These are the cookbooks in my vegan kitchen.
Candle 79 Cookbook
Candle 79 is the vegan restaurant in New York City. It is our go to restaurant for celebrations and to introduce our non-vegan friends to fine vegan dining. The cookbook came out last year and was a labor of love by Joy, Angel and Jorge, who are like family to us now. I find the pictures inspiring and the recipes are actually relatively easy. I have made 13 recipes so far and they are all posted on this blog. The cashew parmesan is now a staple in my kitchen and has found its way into several of my recipes. From appetizers, to main dishes, to desserts, this book has it all.
Great Chefs Cook Vegan
This book was a wedding gift from my cousin Nancy. How this book came about is a really interesting story. The author, Linda Long, is a photographer and she and some vegan friends were curious if they could order vegan fare at top restaurants. They went to Daniel in New York City (where we went recently to celebrate our 3-year anniversary) and had a fantastic and creative vegan meal (and so did we!) She contacted many top chefs and together they created this gorgeous book. Admittedly, the recipes are complicated so I have only tried two so far (pre-blog) but I will revisit this book asap!
The Real Food Daily Cookbook
This cookbook is by Ann Gentry, founder of the famous vegan eatery, Real Food Daily, in Los Angeles. Since I have not been in LA since 2008, and I can only remember the delicious meal I had at the restaurant, I wanted to have this book on my shelf. I have read through the book to get a feel for the recipes and I have several earmarked.
The Jewish Vegetarian Year Cookbook
I had to find a cookbook that would help me cook Jewish-vegan. I have gotten some great ideas from this book and I go back to it time and again to refresh my mind.
The Candle Cafe Cookbook
This is the original cookbook from the Bart Potenza and Joy Pierson, founders of Candle Cafe. I love this cookbook because it has staples from the restaurant in it like the Paradise Casserole (sweet potato, black bean and millet loaf) and carrot cake. I have not cracked this one in a while, but it is time
The Kind Diet
Alicia Silverstone does a great job in this book outlining not just the vegan diet, but the reasons why a vegan diet is the kind choice to make. I made several of the recipes in this book (pre-blog) and some of the techniques and ideas have found their way into my cooking style.
The Engine 2 Diet
This is the book that I give to veg-curious people. Rip Esselstyn, the son of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, does a great job of proving the power of a plant-based diet. He tracks and measures the benefits of the diet on his fellow firefighters in Austin, Texas. And the recipes are regular, everyday, familiar “Firehouse food” recipes like French Toast, migas, and chili.
From the Tables of Lebanon
My friend and teacher Rima brought me this book because she knows I am always trying to learn how to cook new cuisines. There are lovely family recipes in this book for soups, appetizers and main dishes. I am very inspired by this book!
