of the "cooking/baking for myself" routine a few years back and I'm gradually learning the reigns again. I have numerous recipes bookmarked that I'll be undertaking in the months to come. It is what the name insinuates - simple and quick - so don't approach this cookbook hoping for some mind-blowing dishes to result.