Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week

Santa Claus dropped this off for me. Obviously, as an Isa devotee, I'd planned on rating this highly, but now that my belly is full and there are leftovers in my fridge, I can say without question that this is another amazing book from Ms. Moskowitz.

I pre-ordered a cookbook back in May and I've been eagerly anticipating its late-October release... and it's finally here!

Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz has finally hit the bookshelves and my pre-ordered copy arrived this afternoon. It felt like Christmas in my house, where the mail carrier played the part of Santa Claus, whose arrival I anticipated with tremendous excitement. When finally it was was delivered, I lovingly removed it from its box and carefully opened the covers, savoring the sound of the crisp pages turning for the first time. I was stricken by the gorgeous photos (taken by the incredibly talented Vanessa Rees), fun illustrations (drawn by the super skilled Erica Rose Levine), and quirky typography.

And then I show more started reading it. It's no surprise that I'm a huge fan of Ms. Moskowitz (owning most of her cookbooks, reading her blog, following her on Twitter, and watching her videos) but, somehow, this book is making me like her even more. I love her no-nonsense attitude and her frank style of writing. It's what makes me trust her and her recipes. She's hilarious, too, which makes reading her cookbooks a pleasure:

"[...] The eggplant really just disintegrates into the soup, to give it a meaty thickness. In traditional harira, lamb is used for that purpose, but, you know. . . ."

This cookbook–whose subtitle is "Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week"–offers recipes for every occasion, as well as a primer in the beginning of the book about how to stock your vegan kitchen. There's also an adorable section on "vegan butchery" that shows how to butcher tofu and tempeh. Most recipes are simple and include just a few ingredients (all things you should be able to find easily in most supermarkets), with notes about common substitutions and ways to make the dish even more phenomenal.

The book is huge (311 pages, including the index and appendices) with eleven chapters:

01. Soups
02. Salads
03. Handheld
04. Pasta & Risotto
05. Stews, Chilis & Curries
06. Stir-Fries & Sautes
07. Bowls (& A Few Plates)
08. Sunday Night Suppers
09. A Few Basic Proteins
10. Breakfast, Brunch & Bakes For The Morning
11. Desserts

It lies flat, too! This is great when you're actually using it in the kitchen: your can of chickpeas no longer has to serve double-duty as a paperweight.

It's the prettiest cookbook I own and, though I fear staining the pages with sauce and wine, I can't wait to add it to my regular rotation. It's sure to become a favorite in my kitchen.

[Originally reviewed on http://acid-stars.com/2013/10/22/a-vegan-kitchen-new-cookbook-day/] show less

I have all of her cookbooks and couldn't wait to get my greedy hands on this one. Vegan brunch is my favorite, well it was till this one. She rocks the vegan world of cooking, again. Her recipes are clear, easy to make and use regular ingredients found in most grocery stores. My husband, a confirmed carnivore even asked for seconds when I made the Korean BBQ Mushroom sandwiches, the Dragon Noodle Salad and more.
There are many that can be made quick and easy for a healthy fast meal. I have used it 6 out of 7 days of the week for my meals and haven't had one disappointing meal. Another winning book for my cookbook shelf. All the recipes can be adapted easily for non vegans .

Everything I've made in here, from the Pad Thai to the Tempeh-Lettuce-Tomato sandwich has been just fantastic. Recipes are easy enough and the ingredient lists aren't too long and have a decent amount of overlap between recipes. This is just a fantastic example of how delicious and satisfying good vegan food can be.

This is one of my new favorite vegan recipe resources! I was very pleasantly surprised by this packed cookbook, full of (mostly photographed) delicious looking recipes. Everything from dumpling stew to coconut French toast and marbled banana bread. I'm itching to make the creamy potato-leek soup and pad thai, not to mention a tantalizing chocolate cake with chocolate ganache! This author is definitely a great resource if you're vegan, on your way to being vegan, or just want to bring a plant-based, healthy meal to your table.

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

If you are going to get one vegan cookbook, this is probably the best. It's also well made, has tons of tips and tricks, excellent prose, and beautiful pictures. If you want to check out some of the recipes, many are already posted on Isa's site the Post Punk Kitchen.

Well tested recipes and not too difficult.