Vegan Diner: Classic Comfort Food for the Body & Soul, by Julie Hasson - Large Print Reviews

Large Print Reviews

Vegan Diner
Classic Comfort Food for the Body & Soul
By Julie Hasson
Read How You Want, (2011)
EasyRead Large Print, in 16 Point Font
(Originally Published in Standard Print by Running Press)
ISBN: 9781459617247
Genre: Cookbooks, Cooking

Reviewed by Simone Bonim - November 4, 2011

From cheese-less macaroni and cheese that your kids will love to old-fashioned rice pudding, the Vegan Diner has vegan versions of all your old favorites and some new ones yet to be discovered! Within the pages of this yummy cookbook by Julie Hasson, you'll find vegan versions of all the traditional foods that you are likely to find at an old-fashioned diner from burgers and pot roast to a wide selection of pies and traditional breakfast fare. (In this case the burgers are veggie burgers and the pot roast is made from seitan.) The only difference is that in these recipes you not find any animal protein, including dairy and eggs. Instead you'll find that the recipes have been restructured to use vegan only ingredients, making this the perfect cookbook for both vegans and vegetarians, as well as anyone looking to cut out meat, dairy, or eggs from their diet. You can easily substitute non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones if you are only looking to cut out, say eggs, from your diet, but still want to use cows' milk in your dishes. Although once you start trying out these recipes you'll soon discover that it is not very difficult to make the switch to a total vegan diet - yet still enjoy your favorite comfort foods and the tastes that you remember or crave.

Hasson begins this book with a brief overview of some of the main ingredients that you are likely to find in a vegan pantry. If you don't have the necessary ingredients on hand, don't worry. Many grocery stores now carry vegan stables, and if you cannot find them there, you can always order them via mail order or over the internet. She has also included some handy baking and cooking tips. The rest of the cookbook follows a standard 'cookbook' format, with the recipes organized into thematic chapters such as breakfast, breads, soups, salads & sides, main courses, desserts, and sauces & incidentals. A resource guide has also been included that help to point you in the direction of supplies that can provide you with vegan stables.

The heart of the Vegan Diner is, of course, the recipes. Each one begins with a brief introduction, followed by a notation on the number of servings the recipe makes, the required ingredients, and the cooking instructions. Cooking tips, and suggestions on how you can vary the recipes are included throughout. While all these recipes are fairly easy to construct, some of them are time consuming simply due to the cooking times required for some of the ingredients. However if you are only looking for quick and easy recipes, you will find an ample supply in this cookbook, you will just have to read through the instructions first to figure out how much time each recipe will take to complete.

One of the nicest features of this cookbook is that in addition to providing suggestions on how you can vary each recipe, she also provides multiple recipes for many of the dishes, giving you the option of selecting the right variation of a dish for your mood or menu. For example, she provides both a recipe for All-American Beer-Battered Onion Rings and one for Crispy Chickpea Onion Rings. Both are fabulous, and both have a very different flavor and texture. She also provides a great number of simply delectable dessert recipes, proving that you can easily make desserts and cakes without eggs or dairy ingredients. The desserts in this cookbook run the gamut from cookies and puddings to cakes and ice cream, my favorite of which is the Chocolate Cherry Cake!

The Vegan Diner is a simply marvelous cookbook that is a must-have for all vegan cooks. I also recommend it to anyone considering going vegan - once you see the wide variety of everyday foods that can easily be made vegan, you will find that the transition will go much more smoothly and will be much more satisfying when you are able to fill your belly with these old favorites, versus finding yourself in a tofu or peanut butter and jelly rut!

Vegan Diner is available from Read How You Want, an on-demand publisher that makes books available in a variety of formats including Braille, DAISY, and five different large print formats. This range of formats makes this, and other books, available not only to visually impaired individuals, but also anyone with a reading or physical disability that makes reading standard print books difficult.

Want to stay up to date on what's new at RHYW? If so, Click Here to register to receive monthly updates from RHYW on their most popular large print titles.

Related Reviews:

Vegan Lunch Box Around the World, by Jennifer McCann.
125 Easy, International Lunches Kids and Grown-Ups will Love! Based on the wildly popular blog of the same name, Vegan Lunch Box offers an amazing array of meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free meals and snacks.
The Adaptable Feast, by Ivy Manning.
Satisfying Meals for the Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores at Your Table. These adaptable recipes are designed to yield a few vegetarian servings of a meaty dish or a few omnivore servings of a vegetarian one.

Back to top

About LPR | Privacy Policy | Site Map

Questions or Comments? Send an email to:

info@largeprintreviews.com