Isa Chandra Moskowitz

This book changed my life.

Now, since there are approximately 26,742 other Amazon reviews that say the same thing, let me explain before you dismiss me entirely. I'm 26 and had been vegetarian since I was 19. From the very beginning, I knew that veganism was the goal I wanted to aim for. I had read the books and had all the pamphlets. I knew "Why Vegan?". But I kept putting it off. After 7 years, it was clear that I had made veganism an unreachable goal in my life. I had blown the concept of show more vegan sacrifice to insane proportions, falsely inflating the importance of cheese and ice cream to my well being. I understand now that without this book, I might never have made that leap of faith.

When I first came in contact with Isa's food ideas, I was under oath to try one recipe a week for eight weeks. I completed this goal, and went far beyond. In fact in the subsequent months, if I cooked from a recipe it was almost always from VwaV. The food contained within isn't just good vegan food. It's good food period. Ms. Moskowitz has balanced the book very well between the deceptively simple and the "Oh my god, I MADE that!" (well ok, I was a pretty novice cook at the time, but there are some fun challenges). When making these recipes, I found new flavors and discovered a lot of flavor complexity that I hadn't found in any cookbook, veg*n or not.

To touch briefly on the writing of the book and it's format. Basically there is an introductory paragraph before each recipe that can range from a one liner about how good the recipe is to an anecdote about where the recipe came from and memories associated with it. You will also find helpful sidebars scattered throughout, written both by Isa and her helpful cat, Fizzle. There are also about 10 longer 1-2 page essays on various topics with a great focus on community-building. I found this non-recipe writing to be very engaging and gave the recipes extra life beyond the page. Make no mistake though, this cookbook's focus is definitely on the food.

Back to the life-changiness of the book. Well, after completing the 8 week goal, and still using Isa's recipes regularly long since, it finally dawned on me: veganism is EASY and actually fun. That unreachable goal that had haunted me for 7 years had been right there the whole time and my early experience with Vegan With A Vengeance is what finally made me realize that veganism isn't about SACRIFICE. You gain not only a whole new range of flavor but also creativity in the process. No, Isa Chandra Moskowitz didn't make me a vegan, but she showed me how good it can taste.

Oh, in a cookbook review you're supposed to mention some of your favorite recipes so here are the top 3 standouts for me: The Best Pumpkin Muffins truly are the best. Terry's Chili sin Carne Mole is amazing! And as a guy wearing a mohawk and a studded denim vest writing about a punk rock cookbook (don't let the "Post" fool ya, Isa's punk as fork), I'm losing all my punk points by saying this, but the Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting is DIVINE.

(originally posted to Amazon.com) show less

An indispensible, if flaky resource for creating "conscious" sweetbreads that aren't necessarily any better for you than conventional ones; a cupcake is still a cupcake, whether you use soymilk or cow juice. Moskowitz and Romero, veteran "celebrity" vegan chefs, write in a smarty-pants way without being snobby; that is, omnivores won't be pressured into "converting" just from a silly cookbook.The most impressive part is how insanely sweet and fluffy frostings can be made with such culinary show more aberrations as margarine and agave syrup. to coin a phrase, om nom nom. show less

I first spotted this book in the local library. I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years and I am always looking for something new and this saucy little book with all of it's attitude spoke to me. I tried out quite a few of it's recipes, and then went out and bought my own copy. I have since then gone on to try almost all of the recipes in the book, and I love them all. There is so much flavour and texures which are so important in eating good food, and I have to say that this book show more helped me to become vegan. The Baking powder biscuits with white bean tempeh sausage crumble gravy is a favorite, as well as many or her brunch recipes, baking, deserts, mains, sides, sandwiches etc., There is so much to try! Here is great comfort food possibilities without the faux meat alternatives and an original flavour. The recipes have been made over and over again. I have gifted this book a few times. I have also noticed that I have not seen this book in the library for quite a long time... it is always out! show less

Last year was a pretty amazing year for vegan cookbooks. High profile ones like La Dolce Vegan and Vive le Vegan! as well as ones released more quietly like The Veggie Queen and The Glad Cow Cookbook are well worthy of note. They're all part of a new wave of vegan cookbooks that not only make vegan cooking accessible to the mainstream, but also bring new, creative dishes to vegans who have tried everything.

One of the most entertaining and useful of the new wave of vegan cookbooks is Isa show more Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan with a Vengeance. Isa and her partner Terry made a name for themselves starting in 2004 with The Post Punk Kitchen, a Brooklyn-based public access cooking show. The show is shot a small apartment kitchen and features not only creative recipes, but some great music and personality. It's the one show that most deserves to be on The Food Network and for that very reason, never will be.

Isa's debut cookbook is as entertaining as it is useful. "Punk Points" scattered throughout the book give helpful cooking tips and shortcuts while Isa's cat Fizzle keeps you filled in with further detail about ingredients. In addition, Isa includes short essays about running a breakfast cafe, shopping for kitchen gear at thrift stores, and the Food Not Bombs program. Vegan with a Vengeance at times reads more like a zine than a cookbook. (That's a good thing.)

Even though it came out at the end of the year, we've already tried more recipes out of this cookbook than any other one we own. It's fast become a favorite in our house. One big reason: we've rediscovered breakfast.

We've had more weekend breakfasts and weekday breakfasts-for-dinner in the last four month than we've had in the last four years, I think. We have yet to come across a mediocre recipe. The Pumpkin Waffles are like having pumpkin bread in waffle form: absolutely delicious. My wife declared the Oatmeal Banana Raisin Waffles "the best waffles ever" and combined with some well-marinated tempeh bacon, they make the perfect breakfast. And if you're the type that always used to order chocolate chip pancakes as a kid, you'll love Isa's Chocolate Chocolate Chip pancakes. They're sweet enough to be eaten for dessert.

Other American fare is well represented. The recipe we've made more frequently than any other is the Tempeh Reuben, a truly amazing creation that captures the flavor and texture of the original reuben without the disgusting ass corned beef. And even if you don't make the whole sandwich, the vegan thousand island dressing part of the recipe alone is worth the effort.

It's not all Euro-centric fare, though. The Potato-Edamame Samosas with Coconut-Mint Chutney is one that fans of Indian fare will want to try. Though my attempt came up short, it was probably due to my own poor skills with dough than the recipe itself. The filling was extremely tasty, so I suspect that this one will become a favorite once I stop being so lame with dough.

Among the other internationally-flavored meals include Falafel, Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers (one I've been meaning to make for months now), and Kabocha Squash Stuff with Butternut Vindaloo.

And, it should come as no surprise to anyone that's tried any of the sweets on the Post Punk Kitchen site (five words: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies), the dessert section of Vegan with a Vengeance will help you on your way to a sugar headache mighty fast. One taste of the Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies will have you rethinking the boring old pumpkin-in-a-can recipes you've come to rely on. Also wicked good: Blueberry Coffee Cake. Favorites on the PPK forums include Fauxstess Cupcakes, Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting, and Fig Not-Ins. Believe me, they're all on my "to make" list.

In addition to being packed with great recipes, Vegan with a Vengeance is a pleasure to use. It's well-indexed, features eight pages of gorgeous food photography ("food porn"), and history behind the recipes. It's nearly as much fun to read as it is to cook from.

Since it came out, when someone asks for a recommendation of a vegan cookbook to try, I immediately recommend Vegan with a Vengeance. The food is accessible, the recipes are well varied in difficulty, and it fights the notions that vegan food is either uninventive (does anyone really still believe that?) or that it's too reliant on processed faux meats. Plus, the stuff just tastes good. Can't ask for more than that.

(Originally appeared at VegBlog.org) show less