La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy
by Sarah Kramer
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Book Reviews of La Dolce Vegan!: Vegan Livin' Made Easy
Book Review: Nice try.
Summary: 1 Stars
So you know how the internet is chock full of weird recipes by everyone and their grandmother involving ketchup and mustard as the main seasoning ingredients and how most of it tastes only palatable?
Well, sadly, that's this cookbook in a nutshell.
I've tried six of these recipes and they all failed to pass muster in much the same way unrated recipes off the internet tend to. This doesn't surprise me too much since most of the recipes are actually recipes sent to the author by her fans and her friends. A nice thought but she really should have done some serious culinary editing. If a free recipe I've jacked from some website bombs I just shrug my shoulders - I should have known better. If a recipe from a cookbook I've payed about 20 bucks for bombs I get a little tetchy.
Sometimes people don't like a vegan or vegetarian recipe because they've never eaten tofu before or think that tahini is the misspelled name of a pacific island and why is it being called for in this recipe?! Sometimes people just aren't used to the way carob chips taste and get testy when they were expecting them to taste EXACTLY like chocolate chips. This is not my problem. I've been vegetarian for 12 years, vegan for 1 year, I grew up in a hippie household eating health food and I've been cooking for myself since I was ten.
I feel sad about having to write such an unfavorable review. Sarah seems like someone I would really like and the book does have a section of fun vegan stuff (plus cute retro pics of Sarah) that aren't without merit. However since her book is marketed as a COOKbook and not a neat-vegan-stuff book I feel obligated to warn other not terribly wealthy vegans to save their cash. If you want to know how to make a vinyl cuff that says vegan on it or think pictures of Sarah Kramer being silly are worth 15 dollars than go for it. If you want delicious vegan recipes look elsewhere.
Book Review: I'd say eat me but I'm meat.
Summary: 4 Stars
I borrowed this book, used it, and plan to purchase it. I admit I am disappointed with her use of repeating recipes more than once, and on more than one recipe. But this is more than I was disappointed in her using other people's recipes. I agree it does discourage me a bit to know that almost half of them are from people who emailed, predominantly Wolfie, than all from her. But I can really appreciate that she has a big enough following to gather them and that she gruelingly tested them and is sending them our way, as opposed to hogging them since they're not her creations. Don't these people who complain of this realize Betty Crocker's not just one person? I can appreciate others who don't like all the pix of her and none of food, but I don't find it egocentric. One thing about Sarah Kramer is that her cookbooks are fun! Veganism sounds so dull to so many, that I'm not only impressed at how she makes it exciting, but at how she compiles good recipes in a very easy to follow way. My only objection with her foods is that she seems to be heavy handed when it comes to salt. Also, my fake ham and fake fish didn't turn out as great as I'd hoped, but the rest was awesome! Besides, I haven't found any recipes like those anywhere else, or things like how to make her vegan marshmallows. And in her defense, I didn't follow the the ingredients completely, and if that doesn't make the right difference, I'm sure they can be tweaked. It would be nice to have that ahead of time, but that's an opinion and at least I have something to go on, which I find true with most cookbooks anyway. I also love the meatless balls and her choc chip cookies are possibly the best, vegan or non, ones I've found, among many other great recipes.Book Review: Easy and Deeeeee-lish.
Summary: 4 Stars
There are lots of reasons to love this cookbook: the aesthetics, the fashion tips, the motivational text. But the real reason you should own this cookbook---and the two previous volumes as well, which were co-authored by Kramer---is the fact that the recipes rock: they are simple, creative, easy and delicious. So many cookbooks are inaccessible in that they are unrealistic: yes, the recipes might be wonderful, fanstastic, even inpirational, but most of us want fast and simple. There are some "complex" recipes in here, too, but for the most part, these are dishes that are in the 30-minute- or-less range. Sadly, a lot of the better vegan cookbooks out there are very involved, time-consuming and full of obscure ingredients.
That said, this cookbook is not perfect. It could stand one more good editing. I could list all of the small mistakes I found (such as places where ingredients were listed, and then not mentioned in the actual part where you assemble/cook the recipe). But these omissions are minor, and there aren't many of them. Little mistakes in cookbooks can spell disaster, but the oversights, at least the ones I've found, are all obvious and inconsequential.
My biggest suggestion for this cookbook would be more tips on how to improvise some of the dishes (Vegan With A Vengeance is full of suggestions on how to alter recipes based on what's sitting around in the refrigerator). Several of the recipes I've made lend themselves to a multitude of variations. This would have made an already good cookbook great.
Book Review: I love all her books!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book, and the two previous ones as well. When I turned vegan earlier this year I wanted a cookbook with recipes that were easy to follow, easy to prepare, that didn't have a long list of ingredients (because frankly, my eyes glaze over after about the fifth one), and one that didn't require me to shop outside of my regular grocery store. I also wanted to be able to make substitutions and not be afraid that the result would be a disaster if I didn't happen to have ingredient x, y or z on hand. Being on a tight budget though I thought it'd be wise to check out a whole bunch of books from the library before committing my dollars, and boy was I glad I did. I ended up disliking a number of the other well known and highly recommended vegan books on Amazon because they were just too exotic for me. If I have to Google an ingredient to find out what it is first, then I'm not likely to have it in the house or be interested in buying it. Plus my eyes glazed over way too many times! I was also surprised by how many vegan cookbooks were so drab and boring in appearance. In contrast, this book is bright, colourful and fun, and while that may not be important to everyone, I find it helps cooking to be more fun too. So what I often end up doing now is looking through all three books (I was so impressed I bought the set) to see which recipe appeals to me the most based on the ingredients I happen to have at hand. In short, I highly recommend this and all her other books.Book Review: Super Tasty
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very, very picky and I absolutely love this book. Having read much of Sarah Kramer's blog, I don't think she is in love with herself or arrogant in any way. She seems like a very kind, sincere, warm person who just wants to share her life. I did not like Vegan with A Vengeance or Dreena Burton's books. They have very complicated recipes that taste terrible, with the exception of the desserts.
La Dolce Vegan is the kind of food I like: simple, easy, but very tasty. It is worth the price of the book for the Vegan Cheeseburger Pizza recipe alone. If you like the tastes on a burger, you will love this one. I've made it several times, once for a friend who was visiting from out of town, who flipped for it. The mushroom soup is also really, really good. Another recipe I can't stop making is the peanut butter coconut cereal bars with chocolate topping. I am addicted to these and have brought them into my office a few times. Co-workers have asked for the recipe and get excited when they see me arrive with them.
The recipes are also economical. The ingredients you have to buy for the pizza will make three pizzas, the ingredients for the cereal bars will make a couple of batches(with tons of cereal left over).
As with any cookbook, there are a few duds. The Simple Oatmeal Cookies were terrible, very plain and tasteless. But that's the only bad one I've found. If you like hearty, American cooking with a fun, amusing style, get this book.