Vegan on the Cheap (Robin Robertson)

[Ananas]

I've had this cookbook for ages, but didn't cook from it until yesterday. I feel sorry for postponing it for so long, man, these recipes are truely awesome!
So far i've made 5 of them (i'm in the cooking mood ;)) and they all turned out great. The ingredients that are used are easy to find (except for maybe wheat gluten and nutritional yeast) and cheap, but the recipes have a very rich taste.

Does anyone else own this book?

[harpy]

No, I don't think I've ever seen that one but I've just had a look at it on Amazon (where you can see inside the book but not actually look at any of the recipes :rolleyes:).

What sort of thing have you made so far? Is it true that the recipes are quick to make?

[Ananas]

You might like this short version on google books: http://books.google.com/books?id=BTAqqy5HM9gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=vegan+on+the+cheap&source=bl&ots=zpIIqOl7EN&sig=YTt8PmWkTfatvjjWBPMUVgpY6YM&hl=en&ei=_NnwTNKlD4ntOeLGgYEK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Some of the recipes ive made so far:

Big stick pepperoni
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/PicoChico/IMG_0306.jpg
This is really delicious, even my omni parents enjoyed eating it! i had it in a bread roll with cucumber as a side with pumpkin soup, and it was really great. would love to try it on pizza. One of my cats actually liked it too, the other one didn't ;)

Fusilli with lemon basil crème
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/PicoChico/IMG_0309.jpg
LOVE this, it's really amazing! I've adapted the recipe, because i don't like potatoes in a pasta dish, so instead i tucked in some leftover cauliflower and broccoli. The taste of the crème is like... amaaaazing. Wow. And ive never even liked white sauces with pasta. I want to eat this everyday!!

Peanutty pumpkin stew
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/PicoChico/IMG_0312.jpg
I find this a very original recipe, combining peanutbutter and tomato with pumpkin and kidney beans. I've served it with quinoa, which is great. It's a pretty heavy meal though, definitely nice on a cold winterday but for the rest of the year, i'd prefer something lighter.

I've also made the Deluxe Vegetable Lasagna. It took quite a while to ensemble, and i haven't tried it yet or even made a picture, i just froze all of it to be eaten during busy studynights.
Couldn't resist to make the Handy Hummus, since i'm still looking for the perfect hummus recipe. Think i've found it now, or maybe i should have tried putting tahini in it before (always used sesame seeds, wow, the taste's so much better with tahini!).

I made the wheatballs, they taste great! And i made the 'close to mom's saucage patties'. Took a bite before i put them in the freezer, they're good, though i'll cut back on the fennel next time.

Not all of the recipes are quick, the fusili one was really fast but then the lasagna took ages. The pepperoni, saucage patties and wheatballs had a long baking time. But maybe i've only made the longer recipes... they are however definitely cheap :)

[Astrid660]

This was the first vegan cookbook that I bought. Some recipes were just ok, but generally I have had positive experiences with most of the recipes I have tried.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x238/tarastrid/salad-1.jpg
Thai peanut noodle salad. That was so good that I made it about four times before getting a bit sick of it. :o
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x238/tarastrid/073-1.jpg
This one was called Roasted sweet potato salad with cashews and kidney beans. Not my fave, but still yum.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x238/tarastrid/samosa.jpg
Samosa pie. Ok for the record, this was my first attempt at any vegan pie... so the photo does NOT do it justice. So delicious, I could eat this all the time now that I have perfected the ingredients (usually more spices for me! plus lots of peas instead of green beans, even throw in some corn) and the appearance was much better when I made it a few days ago. Extra filling or dough? Take a muffin tin and make mini samosa tarts! Nothing goes to waste! Ugh I must find a better picture of that pie though.

Ananas - thanks to you, that fusilli pasta dish will be my next creation from this book! I am going to get a mother-lode of groceries tomorrow :D

[Astrid660]

Right.. so here is a proper picture of the new and improved samosa pie from the other day.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x238/tarastrid/1734.jpg

[Blueberries]

Right.. so here is a proper picture of the new and improved samosa pie from the other day.


Looks lovely Astrid! :D

[Clueless Git]

Awwww jeeeZ!

I'm hungry now :(

[Gwydion]

I'm hungry now

This ^.

And I've just had 3 x chocolate digestives.

Cruelty to vegans :-(

[Astrid660]

Thought I would add another post on this cookbook. The double pie crust recipe is one I always use when I need a pie crust. It's delicious and the idea to roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic cling wrap makes it foolproof for me :P I'm not a pastry expert by any means. :D

If you have this book, you must try the curried tofu wraps. They are delicious.

Pasta Slaw - Didn't do it for me. I just thought it was bland and blah. I would have used a creamy dressing for this, not oil and vinegar.

Fusilli with potatoes, green beans, and lemon basil creme - Epic fail... Though I didn't use unsweetened milk, and for that I blame myself, not the recipe!

Coconut Curry Rice - Just okay. A simple recipe, really.

Stovetop Cheezy Mac- Another recipe that I hated.. although I was in preliminary vegan phase when I made it, so I was pretty much expecting kraft dinner, which this certainly was not. :O

Tofu Feta - Two thumbs up. :)

Seeing which recipes I've made from here makes me want to try some different ones now.. I might plan to make some of the soups in the near future, or a couple of the more exotic recipes. However, I do think the focus on this book is cheap/economical, not necessarily the most delicious recipes I've heard of..