Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So, my boyfriend's sister JUST told me she is a vegetarian! She just started today. I am pretty sure her new college friend is a vegetarian, but I want to send her a good cookbook/info book for her during this early stage.

I own The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook that I got as a young teen, and I think it's a good one. However, I want one that has more dorm-friendly foods for her to create in her room. Any suggestions? I appreciate it!

The New Farm Cookbook is full of great classics that won't break a budget, or complicate a busy life/schedule. Old favorites like lentil-rice loaf are tasty and provide plenty of leftovers.

The thing is, she lives in a dorm so I doubt she has access to an oven or stove until she's at home or eventually gets an apartment (not for another year or so.)

isn't there something out there titled "vegan for one"?

Yeah, there's "Vegan Cooking for One or Two," which is pretty good for just one person but not so much dorming.

"PETA's Vegan College Cookbook" has lots of dorm-friendly recipes! Lots of people don't like it because it includes lots of faux meats and such, but it'll probably be great for a newbie veg. I have a friend who has it and really likes it.

Yeah, there's a couple 'vegan for one' type books, but I don't know thay any of them are very dorm suitable.

Suggestion from left field: Vegan Unplugged (formerly Apocolypse Chow) from Robertson (Robin does the recipes, her husband Jon did ... I'm not sure what he did but he's primary author). Assumes you're working with limited equipment and supplies. A electric kettle will probably allow one to do most of the needed heating of liquids. A hot plate gets even more done but residence halls frown on them. A little microwave is usually acceptable as long as it's not used for cooking. So lie about that bit. Just warming up cold pizza for all anyone knows ...

There is also a book called "Students Go Vegan Cookbook," though I don't know how adaptable it would be for dorm life? It's about eating more cheaply, I think, on a student budget... I have it but never really used it.

I haven't read this book, but Dr. Oz's daughter Daphne Oz wrote a vegetarian cookbook specifically for dorm-life--it's called The Dorm Room Diet: http://dormroomdiet.com/ maybe this will be helpful?

This is a little late but I want to second Louzilla's suggestion of the "PETA's Vegan College Cookbook". I bought the book while in grad school and it is not really geared towards those of us that have kitchens. However, I was thinking that I would have loved to have had this in college, vegan or not. It's full of the awful foods that we ate in college, and some healthy ones too, that can all be made if you have a microfridge in your room. Remember those?! They have thinks like making pancakes in a mug in your microwave. Probably not something I would do now but would have when I was 19. It probably would have been better than the university food!