Veteran vegetarian cookbook author Lorna Sass (The New Soy Cookbook) offers 40 healthy vegan recipes, international in inspiration. Rich vegetable-based broths, nuts and nut butters, as well as Asian and Indian spices, add luxurious texture and flavor to these vegan dishes—making a diet free of animal products (as well as the unhealthy fats and cholesterols they contain) seem easy. Practical information on stocking a vegan pantry, designing vegan menus and mail-order sources for high-quality ingredients will appeal to novices, while new cooking techniques—such as slow-baking beans and whole-grain cooking—will appeal to more experienced vegan cooks. Hiziki Tapenade is particularly delightful, the Japanese sea vegetable hiziki substituting for anchovies in this traditional Provençal spread. Simple vegetable sides are enhanced by adding brewer's yeast (more tasty than it sounds) or slow roasting, as in the sophisticated Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel, served with a drizzle of olive oil and garnished with balsamic syrup. While Sass's desserts, such as chocolate rice pudding, are lovely codas to a vegan feast, no one would confuse them with "real"—i.e., cream and egg—desserts. (Of course, if they do lack the decadent flavor and richness of your favorite pies and ice creams, they also lack the saturated fat and extra calories.) This book is essential for vegans and those who cook for them. (July 1)
