Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s ‘I Can Cook Vegan’ is ideal for doable plant-based meals
by Lois Borny
Whether you’re looking to introduce a few plant-based meals into your weekly dinners or to cook plant-based meals on a full-time basis, a vegan cookbook will be your best friend in the kitchen, when you’re spending hours on a dish, but also when you want something flavourful, but speedy.
For me, as someone who eats a vegan diet, it’s been easy to eat the same foods over and over, by swapping out cheese, meat and fish in the meals I know and love with vegan alternatives. But plant-based cooking can also be an opportunity to try new recipes, which I did plenty of while delving into the best vegan cookbooks for our IndyBest tried and tested edit.
For replicating non-vegan foods that plant-based folk might miss, Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Vegan by Richard Makin is a must, while Georgina Hayden’s Nistisima offered authentically vegan recipes from the Mediterranean and beyond, and Sophie Gorgon’s The Whole Vegetable advised on how to get more from vegetables to reduce food waste.
Offering accessible recipes for the everyday home cook which won’t require too much commitment, I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz was the winning tome, and here’s what you need to know about the book.
Written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of other vegan cooking books such as Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance, I Can Cook Vegan is a great read for anyone finding their feet in the kitchen when they first start cooking vegan. Ideal for dipping into when you need to cook something doable, from dinners to elevated lunchtime plates.
The recipes span pasta and salad, sandwiches, curry, a “sushi” bowl and more, from the hearty to the light, with sides and desserts covered here too. The buffalo cauliflower salad introduced me to a delicious, zingy dairy-free ranch dressing, and the spag bol with walnuts was a clever twist for some welcome bite.
If you’re partial to meat and dairy alternatives then there’s plenty for you here, with a generous portion of meals incorporating meat alternatives like seitan and tofu, and those recreating traditionally non-vegan plates, from macaroni and cheese to cream of tomato soup, should you want to scratch that itch.
Expect veggie-based dishes too, and if you want to cook your meals from scratch, where you can, by diving right in with your own homemade condiments and cheeses, there’s a short section on how to whip up several panty basics.
