Post Punk Kitchen Forum

VWAV, which is probably still my favorite. When I moved this summer I found the receipt in the bottom of a box. I should have framed it as the day that changed the way I cook!

I don't have any yet and just tend to use recipes i find online or make up. I'd like to buy one, maybe two if i can afford them so what are peoples suggestions for the ideal first book?

I'd say Veganomicon, just because of the variety of recipes.

My parents got me Vegan Planet for Christmas when I was 17, even though I technically wasn't allowed to go vegan until I moved out. (I had been vegetarian for four years and was obviously heading to veganism). I went officially vegan a week later. I bought How It All Vegan and The Garden of Vegan at some indie bookstore in Seattle when I was in town for a high school journalism convention and was very thrilled to bring them back to Idaho. Everything got better when VwaW finally came out, though.

I second this for sure!

Mine was How It All Vegan. I don't really like it, to be honest. I never use it.

My first was Easy Vegan Cooking by Leah Leneman. Ms Leneman and I clearly have differing opinions on using spices (she likes half a pinch where I put in a tablespoon), but it has a lot of simple, unfussy, if unexciting recipes. Also, a brilliant tofu recipe. The book is worth buying for the jambalaya, which tastes nothing like jambalaya but is delicious.

Actually, now that i think about it, the thing that moved me from Vegetarian to Vegan was a book actually, but not a cookbook. It was Skinny bisque.

I know a lot of people dont like it, but it sure spoke to me! A friend got it for me, and I read the whole thing on a flight from Atlanta GA to CA. Decided to do the whole vegan for 30 days thing and there was no looking back. I actually like the bad language and the pushy nature of the book, probably because i am kind of a bisque myself.

but i sure dont like the recipes in those books at all. VWAV was the first 'cookbook'.

My first vegetarian cookbook was Linda McCartney's Home Cooking, way back in 1989. My first vegan cookbook was VWAV. The one I cook from the most is AFR.

I think it was either Easy Vegan Cooking or Vegan Cooking for One, and then How It All Vegan after that. I haven't used any of them in years but they all had one or two recipes that were good.

Mine was VWAV. When I open it, I still get that feeling from back then, like I was taking some grand adventure. The possiblities! The excitement! The ginger cookies!

VWAV! I was so excited. I think the first thing I made from it was the tofu ricotta to make stuffed manicotti with..or maybe it was the lemon gem cupcakes..Anyways, it's still my favorite cookbook!

VWAV. The recipes appealed to me the most out of all the books I looked at.

"How It All Vegan" was my first. Got it a couple of years before I went vegan, never have used it very much.

And another endorsement for "Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone". No, it is not vegan and yes it has lots of dairy in it, but the majority of the recipes are very adaptable. But the best part of it is all the veggie how to info. It's made me WAY more adventurous at the farmers' market; it's a fantastic reference. It's rather expensive, though. I looked for (and found) a reasonably priced, in-decent-condition one on eBay (after checking it out of the library and renewing it until they'd no longer let me).

Vegan Planet, followed quickly with VWAV.

My grandma got me Linda McCartney's Meals from Around the World (or similar title) as my first vegetarian cookbook. I bought Veganomicon while working at Borders as my first full vegan cookbook. I made the sloppy lentil jo recipe first.

Mine was a tiny little orange book from the early 90s called "Burgers, Fries, and Cinnamon Buns". Does anyone else remember that one? My first vegan pancakes came from that book. It wasn't that great, but it helped me greatly as I became vegan and realized I could still eat food that was recognizable to my raised-on-meat-and-potatoes high school self. Before that, the first Moosewood book was what first got me thinking about alternatives to what I grew up eating. I loved the hand drawn recipes and that full page eggplant picture. Moosewood was huge at that time.

But my first food-food cookbook was Veganomicon.

VWAV! I checked it out from my high school's library because I needed more vegetarian recipes than what I had printed out from the internet. I must have renewed that book three times before begging my mom to buy it for me.

Mine was either Soy not Oi! or The Vegetarian Handbook by Gary Null, which is more of a reference witha recipe section. I still flip through Soy not Oi! when I'm feeling nostalgic, but I never seem to have any Nature's Burger on hand so I don't get much real use out of it anymore.

My first vegan cookbook was Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, & Appetite for Reduction. [birthday gift] :)
Biggest mistake: leaving them home when I went away for school.

It is awesome that your High School had vegan/vegetarian cookbooks!

The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen (all recipes are vegan)

Mine was How is All Vegan and then I got Vegan Planet which my at the time time omni boyfriend bought for me. Later I found tons of McDonald's wrappers in his car. He is currently missing out on the most delicious Fronch Toast and Blueberry Banana Bread. Suck-er!

mine was simply vegan, which i never really use. i got the mediterranean vegan kitchen soon after which was my go-to cookbook for a long time, before i finally got VWAV.