Cayenne: After I did a mini-review of Veganomicon on my blog, Dragonfly asked me if I would review it for VegPeople. I had only made about a dozen recipes from it, though, and while that would be plenty for most cookbook reviews, I didn't think I could do this book justice. Since this book is subtitled The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, I felt like I had just scratched the surface. I knew that Dragonfly had made a quite a few recipes from it too, so I asked her to join me in the review. We had a long conversation about it.

This cookbook is pretty massive, with about 270 recipes, spanning every course. The recipes are influenced by cuisines from all over the world, including Asia, Latin America and The Mediterranean.

This cookbook also has more chapters than most, and the catagories are a bit more free-form compared to a traditional cookbook. It starts with appetizers and salads, and ends with desserts, but in between, dishes aren't divided by main dish or sides. There is a big mix and match section with recipes for vegetables, grains, beans, and tofu, tempeh or seitan. Many of these recipes could be either a main dish or a side, depending on what else is on the menu.

Dragonfly: And not only are the catagories not your regular catagories, but the recipes aren't your average, everyday, plain-jane standbys. As you mentioned, the cook who uses this book really needs to have some enthusiasm because most of these recipes require you to think outside of the box and open up to different ingredients. Many people aren't used to using things like Israeli couscous, pistachios and apricots in the same recipe or putting tempeh inside a nori roll, or even combining Asian pears and tempeh with wasabi dressing. You won't be finding anything plain in this book.

Now, let's talk food.

Cayenne: When I wanted to make sushi recently, I used the Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls as a guide. It's a pretty standard recipe for sushi, but the instructions were clear and the proportions of fillings, rice and nori were perfect, an issue I've had with other sushi recipes. I used my own fillings this time. Later, in the interest of a thorough review, I made the tempeh filling for it. The recipe didn't mention how long to steam the tempeh, so I steamed it for 10 minutes. The filling is mild, but flavorful. I think this recipe is definitely worth making again as written, aside from the one minor oversight.

Dragonfly: I do that a lot, too, using recipes as a guideline as many are great base recipes that can be easily adjusted to suit your own tastes. I didn't need do that with the first recipes I made, however. They were perfect as written. They are Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread, Rumnog Pecan Cookies and Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel. I made these as holiday gifts and they were a huge hit with everyone. I have made them again and again and again. The final products were delicious and the recipes are not complicated or time-consuming - which is a huge plus for me.

Another recipe that has pretty much become a regular in my kitchen is the Marinated Asian Tofu. Not once have I made any changes to it, as it is perfect as it is. I make this couple times a month and usually just eat it cold, straight from the fridge. It's been great in stir-fries or topping my salads.

Cayenne: That tofu sounds like it would be also be great in a sandwich, like the Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip. This is another fusion recipe, inspired as it is by both Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich served on French bread, and a French Dip, which is 100% American. Making the broth to dip the sandwiches into took an extra step or two, but it was worth it, and extra broth could be used as a stir-fry sauce.

This leads me to one recipe that I thought was unnecessarily complicated, the Southwest Corn Pudding. It was tasty enough, but it called for sauteing red peppers, green peppers and corn before pureeing in a blender. This resulted in batter that was rather brown. Also, my family wasn't too sure what to do with corn bread that had to be eaten with a fork or spoon. I'll probably make it again, but not as written.

Dragonfly: I thought about making the Southwestern Corn Pudding because my mom used to make something similar when I was growing up. She even veganized her recipe for me several years ago and it was quite good. I'm not quite sure why I haven't made this recipe yet. I don't think the brown batter would bother me so much. This may be a part of our next Tex-Mex Madness Night!

Since we're on the subject of recipes that didn't seem to work out the way we wanted them to, this brings me to the famed Chickpea Cutlets. What is it with these? I have seen such rave reviews on them and I thought for sure they were going to sing to me on the plate, from my fork to my mouth. These were less than stellar. I have made these twice, thinking I must have done something wrong the first time. I followed the recipe as written the first time and they were dry, tough and tasteless. The second time I made them, I didn't stretch them as thin and I didn't cook them as long. We still did not like them, even though I made them with the Mustard Sauce, which was fabulous. I could eat that by the spoonful. The Mustard Sauce really helped with making the cutlets edible this time around. This recipe is actually the one find that I felt made the whole book worthwhile all by itself.

Cayenne: I really liked the Chickpea Cutlets, but it's the idea of them that I like more than the finished product. They're just perfectly quick little bean and wheat gluten patties to round out a plate when you need a protein component or something to slather gravy on. They're a little plain on their own, but I've used the recipe multiple times as a guide for making black bean burgers and tofu meatballs that hold together well. I've got to give the recipe credit for that.

If you don't want to make the cutlets, another quick dish with traditional flavors is the Seitan Piccata with Olives and Green Beans. At least, it's quick if you have seitan already made, which I usually do. Tangy with capers, olives and lemon juice, this is the perfect dish to go alongside some mashed potatoes or risotto. My husband and I loved this.

Another recipe using seitan that we liked was the Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya. It was rich and spicy. I followed their suggestions for using brown rice instead of white, and it took longer to cook than promised. It also made almost 10 servings instead of the 6 that the recipe said it would, but survived the freezer nicely.

Dragonfly: I only had one other recipe from this book that turned out poorly and that's the Caesar Dressing. None of us liked it. I don't remember what real Caesar dressing tastes like, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I just know I won't be making this recipe ever again.

Two recipes I really enjoyed, though, are the Penne Vodka and the Everyday Chipotle-Vegetable Tamales. The Penne Vodka is a recipe I can throw together on a weeknight and still have time to sit down after dinner and put my feet up. It was quick, tasty and my daughter even wanted to take it in her lunch the next day. Now that's what I call a success. As for the tamales, it's cute that they want people to fix these all the time and they call them everyday tamales, but let's be real - these took me forever to make. I made them on a Friday night so it didn't matter what time dinner was done, which was smart. They were really good, but I do have one complaint: the recipe calls for 2 6-ounce packages of corn husks. I had a huge bag of them I purchased at the Spanish grocer, so I don't know how many husks come in a 6-oz package. I had no idea how many tamales this recipe was supposed to make, as it only states that it will feed 6-8 people. I ended up with a ton of tamales, much more than what would feed only the 6-8 indicated. The remainder went in the freezer for a quick dinner when I want to eat them, but not go through the hassle of making them from scratch.

Dragonfly: The proclamation of licking the bowl clean was all that was needed to convince me to make that recipe now. After looking at the recipe, I see how simple it is.

When I made these next two recipes, I was looking for comfort food, familiar favorites. My grandma always made the best scalloped potatoes and the Herb-Scalloped Potatoes were the perfect fix for me. Grandma never used herbs and garlic in hers, but they really dressed up this dish. The recipe reminded me of Grandma's potatoes and really hit the spot. The entire casserole dish was gone in one sitting. The Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits is just a fancy title for veggie potpie. Comfort food to the max, but really nothing special, as the title may indicate. It was like any other potpie I have made. It was good, but most likely I won't be making it again, because I already have a favorite stand-by.

Cayenne: One recipe from this book has surprisingly become a standby at my house. The Cheater Baked Beans are simply plain canned beans that you add molasses, tomato paste and other spices to, making them taste like real baked beans. They're so easy to throw together, and tastier than the already seasoned canned beans you buy at the store, that I keep making them. I've made them a little differently each time.

Dragonfly: I've saved the best for last, Vanilla Ice Cream. What better way to end a meal than with rich, creamy, delicious ice cream? I am a huge ice cream fan. I make my own on a regular basis. This was the first recipe I have ever tried that called for coconut milk. It was fabulous. With seven variations of this creamy delight and nine different suggestions for ice cream sandwiches, this recipe is the star of the book for me. It's all I talked about for two weeks after making it.

Cayenne: I am so making that ice cream. How did I miss that? I'm excited to make this recipe soon, because I know it will work and that it will be delicious. After making a baker's dozen recipes from this cookbook and not having a single failure, I know I can trust anything I make from it. Better yet, all of the recipes tasted like I expected them to. Nothing was weird or bland.

Dragonfly: Not all of my recipes were successes. There were a couple of recipes that I just won't make again. But looking back through the review, there were far more successes than failures. That's always a good thing and that's what makes a book a success in my opinion. Based on your review of the Cheater Baked Beans, I made them last weekend and we all loved them (mother-in-law and aunt included). Definitely a recipe I am planning on making again. I also picked up the book to look for some general information: roasting peppers and beets. This is normally when I just wing it, but I wanted to know that Veganomicon had this very basic information in it.

Cayenne: I have only one minor complaint about this cookbook: I felt that a couple of the recipes were too complicated for the end result. However, I've always found it easy to simplify a recipe after I've made it once. I'd rather have one that is too complicated than one that is boring.

A lot of these recipes are fusions between two cuisines. This makes them a little bit hard to imagine what they are going to taste like before you make them, but you know the recipes are not going to be the same-old, same-old, either. You just have to trust that it's going to be tasty. It will be. While I was testing this, once I had made a couple of things and was confident this matched my cooking style, this became my favorite reference. It's now the first place I look when I have an idea for something new and want to research proportions or flavor profiles. I give Veganomicon 4 forks.

Cayenne's VegPeople Rating:

4 forks out of 4

Dragonfly: While the majority of the recipes I made came out terrific, there were the two that I didn't like at all. I was a bit disappointed with the book to start with because the recipes just seemed like they would be too complicated. I am the opposite of you, Cayenne. I would rather the recipe be a little boring than too complicated. I did make the effort to make a lot more recipes, though, so that I could give the book a fair rating. Even after this review I still don't find this book to be one of my favorites. I just can't get past the failures and the extremely wordy recipe titles. On the positive side, the book has a lot of potential: the basic information at the front of the book that is useful to any cook, new or experienced, that explains cooking terms, how to cook vegetables, grains and beans, kitchen equipment and stocking the pantry. Unfortunately, it's not the first book I open up for ideas, although I am now more inclined to recommend it to folks after having cooked seriously from it. Having said that, I give Veganomicon 3 forks.

Dragonfly's VegPeople Rating:

3 forks out of 4