Vegan Diner

April 4, 2011
In her newest effort, Hassan (125 Best Cupcakes) offers a cookbook that will be a boon to vegan cooks who crave diner-style food like crispy banana-cinnamon waffles, beer-battered onion rings, sloppy joes, pot roast, and pineapple coconut cream pie. Desserts and baked goods rely heavily on soy or almond milk, vegan margarine, and flaxseed meal. Main "meat" dishes like smoky seitan roast (which can be sliced and used to make sandwiches) depend upon more hardcore vegan ingredients like vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast flakes, chickpea flour, and TVP (textured vegetable protein). One of the more intriguing recipes is for Barbecued Ribz, essentially a dough that is baked in the oven, scored into strips, slathered in homemade barbecue sauce, and grilled. Hassan includes a glossary of vegan ingredients in the front, a list of online resources in the back, and lots of food photos and diner images (salt and pepper shakers, booths, barstools) throughout. This is a book for the committed and adventurous vegan cook; it's inspiring and fun.

March 15, 2011

A former meat-lover puts a vegan twist on the diner experience.

A Portland-based cookbook author and online food-show producer (The Complete Book of Pies, 2008, "Everyday Dish") recalls her love of the distinctive comfort food she enjoyed as a child "squished into slippery Naugahyde booths" in neighborhood diners. Unwilling to sacrifice those indulgent diner specialties after converting to veganism, Hasson began a series of "recipe veganizations" hoping to recapture their essence without compromising food ethics. The result is 116 recipes featuring vegan substitutions like agave nectar for sugar in Cinnamon Orange Rolls and Rough Rider Barbecue Sauce, and the hearty meat-replacement seitan (processed wheat gluten) swapping out for beef in Philly Sliders and Not Your Mama's Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables. Six sections run the gamut from bread-heavy breakfast recipes to particularly tempting main courses like nutritious burger and cutlet variations that incorporate quinoa grains, mushrooms, cashews and panko breadcrumbs. Dessert ideas include flaxseed cookies and soymilk brownie, pudding and pie variations. A minor misstep is a meatless Quick and Hearty Chili concoction that doesn't quite translate from accompanying photograph to recipe. For home chefs new to the vegan revolution, Hasson offers two explanatory indexes: "Vegan Pantry" takes the guesswork out of many key (and possibly unfamiliar) recipe ingredients, and "Special Equipment," a less-essential but still beneficial kitchen resource.

Even meat-lovers may find some tempting, healthful substitutions in this worthwhile homage to the diner-dedicated vegan.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2011

Hasson (125 Best Cupcake Recipes) writes that many students in her cooking classes don't want to give up their favorite foods. To counter that excuse, she here includes many favorite American dishes as vegan delicacies. She first lists vegan pantry items (such as agar powder, egg replacer, and tofu) and special equipment (blender, metal measuring cups, and whisk). While this book doesn't include nutritional information, it's a fun vegan cookbook--featuring, e.g., Mocha Muffins, Diner Donuts, Vampire Fries, Mushroom Burgers, and Ooey-Gooey Brownies. Sure to add some variety to weeknight meals.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.