Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World (Paperback)

For those just familiarizing themselves with the vegan diet, the author explains all potentially new terminology and describes common ingredients used in vegan food preparation: tofu, seitan, and miso for instance. For the most part, his recipes use readily-accessible ingredients, available in most supermarkets. In the rare cases where exotic ingredients are called for, the appendix lists mail-order sources for those who may not live near a natural food store.

The book starts with an excellent first chapter on nutrition. The author notes that a vegan diet provides all essential nutrients, though without proper supplementation it can be deficient in vitamin B12. This deficiency is often considered by those reluctant to switch to a vegetarian diet as the "Achilles Heel" of a vegan diet. In fact, having just one easily-remedied deficiency makes the standard non-vegan diet look pretty awful in comparison. While a standard dairy-and-meat-based diet may not be deficient in vitamin B12, it is certainly problematic in its propensity to cause heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, and a wide range of other serious illnesses. In fact, as the author points out, a comprehensive set of long-term studies on diet and health done at Cornell University indicates that 80 to 90 percent of all cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other forms of degenerative illness are directly linked to the consumption of meat and dairy products. Talk about an Achilles Heel!

Interspersed between the recipes in this book are lots of hidden gems including lists of 10 environmental reasons to go vegan, 12 really great health reasons to go vegan, 7 great reasons to eat soy every day, and 9 compelling ethical reasons to go vegan. The author provides useful kitchen tips, such as stove-top cooking times for 15 kinds of grains and for 13 different beans. Nutritional profiles are provided for many foods, including the vitamin, mineral, and fatty acid content of 16 different nuts and seeds and 10 different kinds of sea vegetables.

For those interested in switching away from use of white sugar, the author introduces the alternative natural sweetener called stevia. He also provides guidelines for using maple syrup in place of white sugar in baking (indicating how to reduce the liquid in your recipe when you use a liquid sweetener instead of sugar). Furthermore, the author explains how to bake using egg alternatives.

Gosh, I haven't even mentioned the recipes themselves yet! The collection of tempting tasties covers the whole spectrum from A (Adzuki beans) to Z (Zucchini). 20 chapters of recipes provide great ideas for tasty chutneys, gnocchi, curries, pizzas, burgers, pancakes, "cheesecake", and so much more. This is the most comprehensive vegetarian cookbook I've ever come across.

This book is a great addition to any library of cookbooks, helpful to vegetarians and soon-to-be vegetarians alike. (Even meat-eaters won't feel deprived by the very creative recipes in this book.) I can't resist giving Vegan Planet my highest recommendation.

This global trek takes many colorful excursions into less-charted cookbook territory: "Chutneys, Salsas, and Other Condiments," "Food that Sizzles," "Simply Stuffed," and "New World Pizza." Robertson also makes numerous side-trips beyond the recipe border, with sections on nutrition, food selection, cooking techniques, serving ideas, menus, and much more.

Every recipe I made produced a flavorful result. The "Tuscan-Style Pasta with Chickpeas, Zucchini and Rosemary" was deliciously seasoned. The "Balsamic-Glazed Carrots and Kale" and "Quinoa and Pan-Fried Corn with Orange Zest and Chives" complemented each other as parts of one meal. Combining corn with quinoa is a great idea, as it adds much-needed textural interest; the orange flavoring works beautifully in this. The "Ultimate Shepherd's Pie" was so good, we could hardly stop eating it.

I did make the occasional adjustment due to personal preferences. For the "Farmhouse Vegetable Soup," I felt the vegetables were just-right after simmering for only twenty minutes, rather than the recommended forty. I reduced the tempeh by one-third in the "Curried Chickenless Salad Sandwiches." The resulting ingredient balance seemed perfect, and still made four generous servings. Finally, the "Curried Lentils with Carrots and Peas" turned out both very tasty, and Indian-restaurant hot; I'll cut back on cayenne next time.

I enjoyed all the recipe results so much, that I'm sorry to interject a less-positive note -- but for me, the book was somewhat hard to use. For one thing, the ingredient lists -- in tiny, mustard-color print -- were very hard for me to read, especially while trying to work fast. Moreover, Robertson's basic ingredient palette is quite different from mine. Parsley, celery, olives, chipotles, shallots, alcoholic beverages, shiitake and oyster mushrooms -- all common in these recipes -- are rarely on hand in my kitchen, which meant a number of extra trips to the store. Finally, a lot of the recipes are labor-intensive, with much chopping, parboiling, and making separate sauces; none of them took me less than an hour to prepare.

But these are minor quibbles. They may mean that Vegan Planet won't become my first choice for weekday dinners, but I'll certainly turn to it often when I entertain. Here's the bottom line: every recipe I tried was delicious, looked attractive, and worked.