Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I've had Sarah Kramer's How It All Vegan for quite a while now, and have liked a couple of recipes, but am having trouble getting inspired by the recipes. Is there any recipes that everyone really loves that I should try? Thanks! :)

I haven't made them in a while but I remember the sloppy joes being super good.

Cookie bars (throw in 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon).

I'm not sure about healthy food, but the cookie bars stand out for me. I used to make them so often that I memorized the recipe.

There's a black bean burger I really like in one of those books. It's my go-to burger recipe (until Joni's burger book gets published!)

I made those in the summer, they were SO good.

I really like the snobby joes from V'con so I was wondering how these would compare, I will try them next time I make sloppy joes!

I've been looking at that recipe, I will have to try them!

This is my least used Kramer book and I haven't used it in a while but recipes I've made several times:
Monday Morning Oatmeal Pancakes
"Anything Goes" Fruit-Filled Muffins
Tortilla Chip Soup (though I usually do a mashup of this recipe and the two in La Dolce Vegan since beans make it better)
Spicy Black Bean Burgers
Oatmeal Bread
Flax Seed Crackers (with sesame instead of flax)
Blue Banana Muffins
Chocolate Upside Down Pudding Cake (probably the recipe I've used most from this book)

I've been wondering about that pudding cake, I may have to try it now!

I've made versions of it adding coffee or peppermint extract too. Yummy. You really must serve it with ice cream for full yumminess, though, and eat it while it's still warm (or reheat it).

Has anyone made the tofu roast from La Dolce Vegan? It's on page 170.
It looks like it'll take quite awhile (planning ahead, even!) and I'm wondering if it's worth it.

I really like that book, but I really do not it as often as I should.

I made the Garden Vegetable Borscht this evening and it was delicious (but it needed salt - could have been because my veg stock was salt-free though).
I have also made and enjoyed the:
-fancy garlic spread
-mighty miso gravy
-ginger peanut sauce
-gorgeous guacamole (my fav guac recipe!)
-Corri's easy green chop suey (I mainly just mix up the sauce here and use it in my stir-fries - yummy!)
-gomashio
-amazing apple pie
-faux parmesan cheese

This was one of my first vegan books! I didn't have many so i used it a lot. I have the other two as well.

I looked through to see where the stained pages are:

Classic Pancakes
Anything Goes Muffins
Ginger Peanut Sauce
Tofu Turkey
Chocolate Rice Crispy Squares

I think I made a few of the dog biscuits.

Just as I was flipping through I want to make the Ginger Snaps.

That black bean burger recipe makes a great burrito filling too!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

I've made it a few times, and yes you have to be organised and make ahead and all, but it is pretty good.

There's a polenta roasted veggie dish in there that's pretty good. Other stuff too which I forget at the moment.
My favorite guac too! And I always use her gomashio method.

I just thought of one I really like and crave in the fall and winter: the butternut squash stir-fry. I think it's called "Tanya's Asian Creation". I'm a fan of Braggs and with that and gomashio as generous garnishes, I love that dish. Just salt and pepper as seasoning. I think I'll have to make it soon.

My favorite recipes from How it All Vegan are the sloppy joes, shephards pie and banana pancakes. (The pancakes are super easy and fat free, so I use them when I want a healthy pancake.) I've also had good luck with the muffin recipes, although I can't remember which ones are my favorite.

"how it all vegan" was my first vegan cookbook, i haven't made anything from in a while but this is stuff i made, with the stuff i highly recommend in bold print:

- greek scrambled tofu - probably my favorite scrambled tofu ever
- stephanie's yummy veggie spread - i loved this.
- spring onion cream cheese: i recommend using less spring onions. it was way too onion-y right after i made it. much better the next day.
- i tried one of the burger recipes and it wasn't that great. don't remember which one it was though.. i think lentil..

.. i just realised that these are all the non-sweet things that i ever made from the book. i.. like sugar?

baked goods:

- cinnamon raisin bread: turned out superflat and much too dense. i blame it on my ancient rye flour, have to try it again someday.
- apple sauce bread: i think it was alright, i don't remember.
- ginger bread: love it!! i use a bit less liquid than it says in the recipe. and for the 3-6 tablespoons fresh ginger.. i love ginger but more than 4 T is pretty insane.
- rhubarb bread: love it! very tasty, but falls apart easily.
- maple walnut brownies: turned out very cakey and non-brownie-like. but a perfect chocolate cake, i think..
- banana oatmeal cookies: i liked them, but i think they need more liquid. though i might have mis-measured the apple sauce back then.
- spicy oatmeal raisin cookies: loved them, but next time i'll use less cumin.
- coconut cookies: i need to make these again someday.. great.
- rolled oat pie crust: super fast & easy, but i think it needs more margarine (there might be a typo in my book, 50g/2oz doesn't seem to be enough)
- creamy coconut pie. i LOVE this and everyone who tried, loved it. there's a typo in my copy (uk version) that switches the amounts for sugar and shredded coconut, but i think it's actually better (because it's creamier) with less coconut. though i keep the sugar down at the correct amount. this stuff is sooo tasty.. if you know this (non-vegan) candy thing "ferrero raffaello": this pie tastes like the cream inside of raffaello. awesome. and easy to make.
- no bake pie: not bad. very easy.
- vanilla cake: really good basic recipe that i use as a base for lots of other cakes.
- country carrot cake: i love this as well. always had it without frosting.
- sinful chocolate pudding: delicious way to use up leftover silken tofu (which happens when i make the coconut pie)
- fruitpudding: made it once with cherries. was exactly like cherry soy yoghurt. nice.
- gomashio: that's the way i make it.
- faux feta: well.. that wasn't really like feta, but i guess you can't expect that.
- baked sesame fries: great.
- original pepper tofu jerky: highly addictive!
- cajun jerky: turned out quite dry and hard (more than it should be). i made it with the other jerkies, so i don't what went wrong here.
- hawaiian jerky: could use some more flavour.

the coconut chocolate chip cookies from "vegan a go go" (they're probably also in LDV or GOV, i guess) are my favorite cookies EVER.

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions!

The Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies are in La Dolce Vegan and are also up on everydaydish.tv for those of you who don't have the book(s). Go make them!

Oh, I remember loving the tofu jerky, and I think I tried all the variations! This was one of my first vegan books too. Since I've had it for so long, I think several dishes that I consider "my own" recipe have their root in a recipe in this book. I've always felt that I need to adapt Sarah (and Tanya)'s recipes to my liking, but that's a part of cooking I enjoy anyway.

This was one of the first vegan cookbooks I used, and I wasn't a very good cook. As such, I found the Kramer books pretty disappointing. But, now that I know how to change things to suit my tastes I feel like maybe I should give this book another try.


The recipes I have used with great success include the tofu jerky (so worth making a double or triple batch next time you're on a road trip), the creamy curried veg, and the holy moly hummus (though, i changed that pretty heavily).

Oops. Adapt. Not adopt.

Thanks everyone! I just went through my book and flagged all the recipes you guys recommended, I'm going to start trying a few of them!