Joanne Stepaniak

Joanne Stepaniak can do no wrong in my book. She is one of the gold standards in vegan cookbook authorship. I have been using her gravy, seitan, and ricotta-style cheese recipes for many years. She is an incredibly versatile cook and her recipes are always easy to follow and modify as desired. There is some cross-over between this book and Vegan Vittles, although this one is targeted toward smaller households so the recipes don't typically make as many servings. Highly recommended as a basic show more vegan cookbook. show less

December 31, 2003
The Vegan Sourcebook
Joanne Stepaniak

Since I’ve made the decision to go vegan as my 2004 New Year’s resolution, I bought this for motivation. Initially my intention was to buy a vegan cookbook, but I didn’t find anything really compelling, and this book, which encompasses the whole ethical lifestyle and the reasons for it, as well as a few recipes, seemed like better reading. It was. It encouraged me and solidified my desire to cut out all animal products from my life, show more as much as possible. I know it will be difficult, both because I like meat and cheese (cheese is VERY hard to give up) and because nobody else in the family is even remotely interested in vegetarian/veganism, but I’m determined to do it. One person can save 80+ animals per year by going vegan, and that’s reason enough for me. I can’t stand to contribute to the horrific suffering they endure and I can’t pretend it’s not happening just because I don’t see it. show less

I love this book! Interspersed with her helpful information and fabulous recipes are stories of Farm Santuary rescued animals, as well as alternatives for common sayings that are not respectful to animals. The recipes are great, simple and not too hard to shop for you can get all of the ingredients at your local Overwaitea). I have come back to this book again and again. Definitely a great book for anyone, wether you are a new vegan, an omnivore , vegetarian, or an old seasoned vegan. The show more recipes are great, the stories are heartwarming, and there is food here for thought as well as your body. show less

So many people seem to like this book. I want to like it too, but the recipes I've tried have been hit or miss, mostly to do with personal taste, not with preparation. I do like a cheeze sauce she includes--it's one of the easiest vegan "cheeze" sauces that I've encountered. The vegan muenster cheese is quite a treat; not in any way mistakable for the real thing, but certainly not bad and somewhat impressive as a party dish, with crackers and olives, pickles, etc. Other things in the book show more haven't gone so well, but I intend to try again. I've found that lots of things can be omitted or substituted. Many of the recipes call for tahini, but I can't stand tahini so I often leave it out or substitute cashew butter, and it works out just fine. show less