The Best

Last week, I reviewed 150 Best Vegan Muffins, which was chock full of sweet and savory muffins free of eggs and dairy. Only a few days after that review copy arrived, another similar book from the same publisher (Robert Rose) arrived — 350 Best Vegan Recipes by Deb Roussou.

These books appear to be part of a larger series of "Best" books, some of which are vegan and some of which are not. The Robert Rose website lists books of best biscuits, best Asian noodle recipes, best grilling recipes, etc. So I honestly didn't expect much from either of these books before they arrived. I thought recipes in the few vegan books in a non-vegan series might be generic or super-simple and overly healthy. But the muffin book did not disappoint, and neither did Roussou's collection of "best" vegan recipes.

In fact, these may actually some of the best vegan recipes! With some cookbooks, I'll flip through and every third or fifth recipe might sound good. But I want to make everything in this book! It's filled with comfort food, and most of the recipes are fairly unique, which is getting harder and harder to achieve in the flooded vegan cookbook market.

It took me awhile, but I finally settled on Crispy Buckwheat Tempehbacon Waffles, only made as pancakes because my wafflemaker is a piece of crap:

These pancakes actually have homemade tempeh bacon in them! You make tempeh bacon bits by marinating crumbled tempeh in a smoky marinade and then you bake them. And then those bits are tossed into the buckwheat batter. Since I typically eat my pancakes or waffles with tempeh bacon on the side, this was the perfect marriage of breakfast foods. The pancake is slightly sweet, thanks to a wee bit of sugar in the batter, but when you smother them in maple syrup, the salty sweetness is mind-blowing.

My to-make wish list from this book goes on and on: Almond Bear Claw Muffins, Malibu Tofu Scramble (it has zucchini, potatoes, avocado, and sour cream!), French Herbed Strata, Rosemary Olive Bread, County Fair Corn Chip Pie, Rustic Beer-Braised Seitan and Portabellas with Macaroni, Northwest Passage Cedar-Planked Tofu, Roasted Beet Tacos with Marinated Shredded Kale, Margarita Icebox Cake. Yea, I could go all night. But you get the idea.

Oh, and there are cocktail recipes too, including one for vegan Irish cream. Irish coffee, here I come!

I made another dish from this book last night, but I'll save it for tomorrow night's post. Until then, check out this book. They ain't lyin' when they claim "best."