How It All Vegan

Reviewed by Lisa Kramer, President of the Vancouver Humane Society

This campy vegan cookbook is a team effort written by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer (no relation to the reviewer), two self-described "lazy vegetarians." Splashed with retro black & white pictures from the '50s and peppered with bits of the authors' personalities, the cookbook is actually fun to explore. In addition to supplying a wide variety of recipes (more on those later), the authors explain their motivation for their food choices. Drinking milk? "Cows' milk is for baby cows!" Eating fish? "They have hearts, eyes and a brain. They count too!" Organic food seems expensive? "You are worth it!" (and so is our planet). Vegan alternatives for traditional staples like eggs, milk, and butter are carefully described. Plus the book covers how to prepare tofu and beans (in ways that will make your taste buds jump for joy).

The vegan recipes cover all the bases, including appetizers like spinach & artichoke dip, breakfasts (such as tofu scramble, hash browns, and banana pancakes), condiments like salsa or cranberry sauce, a few soups and salads (not too many; we all know there is lots more to being a vegetarian than soups and salads!), yummy breads and muffins, exquisite desserts, and a variety of enticing entrees (like spicy black bean burgers, chili, sushi rolls, and lasagna). Yes, the dishes really are vegan!

Unlike most veggie cookbooks, this one features sections on feeding kids and making treats for dogs and cats. Furthermore, it provides many recipes for making non-toxic household compounds, like cleaners and stain removers, and for creating your own cruelty-free beauty products, like cleansers, toothpastes, and lotions

Although I was disappointed to discover some recipes in the first edition included bee pollen or beeswax, the now-available updated edition does not. Plus the "Vegan No-Nos, A to Z" Appendix carefully documents the harm bees undergo when their honey, wax, and pollen are collected, and truly vegan alternatives are suggested.

How It All Vegan is a BC book published by Arsenal Pulp Press, sold in Canada for $18.95. Pick it up at your favorite bookstore or come by the EarthSave office to buy it for the low member's price of $19.00 with a 10% discount for members only.