Customer Reviews

Veggie Works Vegan Cookbook

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mark Rasmussen, author of the Veggie Works Vegan Cookbook, is the chef at Veggie Works Restaurant in the New Jersey shore town of Belmar. For seven years, he has been offering 150 vegan menu choices daily to not-necessarily-vegetarian customers who keep coming back for more. If the test of fool-proof vegan cuisine is whether it can pass the "omni" test, then the recipes in Veggie Works make the grade. The recipes in this cookbook are as easy to follow for a novice cook, as a painting-by-numbers kit would be for a novice painter. Once you get the formulas down, you can mix and match to create new recipes. In fact, there are forty pages in the back of the book for you to create your own "homespun recipes" for future generations to follow. Other uniques aspects of the book include a section on homemade baby food, a 54-page glossary, an Herb/Spice Table, an Herb and Spice Application Chart, a vegan food pyramid, and a Hot Pepper Chart to indicate which peppers produce the least-to-most heat. Rasmussen offers a week of meals, and a holiday and theme menu, from traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas themes, to the more exotic and adventuresome Himalayan Rim Dinner, South Pacific Feast, Cinco De Mayo, Roman Feast, and Nordic Smorgasbord, to name a few. Recipes for all of these menus are found in the book. Three hundred and fifteen more pages are devoted to recipes. The chapter on vegan meats alone is worth the price of the book. It includes step by step instructions for soy-based meats, such as tofu, tempeh, and TVP, including mouth-watering recipes for tofu crabcakes, TVP meatloaf, sausage, and Swedish Meatballs; and a basic recipe for making seitan, which is a Japanese dish using cooked wheat gluten to simulate meat. Seitan recipes include Perfect Gluten Flank Steak, New York Gluten Strip, Southern Fried Gluten Cutlet, Chicken Fried Gluten Cutlet, and Gluten Roulade which is sure to impress your company, be they omni or veg. The desserts section is far from ordinary: Banana Flambe, Bavarian Cream Pie, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Coconut Cream Pie, Key Lime Pie, Triple Chocolate Cake, Whipped Cream, doughnuts, and cookies makes the choice difficult. If you find yourself wanting to bridge the gap between "mixed company," Veggie Works is your answer.

Written by the chef and owner of the New Jersey coastal restaurant, Veggie Works, this book takes the beginner and inspires the creation of culinary magic. As a person who has only been a vegetarian for a relatively short time -two and a half years-I tend to run out of ideas.  I find myself fixing the same stir fries and leek soup week after week.  I've also been moving my family toward more of a vegan diet and have been unsure of what direction to take. 

This book contains recipes for every meal of the day and menu planning for every day and special events, as well as tips for setting up a well-stocked pantry.  The easy to follow recipes are built around the recommended pantry basics, with extra items printed in bold type-a great feature. 

There's an extensive list of desserts. Be sure to try the Brownies and the Peanut Butter Chip Brownies-instant favorites with my brownie-loving kids.  Another favorite is the spicy Avocado Dressing.  I love avocadoes; they are probably my favorite food ,and Mike features them in 10 of his recipes.  He's even got a recipe for Ketchup-nine ingredients simply blended together. 

Whether you are skilled or a novice in the kitchen, there's a recipe perfect for you, one to inspire you and take you to the next level. 
-Reviewed by Michelle Smith

Mark Rasmussen is the Stallion. This dude can cook. And I swear, there is nothing better than Veggieworks food. This is Vegan food that is not for wimps. I am a long time vegetarian, and I don't like to eat salad and steamed veggies. I want real food. This cookbook has real food. Food that will actually make you full. 'Meat' and Potatoes. I have a number of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, and they all [stink]. They are made for old ladies and those skinny, little, starved-looking vegans who eat salad and sunflower seeds all day. Not for me. If you want 'real food for real people', buy this cookbook and make the vegan enchiladas or the meatloaf or a fat gluten steak. Or if you want to, take the easy way out and just go to Veggieworks and order the menu. Every real vegetarian should make a pilgrammage to Veggieworks at some point in their life. If you've never eaten Veggieworks, you've never experienced how good Vegan can be. And, the guys may like the waitresses, but ladies, just hope that you can get a look at the elusive Chef Mark. What a stud!

I bought this cookbook because of the many great reviews (friends of the author?) and because I am vegan. But many of the recipes call for "TVP Burger Blend," whatever that is, which could only be purchased at the restaurant. I thought I could buy it online, but the restaurant's website is no longer active. So I sent a letter to Rasmussen using the address in the book (asking what could be substituted for the burger blend); I received no reply and the letter was not returned. I can only assume the restaurant no longer exists. And -- many of the recipes make huge quantities (restaurant style). Not good. There are definitely better vegan cookbooks available and this one is not worth the high price.

Veggie Works is one of my favorite vegetarian restaurant. In the book, Mark shares his secrets to make even the most novice cook appear professional...My meat-eating family and friends love the recipes, especially the vegan meatloaf...A must-have cookbook for anyone who loves delicious foods.

I love this book. It's written like a manual of formulas for simple vegan living. And it's cool how there is a relatively small list of working materials needed to make everything in the 500 page book. The great recipes and cooking tips on on making vegan meats analogs are unique to vegan cookbooks, and I like the way the author uses these basic meat alternatives in his recipes. I've tried making the vegetable stock and some of the soups and they are excellent. Love the cookie recipes, too!

This book is exactly what I have been looking for in a great vegetarian cookbook. This one is not only clear and concise, but I find the formatting refreshing. Large font and the fact that the filagree is kept to a minimum makes this a perfect book to cook from, wether I take out on the road in a backpack or off to college. The selections are not only delicious, but laid out in an easy to understand format. I particularly like the 'recipe' within 'recipe' approach. I have already been able to expand on the selections with some custom 'tweaking' of my own. The meals themselves are the equivalent to 'meat and potatoes' of the carnivore world. I especially appreciate the protien rich mindset, something that is usually lacking in the vegetarian cookbook realm. This is the type of book that has potential to become a cornerstone, almost even a milestone in the deliverance of the vegetarian lifestyle into the mainstream. I strongly suggest buying one (or two [as I am contemplating], as my copy is already dogeared) if for nothing other than having a 'first printing' of something that has potential to become a collector's item in the years to come.

I love the recipes in this book. There are dishes from all over the world, so no matter what you are in the mood for (mexican, italian, middle eastern, asian, or good ol' american vegan meatloaf and mashed potatoes). This is a must have for everyone, not only vegans and vegatarians. The healthy meals are not only satisfying, They bring a message along with the authors knowledge (read the preface).

When I first became a vegetarian the hardest thing about it was finding a variety of things to prepare.I've tried all of the "standards" for vegetarian cookbooks, Linda McCartney, The Moosewood Cookbooks, but until I got into this book cooking good, easy-to-make, food was tough.
I found Mr. Rasmussen's writing style so easy to follow, it was like he was right there with me. He uses materials that are easy to get so that you don't need to go to any specialty stores or anything!
If there are any new vegetarians out there, or even someone looking for something new, this is the book for you!

I've only tried the chocolate/peanut butter cheesecake, and I'm sure some of the other recipes are great, but, for the cheesecake, I followed the recipe exactly and got a brownie-esque "cheesecake" that was completely inedible because of the TWO POUNDS of unsweetened and bitter chocolate that the recipe called for (this seemed a bit weird to me, but I trusted the recipe). I couldn't even taste the peanut butter. I doubt they tested the recipe, because it just doesn't work at all, and I'm frankly a little scared to try any other recipes. If anyone had a different experience and somehow managed to make edible cheesecake, then please comment, because I'd like to know how that happened.